Persistent Watery Leakage Every Morning - Need Help!

I really hope someone can help me solve this problem; my doctors have not been able to! In 2009, I had a subtotal colectomy with ileo-anal anastomosis. I had too many BM's per day (really sore, bleeding), so I had to go to an end ileostomy. I hate living with an ileostomy (I guess no one likes it), and I am always so "aware" of the feeling of the bag hanging down from my belly! On top of that problem, every morning, for about the first 3 hours I am out of bed... I keep having a watery leak from my backside! I am not kidding (I know this is a weird thing), I am always wet for the first 3 hrs in the a.m.; from about the top of my butt crack down for about 3 inches! It is like I am perspiring from my butt crack! I hate to be so darn graphic, but I am very tired of this problem and yet doctors just shake their head and say, "No, that's impossible!" As if I would want to make something like this up?!
Please help!

Thanks.

Damn, I wish I could help. I get something like this too. I told my doctor, and he said to wait because it's closed but leaks. I say, "Yes, it's closed, duh!" But my surgeon told me that because I have Crohn's disease, we don't really heal very well. But it's been over 3 years now, and it's not so bad anymore. Sometimes, when I bend down, just a tiny bit of mucusy stuff comes out. It's way better than leaking like a tap. The operation just leaked so bad. They said I got a bad infection, but boy, it's been one hell of a ride. Maybe time will tell, or hopefully, someone can help. What about a flap over the bum part? I read this on another forum or blog. Sorry, I wasn't much help. xxxx moozeeeeeee xxxxx

Mooza, thank you so much for trying to help. I am so tired of all of these problems! I have been in bed for 1 week now because I have terrible stomach pain; I can tell my stoma is blocked! My doctors just tell me to go to the emergency room but when I have, in the past, nothing is really done for me. I guess I am in a really bad mood because of the constant pain and the "leakage" problem. I do appreciate you trying to help though! I hope things are going well for you.

Tello

Hi. I've had my ileostomy for about 8 years now. It's been an up and down ride for me! I have really adjusted and learned a lot over time. The blockages are usually due to the foods we eat. High fiber is somewhat difficult for the small intestine to handle, partially due to the fact that we are somewhat dehydrated. The higher the fiber, the slower it moves through the small intestine. It becomes a little dry, and backs up. When eating very high fiber foods (especially nuts like almonds), drink lots of water. If you get a back up, get up and do very strenuous exercise -- it works!! Do jumping jacks, toe touches, lunges, and any walking or running. Blockages are very painful and frightening, but they usually always alleviate themselves.

The watery fluid is from ANY amount of colon that was left behind. It will create mucous, which builds up. Eventually, this will slow down, and you will have to eliminate the liquid about once a week. Hope this helps.

Hi, I hate to ask but do you still have your rectum open? I still have mine and experience the same leaking. Mine is due to the Crohn's disease. I have a solution for you, but it is only if you still have your rectum. Let me know, and I will tell you what I do. It's kind of a way to get some control over it so it doesn't control you.
Take care, hang in there, you're not alone!

Cindy

Your right on the money Pittsy when I had my rectum still, I would wake up in a pool of water. But it dried quickly, that's why my doc said to lose it and no more leaks (yeah right). But saying that, I did leak like a watery fluid quite a bit with that old recto xxx.

I have had my ileostomy for almost 8 years. My rectum was closed off at the same time. I do have some leaking from the rectum area but it is minimal. It can happen at any time of day but mostly at night. It is just a small amount and not really bothersome. It gets better with time.
I have gone to the emergency room twice for blockages (high fiber) and they kept me overnight, giving me morphine for the pain. It resolved itself while I was there. I learned my lesson about what not to eat. Blockages are so painful. You must learn about the foods that will not work with the stoma.

Tello, I have had my ileostomy for 2 years, and I very much love my stoma. She has given me a freedom that I never knew with active Crohn's disease. First, I'd like to say that there are ways of keeping your bag from "hanging down". Since I use a two-piece appliance, I angle the bag so it is more toward my pelvis than hanging down my leg. Then I wear my underwear over the appliance. This keeps it more secure against my body, and I don't have that heavy hanging feeling. There are also products out there by Ostomy Secrets that do the same thing. As for the leakage problem, if you have any portion of your sigmoid colon left, you will get a mucousy discharge, as this is what that part of the colon does. We don't notice it when fully intact because it is what helps the BM smoothly exit our rectums. If you do not have any of your colon or your rectum, as strange as this may sound, the wetness you are feeling could very well be sweat. I know that living with an ostomy has its downsides, but I urge you to remember what life was like before it. If you were anything like me, you lived your life around the bathroom. Everything you did, you did only if you knew you could get to a bathroom in time. Hang in there and stay positive. It's amazing what an optimistic view can do to help you heal.

Oops, I meant sigmoid colon, not transverse colon.

Tello, for the possible blockage, have you tried drinking hot tea or hot chicken broth? I've read that hot beverages will help move a blockage. Hope this helps.

I too have had an ileostomy for two years, and I have so much mucus discharge that every time I go to the bathroom, I take a piece of toilet paper or a Kleenex and fold it over about three times. Then, I place it between my butt cheeks. I can't stand that wet feeling, and this seems to do the trick. I've had a couple of scares that I might have a blockage, but I have moved around, drank tea, and massaged around the stoma. I have been very lucky not to have had to go to the ER. Hope this helps.

Nanc

I have had a colostomy for four and a half years and still have quite a bit of that mucus leakage every day. I have to wear a pad with wings in my underwear to catch and absorb it. It helps a bit. I was told it would slow down in time but actually got worse. Somebody wrote on here a couple of years ago about some kind of a steroid that you could take to resolve the problem but have been unable to find anything about it.

I have the same issue and I find that a wad of tissue rolled up like a cigarette and tucked in where the sun doesn't shine does the trick. I also use a pad and sometimes a sheet or two of paper towels at night. My doctor says this discharge of mucus is normal because of the healthy tissue in the remaining colon area. It's a minor inconvenience I have learned to live with. I suppose the older we get, the more adaptive we need to become in order to keep on ticking like that rabbit on TV.

U asking me if I'm still on here? Amazing as u would say...that YOU are still on here. Should be, me saying that to u...lol....Btw, that wink was an accident.