Natalie, Hello Misty here!! To answer your questions: I'm an RN and my specialty is in Trauma surgery and my answers to you questions are comming from experience only. So i'll try and give you the best answers I can. To diagnose adhesions basically a doctor has to "go in" usually by laprascope to see adhesions and scar tissue. I have had many CT scans and my adhesions are severe and they just barely show up on CT scans, so usually adhesions have to be diagnosed with a laproscipic surgery. About the pain, My adhesional pain does wrap around my sides and back, so to answer that part of the question, yes it can happen.
Also could adhesions cause episodes of difficulty and mucus in bowel elimination?
to answer that part of the question, there are many many things that can cause mucus in the Stool. The best route to go in answering that question is to have one of your docs order a stool culture for parasites and bacteria. It isn't abnormal to have some mucus in the stool but if we are talking about massive amts of mucus then I'd have the stool tested. Usually when there is a bowel obstruction caused by adhesions not only is it pretty painful but it is also hard to have a bowel movement depending on how much and how bad the bowel is obstructed. Further tests like CT scans or sometimes if it is bad enough a bowel obstruction will show up on just a normal x-ray. I do have a bowel obstructions diagnosed by CT scan with the barium contrast, it isn't SEVERE but it is painful and I do have a hard time going "big potty" I hope this helps answer some of your questions, I'm not a doctor but this is what I have ran into being an RN and from having adhesions myself
Misty