Hello tricia. I am sorry to hear that you are having so many problems and I know only too well what issues arise from having a build-up of anal mucus.
There has been a very recent forum post on ths subject and there are a few more in the 'Collection' section if you are willing to trawl through past posts. However, I will just repeat what I did in days of yore to sort out the mucus build-up problem:
Prior to my stoma I had been anally irrigating to try to control my incontinence. I figured that the mucus problem might respond to the same treatment. Unfortunately, the stoma irrigation system works with a 'cone', which is nowhere near suitable for anal irrigation, Whereas, I still had a supply of anal irrigation catheters and adapted two of them to attach to the shower unit in the bathroom. One I cut the end off so that the water shot straight out and cleaned the upper regions of the anal stump; and the second was left as it was, with the water jets coming out sideways. This one was twisted round so that all the sides of the anal stump were cleaned as it went in and as I withdrew it. The process was very effective but very messy. I would stand/ squat in the bath so that anything could be viewed before it was flushed away. I used this method for more than 18 months before the nastiest of the output ceased and the mucus was constantly clear and liquid. From then on, I stopped the irrigation and have simply used incontinence pads to manage the mucus.
A note of caution should be given about using anal catheters; because there is little or no feeling in the anal stump, there is a chance that you can rupture the walls by pushing too hard. I mitigated this by measuring what was left up there and then making sure I did not push the catheters in too far. This was helped by having the two different nozzle ends - one to clean the end section and the other to clean the sides ---neither of which needed to apply any direct pressure to the lining of the anus. I would add that I was often in great pain when the harder mucus built up inside.Once I had cleaned it out, the pain subsided and I was really grateful that I had found a solution which did not involve further surgery.
Some people have found that anal suppositories work for them and I would always suggest trying such non-invasive methods before resorting to anal catheters. Also, I think that the catheters might not be available through the normal channels nowadays because of the risks involved.
Best wishes
Bill
