Hello all, up until now I have been an observer on this site, not feeling quite ready to contribute, but grateful for the enlightenment, education, and entertainment it has provided me. I had a colostomy about eight months ago due to a ruptured bowel. Things have not gone well, and I have been hospitalized twice for large bowel obstructions and once for further surgery to remove more of my large bowel. Now I have developed a prolapse where the bowel actually comes out of the stoma. At first, it was very small, maybe an inch would come out, and it would always go back in on its own accord. A week ago, it came out to a horrifying degree, about seven inches of intestine was filling my pouch. I was terrified. At the hospital, the doctors had to put me under twice to get it back in. Since then, it has been completely normal, not even prolapsing a little like it did before, but I am living in fear that it will happen again. My surgeon has decided I will do better with an ileostomy, but my surgery won't be for at least a couple of months. I have never seen a 'prolapse' mentioned in any posts on this site and am wondering just how rare my situation is. I think (and my surgeon agrees) that the prolapse developed because I have to take large amounts of laxative to keep things moving, resulting in a lot of pressure building up behind the stoma. I have had chronic constipation all my adult life, which is probably why my bowel ruptured, and the colostomy has only made it worse. The theory is that once I have an ileostomy, constipation won't be an issue, and everything will function as it should. Just wondering if anyone out there has experienced anything similar to me and how you coped, what was done, etc.

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Mysterious Mose
I take part in these forums almost every day. They and the people that contribute to them have made all the difference in my having the courage to live a normal life with an ileostomy. The people here are marvelous and come from all walks of life and from all over the world. Hearing what others have lived through has really helped me put my own experience in perspective. I highly recommend all ostomates and caretakers of ostomates to come join us.