Stoma size went from 57mm to 76mm overnight! It still functions properly, good color and mucus.
I looked online and couldn't find anything over 70mm. I'm going to call Convatec Ostomy Nurse first thing in the morning.
Has anyone experienced this kind of drastic change and what could have caused it?
I recently ate too many mixed nuts. The next day, my colostomy stoma swelled up to twice its size and was shaped like a mushroom. Gas passed, but no output. No pain.
It remained this way for a couple of days, until the third night. Watching TV on the couch, my stoma made a loud pop. I peeked at the bag... a huge light-colored pancake filled the entire top part of the bag. I unsnapped the bag, and my stoma had returned to normal size. Then... lots of output came out. I had to drain the bag twice in a couple of hours.
Don't wait too long. If a stoma nurse cannot help, a visit to the ER should be your next move. Do not go to an urgent care place; a hospital ER has the resources to help ostomy patients.
Let us know what happens.
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Yes, this has happened twice to me.
It was upon changing the appliance after a leak. The stoma enlarged to three times its normal size. I read that sugar would decrease its size. I heard this trick right here on this site from members. Carefully placing sugar on it, it did nothing.
My appliance would not fit this ballooned stoma. I had to wait. It retracted slightly over time, but it did retract. Twice it happened, and I asked the people here about it.
One mentioned that intake of sugar and foods will cause this. Others said if it continues, see a doctor.
No pain, but just scary to see this thing evolve into a tennis ball-sized stoma. Normally it's the size of a ping pong ball; it does retract given time.
It's definitely a "WTF" moment.
What Beachboy said above, true that.
Hello Kayakkaren.
Mine did the much the same thing.
I self-diagnosed it as a prolapse, as I had experienced a few of those when I was anally incontinent.
In my case, I felt that the stoma prolapse was an advantage in that it resolved an issue I had been having with a peristomal hernia blocking the hole. With the prolapse, this hernia seemed to have come onto the outside and cleared the route for my output.
However, the sudden change made the wafer cut into the stoma all the way round and made a bloody mess. I did not wan this happening again, so I redesigned my baseplate, to include a tapered support (made from a plastic top from a babble bath bottle).
This has been working well for the past few months and has the added advantage of preventing output from backtracking onto the skin around the stoma. (there are some pictures on my profile of how the device was made).
Prolapses can be simply pushed (or encouraged with sugar and cold water) back in, but these are rarely ever permanent solutions.
I just like the concept of a 'cradle' to support and hold the stoma in a position that suits me (rather than it).
Best wishes
Bill
This might be a long shot, but… I had a somewhat enlarged stoma and several days later, two stones, a 3mm and a 5mm stone, popped through. It wasn't determined if they were kidney stones or stones that developed in the stoma.
Whoa! That's not good. Any type of "stone" passing through the stoma. Are you sure it wasn't a pit?
How can a kidney stone pass through the small intestine?
Too bad there was no examination of what type of stone this is. Really should get an answer, not a guesstimate.
It all sounds strange. Almost impossible to me. A stone?
I'd definitely find out what that damn thing is if possible. Never heard of this before. Good luck. Keep an eye on this.
Hi Warrior, stones were sent to the lab, identified as mostly a calcium composite. There was no pain in passing the stones, which led to the conclusion that stones of this size were most likely formed in the stoma. Uncommon but not improbable.
Big whoa, man! Calcified stones, totally uncommon... Geez, I've never heard that related to the digestive tract. Then again, you never know. But the stoma is just an exit, an outlet hole. I don't get how that creates anything other than a passageway for poop. This is scary what you say. Your story is the first. Thanks for the heads up. Good luck hoping those stones stop.
