Could well be a partial blockage -- diarrhea is allowing some material through, but the intestines themselves may be dilated.
A CT-scan or a small bowel followthrough upper GI series can show partial blockage. Complete blockage usually involves severe pain and extreme vomiting.
Many of these partial blockages will resolve themselves but may re- form. If you think you are getting them, be super careful with what you are eating.
Another possibility for treating blockage is a NG tube -- this gives the bowel time to rest and the inflammation to go down.
Surgery can help -- for about as long as it takes for new adhesion to form. I had surgery for partial blockage in June, complete blockage in August, and have new pain and signs of difficulty now. Surgery included all the fancy stuff to avoid new adhesions and removal of lots of badly scarred bowel.
I am treating myself with careful eating, ibuprofen three times a day for inflammation, and lots of water. I am very serious about avoiding additional surgery or complete blockage again. It is NO FUN at all, including an NG tube in the ER in the middle of the night.
Kate
-- Kate Murphy katemm@mindspring.com