Ostomy Blockage Help Needed

pemen64 · 2016-07-09T14:31:25-04:00

I am 72 years old, have had my ostomy since August 2012. Things had been fine up until now. I am having issues with some blockage and need some advice or pointers. Thank you, Joe.

Bill

Jul 30, 2016 5:28 pm

Hello HarleyDoll. Thanks for your informative post about laxatives - I never knew that! It does sound like a logal alternative to use laxatives and I'm a firm believer in doing whatever is best for you. However, when you say " It's much easier to let the bag fill up and empty it than to irrigate I would think." it leads me to think that you haven't yet tried irrigation. I'm also a firm believer in giving things a try before making a judgement on something. I found that for me, irrigation was much easier than using a bag as well as being more convenient and less stressful during the day. I have tried laxatives in the past when needed prior to surgery but several of them made me violently ill so, since then I've not been too keen on that route. The worst one for me was senacot, which made me feel so ill that I felt I was dying, whereas I'm usually pretty good at pain management. The next time they let me starve for a couple of days and then irrigate, which caused no such problems.

I@m not sure about making friends with my stoma but I do think it has been useful to know as much as I can about it so that I can try different things for the different problems it throws up.

Best wishes

Bill

HarleyDoll

Jul 31, 2016 4:08 am

Hi Bill. How are you tonight? Regarding irrigation, it has been discussed with my ostomy nurse and because I have IBS quite severely, it is not an option for me. However, I will be the judge of that when I look into it more - LOL :)

Have a great weekend! You are such an inspiration on this board.

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Posted by: Karen & Stella

Fay,

I am one of those few people who still have a lot of output at night. However, I suffer from short gut syndrome after seven bowel surgeries that led to the loss of much of my small intestine as well as my large intestine from the initial bowel cancer surgery. It does get better over time as your system adjusts, but an ileostomy can be a challenging adjustment. It's important to connect with a good Enterostomal Nurse - ET nurses who can help you problem-solve over time. It's been five years since my initial surgery, and I had a great visit with a new ET nurse in December. He really helped me with the problem of high output at night. I had been getting up every 90-120 minutes to empty my high output bag because of filling. If I slept for three hours without emptying, I would have problems. My ET nurse helped my husband and me make a nighttime collection system using a Rubbermaid juice container with a handle and my old CPAP hose. This is connected to one of my two-piece high output bags and allows for continual drainage. It isn't pretty, but it has been a real lifesaver. I guess the real message I want to share is to stick with it, find a nurse who you can work with, and together you will find solutions to whatever challenges you face. This website is also an important support for me and others. There is nothing you will go through that others haven't already faced and figured out. There is so much wisdom here. Read the materials they've put together for newbies. There are a lot of great suggestions to use. I hope things get better quickly for you.
Karen

Past Member

Aug 03, 2016 2:36 am

Bill,

Your post caught me by surprise. I have an ileostomy and lost no colon, just 6 inches of upper intestine as this was where my two kinks/blockages were with a perforation between the two. Is this not the norm for ileostomy? I am still learning so much.

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Bill

Aug 03, 2016 5:31 am

Hello CANN. I'm not sure which post you are referring to but I hope it wasn't an unpleasant surprise.

We are all learning stuff all the time and most of what I know, or think I know about ileostomies comes from reading what people have written on here.

I do not think there is a 'norm' for the causes and reasons for having to have this operation. from what I can gather some people get a stoma with just a break in the intestines, or a small portion taken out for a variety of reasons. Others need to have various lengths of intestine and colon removed altogether, again for many different reasons. The former stands some chance of having a reversal at sometime because the bulk of it is still intact, whereas the latter would probably mean a permanent stoma because there would be nothing to reconnect to.

This is just my interpretation of what I have read over the years. However, if you are interested in this sort of stuff it is probably advisable to look it up on a medical website or wikipedia so that you are getting first hand information rather than an interpretation from someone like me who is just reading individual accounts of their own experiences. Sometimes I get new information that makes me rethink all that I thought I knew before so please don't take what I have to say on the subject as in any way authoritative.

Best wishes

Bill

Ladyhawke

Sep 14, 2018 6:09 am

I take Clear Lax every day. My doctor says it does no harm to the bowels and mine is always pancaking... I find it great

Ostomy Blockage Help Needed

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