Fever and Diarrhea with Ileostomy: Could It Be E. coli?

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend has an ileostomy since January this year and had no complications so far. Yesterday he had very high fever and diarrhea and we went to the emergency room. They took a CT scan and saw that the small bowel is inflamed and has a small blockage. The strange thing is that the stoma is working, so if he has indeed something blocking it, it should be small. One of his colleagues at work had an E coli infection last days, so could this be the problem? Does anyone have any experience with that? He is now given antibiotics and electrolytes, I hope he will get better soon.

Thank you very much and I appreciate any reply.

Anca

Hey AncaR, E. coli is contagious. Your boyfriend's situation seems to have been appropriately addressed at the ER, and he'll be just fine in a few days, I think. If you have any doubts, check with his primary care physician.

Let us know how he's doing.

Mike

I have had several blockages.  Mine were complete with no output. The output is a good sign.  The antibiotics could take care of the situation but if the output stops there is possibly a bigger problem. If there is no improvement whithin a few days, see your GI.

Good luck

Don

Thanks a lot for your replies, it turned out indeed that it was an infection with Camphylobacter and antibiotics helped with the symptoms. He's home now and is feeling much better, but even if he stopped taking the antibiotics, he still has digestion problems. Right after eating, he has nausea, bloating and cramps. I suppose it's mainly caused by the fact that the medicines affected also the "good" bacteria which makes the digestion worse. I hope he will be fine soon. 

Greetings from Germany,

Anca