My son had a colostomy almost 2 months ago. Two times this week, he passed a small, super hard stool "ball" about the size of a large walnut. I know mucus is common through the anus, but a hard brown ball seems uncommon. It causes a lot of pain. His doctor shrugged it off, but I feel like it can't be good to have poop sitting in your rectum for 2 months! And how do I know there's not more sitting in there that will keep causing pain? It seems like the hard chunks could tear something or get infected. I asked about an enema, and the doctor said he shouldn't need one. It doesn't seem to be mucus - it's dark brown and smells like stool (sorry to be graphic). Anyone have this issue?
Codybug
Mar 10, 2025 2:38 am
Past Member
Mar 10, 2025 3:47 am
Hey there, has your son passed mucus since he has gotten his ileo? A couple of things: yes, you can do an enema, and if you're worried about stuff being stuck, I don't know why the doctor said no; that's what they say to do when you have mucus stuck. Another thing is mucus can harden if it's been stuck in there too long, and it can hurt and be brown in color.
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Posted by: iMacG5
About seven years ago, just about every aspect of my life was ostomy related. From the moment I was told an ostomy might be needed until some months down the road I existed as a person afflicted with a colostomy. I feared someone other than my immediate family might find out I had a bag. Ugh! What could be worse? Suppose it filled real fast when I was out with no place to hide and take care of myself. God forbid should it leak in church! Suppose I roll over on it in bed. I was a lesser creature, destined to a life of emotional anguish and physical routines different from most of the rest of the world. I felt like a freak. Then I found folks like you guys here, read your stuff, really “listened” to what you had to say and I began looking at things differently. We know perception is everything and I began to understand how good things were relative to what they could’ve been. So many folks had it so much worse than I did. That didn’t make my discomfort go away but it exposed how fortunate I was to be dealing with my stuff and not their’s. I felt a little guilt, maybe selfishness but quickly forgave myself by understanding I just wasn’t smart enough to fix my feelings. Then, I wonder what smarts have to do with feelings. My perception was warped so my perspective toward my existence was warped.
I learned over the last few years with the help of lots of folks right here at MAO that I could be better at living just by accepting some facts. It is what it is and so what? It’s not the worst thing to happen to a person.
I think everything is, in some way, related to everything else. I just put the ostomy thing in the back seat and drive forward.
Respectfully,
Mike
infinitycastle52777
Mar 10, 2025 3:41 pm
Hard balls can still be mucus. I had that experience early on in my ostomy journey, and the doctor assured me that it was okay and that it was normal. It looked like a piece of poop, though, and was hard to pass. I have an ileostomy, so I thought it was very strange at first. My mom called the doctor's office right away, freaking out. She said, "How is this possible? She has an ostomy." But they said it was normal. And I went on with life, and it never happened again to me in nearly 3 years. But when it happened to me, it happened twice.
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