Hard Stool Passing Despite Colostomy: Seeking Advice

My son had a colostomy almost 2 months ago. Two times this week, he passed a small, super hard stool "ball" about the size of a large walnut. I know mucus is common through the anus, but a hard brown ball seems uncommon. It causes a lot of pain. His doctor shrugged it off, but I feel like it can't be good to have poop sitting in your rectum for 2 months! And how do I know there's not more sitting in there that will keep causing pain? It seems like the hard chunks could tear something or get infected. I asked about an enema, and the doctor said he shouldn't need one. It doesn't seem to be mucus - it's dark brown and smells like stool (sorry to be graphic). Anyone have this issue?

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Hey there, has your son passed mucus since he has gotten his ileo? A couple of things: yes, you can do an enema, and if you're worried about stuff being stuck, I don't know why the doctor said no; that's what they say to do when you have mucus stuck. Another thing is mucus can harden if it's been stuck in there too long, and it can hurt and be brown in color.

Hard balls can still be mucus. I had that experience early on in my ostomy journey, and the doctor assured me that it was okay and that it was normal. It looked like a piece of poop, though, and was hard to pass. I have an ileostomy, so I thought it was very strange at first. My mom called the doctor's office right away, freaking out. She said, "How is this possible? She has an ostomy." But they said it was normal. And I went on with life, and it never happened again to me in nearly 3 years. But when it happened to me, it happened twice.