Question About Irrigation Schedule Timing

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pe.soren
Apr 22, 2025 12:52 pm


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Hello

My name is Peter, and I am 73 years old. I had surgery 3 months ago for rectal cancer and had no follow-up treatment. In connection with the surgery, I unfortunately got an abscess, which took 8 weeks to recover from.

I started irrigation a week ago and have already managed to be continent for a day. I irrigate every morning at 7 a.m., and I have only succeeded because I have gotten a lot of ideas from your forum. I am going after 2 days, as I have preserved my entire colon.

I would like to ask if it always has to be the same time when irrigation is done, or can it be deviated from in connection with holidays/travel?

Kind regards, Peter

Maried
Apr 22, 2025 11:03 pm

When I went on vacation, irrigation never worked, possibly due to the change in time. I would just wear a small bag because very little stool would come out of my stoma. And once I returned home, I would poop like crazy. Then I would start the irrigation process again.

Posted by: freedancer

In both of my cases, I had no choice. It was surgery or be put 6 feet under! I thank God that He has been with me all these times. Without Him, I never would have known what to do and might not have gone to the hospital when I did. I don't know if you have had your surgery or not yet but I hope you will hang out on this website when you are done. I have learned a great deal through the people here and it is so great having others who have had the same thing done and been through what you are about to or have gone through. The only thing I have turned down is a reversal of the ileostomy. When the doctors did the emergency rebuilding of my original ileostomy this last February, I told them I did not want to go through this again. My doctor told me at that time that I was no longer a candidate for the reversal. In a way, I was very relieved. The last three years of my life have been a nightmare for me. I do not want to go through any of it again. If you wish to be rehooked up and they say you are a good choice for that, research it carefully. Every surgery I have ever had except for Old and New Maxine and the emergency surgery on my broken foot, I have spent weeks researching. I recently had my C5 C6 disk in my neck replaced with an artificial one. I went to my pre-op with 2 pages of questions for the doctor. I knew everything that they were going to do and could talk intelligently with them. I always try to research my adversaries! Don't cancel your surgery. It is nice not to have to suffer any longer with horrible pain. We all had to change a few things around when we had our surgeries but in the long run, most of us are glad we did it. I know I am. Good luck to you!

Night owl
Apr 23, 2025 5:43 am

Former irrigator for 25 years. The idea is to train the bowel to eliminate only during the irrigation process, thus doing it on a schedule. You can still do it while on vacation, but there may be some deviation from that due to a different diet, environment, and even water. Times may vary to an extent, but be prepared for unintended consequences. Once it's fully trained, an occasional difference in schedule shouldn't matter too much. Not doing it at all, depending on how long, may lead to constipation, bloating, and increased gas, which should resolve upon commencing irrigation again.

Hope that helps.