illeostomy

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Brenda Bricco
Brenda Bricco Member Posts: 579 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
My husband got an illeostomy put on Oct 13th 2011 when he had colon resection. He is telling me now that he feels like he has the urge to go and there is something passing through. Is this normal? I can't remember if anyone told us about this or not. I will call his doc but I was just hoping to get some input here.
I was looking for past posts about illeostomy but not sure how to find them.
Brenda

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  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #2
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    Brenda
    Hi Brenda,

    I haven't ever had an ileostomy, but I do remember this being discussed on the board before. I believe others have had that same experience of feeling the urge to go and actually passing something. I don't know if it's considered normal or not, but I remember people talking about having that experience. I'd definitely contact the surgeon/doctors involved and ask about it.

    Take care-
    Lisa
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #3
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    Yes
    Very common and this is something I hated. Tell him to go sit on the toilet like he has to have a bowel movement and have him sit there for a couple minutes. He might have to do this several times a day. It took me months and months before this urge would subside. This is very normal. Doctors don't seem to know about it, but us ostomy people do. It's like phantom pooping. When people get their arm cut off, they still feel like they can move it but there is nothing there. It's the same anaology.

    Kim
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #4
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    Very normal. and for a bit,
    Very normal. and for a bit, things (like mucus) will pass out of his rectum. He will also get phantom urges to go, and like Kim suggested on a different post, it will help if he sits on the toilet and waits for the feeling to go away.
    Hope he is doing well with the ileostomy. I had one for a year, and after some trial and error,got pretty comfortable with it. Let me know if I can help you and yours :)
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #5
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    tommycat said:

    Very normal. and for a bit,
    Very normal. and for a bit, things (like mucus) will pass out of his rectum. He will also get phantom urges to go, and like Kim suggested on a different post, it will help if he sits on the toilet and waits for the feeling to go away.
    Hope he is doing well with the ileostomy. I had one for a year, and after some trial and error,got pretty comfortable with it. Let me know if I can help you and yours :)

    There's a medical term for that, which i no longer remember
    but its akin to how an amputee feels after losing a limb,,,,,,27 months after my colostomy i still occasionally get the sensation that i'm gonna defecate or fart like i used to..The feeling was of course, much more intense and often for some time immediately after surgery tho i never sat on the toilet as others suggest (actually, my healing process was somewhat lengthy)It does get better......
  • lauragb
    lauragb Member Posts: 370 Member
    #6
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    Hi, I've been asking this
    Hi, I've been asking this same question. I had my surgery on November 15. I did not feel this urge until about a week or so ago. It is annoying. I have also called it phantom pooping. It does help to know it is common even though it's another unpleasant post surgery side effect that many of us go through.
    Hope everything else is going well.
    Laura
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #7
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    Brenda -

    It's been almost six years post-op for me, and that feeling
    is still there from time to time.

    A buildup of mucous and what may have the appearance and
    odor of window putty may discharge from time to time also.

    Oh, and yes, you may pass some gas also! Where the hell
    did that come from?

    Disturbing? Yes. The end of the world as we know it? Yeah, probably.
    It was getting boring on this planet anyway, right?

    It's all normal, and what the doctors don't tell you about.

    Oh.... And thanks for being so courageous to ask that question!
    I'll bet there are a few hundred new ostomates breathing a sigh
    of relief right now.... all thanks to you!

    Stay well!

    John
  • keystone
    keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
    #8
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    My husband is getting his
    My husband is getting his reversal tomorrow after having it for 9 months. He has had this on and off from the beginning. The Dr told him just yesterday that it was good this was happening because the new plumbing "wants to work". Nervous about this new plumbing he's about to check out!
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #9
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    keystone said:

    My husband is getting his
    My husband is getting his reversal tomorrow after having it for 9 months. He has had this on and off from the beginning. The Dr told him just yesterday that it was good this was happening because the new plumbing "wants to work". Nervous about this new plumbing he's about to check out!

    Keystone, just a heads up on
    Keystone, just a heads up on the reversal. I got very little information from the dr. before this surgery, and didn't know I would have so many questions/issues, at least in the beginning.
    He will need some Depends (I know I know) for a bit....the signals that "you gotta go" are off, and it takes time to relearn them.
    I had the reversal done a year ago, and it took about six months before my body adjusted to its new functions. Constipation/diarrhea were part of the whole process too.
    Let me know if I can help you~
    Your Friend in California

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