My son, who not only has an ileostomy but is also in a wheelchair (he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) and has intellectual disabilities, had his ileostomy surgery almost 5 years ago. For the last several months, he has had poop in his pants daily. I'm not talking about mucus, I mean actual poop. Anyone else dealing with this? I can't imagine this is normal. The doctor said it is "shedding"... I refuse to believe it is only this.
Thoughts and/or feedback appreciated.
Hi TylerJoe,
Assuming your doctor knows what he's talking about... and I hate to assume... did you ask him why it's happening now? I mean, intestinal epithelial cell shedding is a real thing, but something needs to trigger it for it to increase in rate. And from what you're saying, I don't think our bowels can shed those cells that fast and in that quantity to have it show up as bowel output every day. Something sounds amiss, although there's not a lot of info out there on intestinal epithelial cell shedding. And that's because it has to be observed in a living intestine, which is a bit hard to do. I wouldn't hesitate to get a second or third opinion on this one... and have whatever is showing up in his pants analyzed to determine if it is in fact dead intestinal epithelial cells. I mean, if it is... something is triggering it. Could be a change in meds or stress, or something that causes a large increase in TNF. I'd say give the Gastro department at UVa and/or Duke a call and see what they say. If they're stumped, up the game to the Cleveland Clinic and/or Mayo. And let us know how you make out... sorry I can't be of more help... this one is a puzzler.
;O)
bob
Why Join MeetAnOstoMate?
First off, this is a pretty cool site with 38,098 members who truly understand you.
When it comes to ostomy, members share DIY hacks to save money, product comparisons, practical advice on insurance and medical coverage advice, information on new products to make life easier, and much more.
But, it's not all about ostomy. We talk about everything.
Many come here for advice or to give advice, others have found good friends, and some have even found love. Most importantly, people here are honest and genuinely care.
🛑 Privacy is very important - we have many features that are only visible to members.
Create an account and you will be amazed by the warmth of this community.
38,098 members
Puzzler it may be, but your reply was very interesting and informative. Thanks. I have already learned something new today!
Best wishes
Bill
