Rectal mucus.

New member/colostomy recipient (5/25/21) here. Hi!
My doctor said that my remaining 4 inches of rectum would collect mucus. Shortly after I got home from the hospital, a blob of mucus landed in the toilet, but only once.
Frequently, I have a powerful urge to eliminate normally from the rectum, but no means to do so. It feels like I'm going to soil my drawers, but nothing ever happens. Is this normal?
Thanks!

Yes.. it is normal 

So, for the rest of ever? Does anything *ever* come out?

I appreciate your reply.

Because something came out once, and my doc said it would collect mucus, and because I'm new at this, I'm terrrified to just relax my sphincter and trust that there will be no output.
When I get the feeling that in pre-colostomy time would have meant TOILET NOW, I run for the bathroom, but nothing.
This is as stupifying as learning to drive in a country that doesn't have stop signs. Not that I know of any countries like that...

It strange how the Doctors do not tell us about this issue .. if you still have an anus it will produce mucus sometimes a little sometimes a lot. You will have to wear padding to protect your clothing . Maybe the other men on here can give you ideas. It is usually clear with no odor if you have no active disease. 

My doc said it will subside in a year. Is this tue? Also I welcome the experiences of "other" men, as I am a woman.  Oh my!  :-D

So sorry I thought your name was male riffael Ralph I look at names forgive me . Maybe ask other folks but my experience no .. it has been 30 years. But we are all different .

Yes, it is quite normal. Every once in a while that happens to me which is a strange feeling BC I haven't used my rectum since 1988!! And when this happens, it's just that mucus but, it  smells like holy hell. It's just awful but, it doesn't happen often (thankfully) but, yes, if you don't push it out, it will eventually just seep out on its own. My rectum was left intact (stapled off 8" up inside of me) so my ileostomy could one day be reversed. I doubt I'll ever do it now since it's been so long but was thinking about getting the J-Pouch at Cleveland Clinic. Hope this helps! :)

Hello riffael.
Thanks for your post expressing your concerns about this issue, and I'm pleased to see that you have already received some useful replies.
I am still expelling mucus years after my operation, but at least now it tends to be clear and much less obnoxious as far as 'smell' is concerned. The rate at which mucus gets expelled is not consistent and ranges from none at all on some days to excessive amounts on others. For this reason I wear incontinence pads to catch the excess amounts.
However, the standard inco-pads are not very efficient at quick absorbing of this mucus ( they were designed to absorb the more watery urine or faeces). For this reason, I use a folded up tissue to lodge between my buttocks; this absorbs the small amounts of mucus and slows down the larger amounts to give the inco-pads a fair chance of working.

Needless to say, this has been yet another of those annoying things in life that has prompted me to express my irritations in verse:
There are other past-posts on this subject if you are interested – they can be found in ‘COLLECTIONS –PREMIUM CONTENT'

Best wishes
Bill

RECTAL STUMP MUCUS.

If there's one thing' gives me the hump
it's mucus from my rectal stump.
They did not tell me this would be
a side–effect of ostomy.

With no faeces coming through
no way did I expect this goo.
It is so inconvenient
that I am still incontinent.

I thought that this would be all cured
once my ostomy matured.
However, it's not gone away
and I fear it's here to stay.

Sometimes brown and sometime white
but mixed with blood is never right.
Then there's yellow and there's cream
which will flood out like a stream.

Sometimes it's soft and sometimes hard
sometimes it's slippery just like lard.
Occasionally I'll get a chunk
but mostly it will look like gunk.

The mucus used to irritate
and refused to irrigate.
That method didn't work so well
although it minimised smell.

When I reflect I must admit
sometimes I get fed up with it.
For I was not expecting this
every time I have a piss.

With both a plug and inco' pad
you'd think it would not feel so bad.
But I still moan and I will grump
about the mucus from my stump.

                                     B. Withers 2012

like others i still muscus discharge , advice from my doctor was bear down when on the toilet to release the muscus . and i think i have read that muscus if allowed to build up will become a hard ball which can cause you a problem. i think some of the problem i have of feeling i want to go to the toilet may be linked to the IBS i had before my colonostomy.

i also use an incontinence pad ( uk always large) and carry a spare though the incidence of involountary discharge is rare in my case but i do have toilet urges quite often.

my operation was in 2018 and as far as i can see as long as i am processing body waste then the natural function of waste lubrication will continue but hopefully not.

patrick

Hi

It's normal to pass mucus and over time you will get to know when you need to pass it. Please let us know how you get on. XX

Hi riffael,

 As others have said......it's normal and will taper off to infrequently.  For me I get the same urge I used to get when I was connected, and just find a toilet.  Not much ever comes out, and being 7 years post-op I'd say I get the urge once, maybe twice a month tops.  Don't seem to need a pad or diaper or anything.......just take a seat when I get the urge.  Maried is right..........it is amazing what the Docs and Surgeons DON'T tell you about an ostomy before you get one.  Someone should write a book!

regards,

bob

Hi Riff

iam glad to see you found this site.   There is a WEALTH of info available here.

it is strange to see what people were/weren't told about what to expect after ostomy surgery.  I was warned about rectal mucus but NO training on how to deal with wafers/bags/routines/diet/blow outs etc.  

I was lucky enough to be reversed after 3.5 months but never had any rectal drainage.  I did have sensation of needing to go to bathroom 

good luck

Clint

I also have mucus discharge mostly a little everyday, some days more. It does have a bad smell.I do wear disposable underwear and I can feel when I need to to go to the bathroom and clean most of the time.

The pouch still fills with sloughed cells & mucous. I was told to flush the pouch about every 6 months with an enema. I do it when the urge hits me (ha ha)

Well thr Dr lied. It won't go away until they remove the pouch. And in my experience, it's worse after a colonoscopy. Originally, in 2006, I was told to flush the pouch every 3-6 months. To ignore it could lead to it bursting inside. I used to be able to relax the sphincter and "poop" the plugs as needed. That was for first eleven years. But during a scope & surgery in 2017, the Dr broke the nerve. So now I get the urge to poop when my bladder is full. Which is kinda fine because my bladder nerve was broke during a previous surgery, and I was having accidents. Now I know that if I feel like I need to poop, I actually need to pee. I only have to wear pads after getting a scope, like this week. And by pad I mean folded paper towels, 6 ply, because a menstrual pad doesn't absorb the gushing output fast enough. Oddly enough, I was told to use an enema to stop the "flushing", too, that it resets the pouch. So that's what I'm going to the store for today. 

Very good  so true ☺️

I got my ileostomy in late January 2021. I still have rectal mucus and can poop it out. Unfortunately for me I also have an anal/rectal fistula caused by an absest that was drained on my bottom before the ileostomy so it leaks out every day/night. Because of this my ileostomy is permanent. I'm honestly not too bothered by it considering how sick I was from ulcerative colitis. I wear a men's tampon like pad

Thank you all for sharing your experiences! 
Riffael

Hi Riff,   I re ad y our post, and all the great feedback from other ostomates..    I had the rectal stump aft er my ileostomy,   f or about 4 years,  until the doctor's finally removed it..   with much pressure from me.   I still lhad active disease, ( ulcerative colities)   so besides the " normal" mucus & moisture.....I had blood as well..    very messy, especially when I had my period..    I needed to use the extra long maternity  sanitary napkins to  absorb the " mess"..    I was also taking rectal medication in the form of enemas, so there was always  some sort of leakage, as well as the pressure of having to " poop"...   But it was never much...  When I didn't have my period, I used a piece of cotton, or part of a menstual pad....tucked between the buttocks..    Just have to do what  feels comfortable for y ou.   And yes....I did have urges to need to "  poop"..   There were enough nerve endings left, to have that sensation.   It's now 50 years later, and I had the rectal stump removed..   There are still times that I have the  " urge" to poop, but that's just a feeling that comes when I've been sitting at a certain angle for too long...   Back in the day...there were no stoma nurses, anad doctors left care and maintenance of the ostomy, to nurses, or to other ostomates, who  wo uld visit patients  upon request..   I did that with other young children who had the surgery, back when I was in my 20's.   Today, there are  more specialists around, but few of them have ostomies..   I find that I g et the best ideas from other ostomates...   Best of luck to y ou..    Marsha

mucus is one thing.  bloody mucus is something wrong. I bled for months after my ilio..  dr said normal.    what a shit head he is.    been bleeding for four yrs and its normal? duh. so.. mucus clear and plain is normal.. but blood means u got activity.. like I do.. this   is  chrons in the rectum. not  good.   gunna need a removal and ken butt soon.. meds are helping  but we all know meds over time will cause other problems.  cant wait for that !!    its useless having a "stump"..  hate to think more surgery..  but.. good luck.. keep eye on it.. and i do use  4 by 4  pads as a protection method..  just  stick in there  into cheeks..  wont last all day..  and remember  when changing the pad to wipe clean..  i use baby wipes..  then put another  4X4  between the cheeks..  it sucks. it smells..   havent sat on a toilet in 4 yrs.  good luck.. Warrior

Yes it is called phantom rectum , l have it every day quite painful the cramps but no reward for all the cramps and pushing except a little mucus sometimes

Hi Riffael l have made many trips to the bathroom even hoping mucus will at least come out rarely it does for me.Let me say this when it does well it is pungent beyond any poop , gas , or anything else that can come out of a human pu pu pu.....My youngest daughter will cut one like free Willy at home where farting is just fine . Time and again it brings back the good old days of of me pooting or farting or letting one go , l admit l am a little envious . So today she was taking me to Doctors office and Stella had some gas in my bag l.opened right up let her get the aroma of a hard core one , lol l laughed so hard cause l don't know what came over me to do the deed....l said how was it Jenny she couldn't get the window down fast enough. She just said ohhhhh Momma it so bad...Carol.B

LOL! Thanks for that story, Carol! I'm still waiting for a productive urge.
Cheers!
Riffael

That's so funny 😂 XX

I have that same problem and yes it's normal. You got the urge to pass stool in the rectum but you know it can't. 

Thank you, #Highlyfavored.

I had an Ileostomy last year which has since been revised. At the time that I had my surgery they told me that that would happen and that I would feel the urge to defecate. It will most likely go on forever is what they told me and there would occasionally be a discharge of mucus.

Yup - been 8 months with a colostomy. Had the urge serveral times, first time today pooped a mucas plug. Feel so much better!

Hi, Mauly-
It's been five months for me. The urge seems to be lessening in frequency, but I still have not produced one bit since the original early-on mucus plop.