Bleeding from Rectum After Ileostomy Surgery

Had an ileostomy in October and have been bleeding from the rectum ever since. Although the doctor said this was normal, I don't think he realized just how much I was bleeding. My blood count is very low and now I am going for iron infusions. My doctor says I should have my second surgery right after the infusions, before the blood count drops again. I am planning on having my rectum removed at this point, and hope that after that surgery all will be okay. Has anyone else had this experience? I am 77 years old, so at this point in life, I have no desire to go for a reversal of the ileostomy, so while this surgery may seem extreme, at this point I just want the bleeding to stop. I will appreciate any help you can give me on this matter…

I think it might be somewhat normal to have some bleeding sometimes. I have no idea how much is okay. Folks also have different amounts of mucus at different times because no one told the rectum it wasn't needed anymore and didn't want to hurt its feelings.

I'm not sure your surgeon, oncologist, and primary care doctors would all agree, but if you need infusions, you're bleeding too much.

Wish you the best, Barb,

Mike

I suffered from this for about four years after the surgery; I totally feel for you. It was a nightmarish experience doctors could not explain. They did not know why I was bleeding so much and could do nothing other than prescribe Vitamin B12 and iron because I would go into extreme anemia. I knew I could do the butt surgery and it would stop, but I was told by my Dr. I am good for a reversal in DC where the surgery took place, and I will do the reversal at some point with the same doctor, just too busy now. Then, around 2017, it slowed down and stopped all on its own, simply stopped bleeding, doctors could not explain any of it. Then, turns out other than that, thank God I have a stoma that is nice and gives me no issues, easy fella. But, the bleeding was hellish. I was younger than you and still am working, so it caused enormous problems in my life besides my health that also affected my family. I had to work the whole time and it was almost unbearable. I lost faith in doctors after that. Now, the butt surgery will most likely fix it because it shuts down pretty much other possibilities as it was explained to me, but like I said, I'm good for a reversal so I decided not to do it. I'm afraid as far as the bleeding, they probably are at a loss about that. They usually fix that with the butt surgery I think, so it sounds like the right thing to do, so just wait and try to do your best till then. Things turned out well for me; I was able to recover and rebuild a fulfilling life with grit and determination, but it was difficult. You can also overcome this; I have a feeling the butt surgery will fix things inside, so good luck to you from the bottom of my heart❤️❤️

Hi Barb,

There's no reason your gastro can't figure out where you're bleeding from and why. Tell them to start at your asshole and work inward until they find the source of the bleeding. A simple scoping should reveal the reason. Continuous bleeding isn't good, and bleeding to the point where you're anemic is ridiculous. Me thinks you need to find some better docs. And sooner rather than later.

;O)