Rectal Pain and Pressure Post Ileostomy

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tudibird

I'm four weeks post-op today and am having the worst day yet. I've had occasional days of rectal pain and pressure which has usually meant I need to pass some mucus and once I do, I have relief. Well, today starting around 7am, I have been in constant pain with pressure and can't get any relief. I've tried a couple of times to sit on the toilet and see if I couldn't push out some mucus, and nothing is coming out!! I am miserable. The only thing giving me relief today is sitting on the heating pad. Is this normal??? Has anyone experienced this, and can anyone offer me some advice???? Thanks. Looking for some relief.

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bepositive

I can understand your situation as I too experienced such an awful sensation, pain, and blood flow soon after my ileostomy. My surgeon treated me for hemorrhoids and prescribed some kind of ointment to be applied into the internal anal region. After some time, the pain and blood flow gradually subsided. However, as long as the rectal stump exists, there is always the possibility of a secretion being formed inside the rectum which hardens on drying and becomes the source of pain. I have been advised by another surgeon to sit in a tub containing warm water whenever the sensation of pain is felt. The heat melts the hard matter and then it is let out, easing the pain.
Another reason for the pain is due to prolonged sitting on one's bottom. The only solution is removal of the rectal stump. However, the surgery is a little complex as the rectal area is muscular and the surgeon who does it must have very good expertise.
I am of the opinion that your condition will gradually improve with time.
Wishing you all the best.
B+ (B positive)

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Bill
Hello tudibird.

This subject has come up on this site before - so I guess some might call it 'normal'.  Personally I couldn't stand it to the point where I decided to irrigate the anal passage. (something I had to do regularly before the operation so I had the equipment available.)  I adapted the anal catheters so that it would irrigate into the passage as well as the sides. It's hard to imagine how much grot gets stuck up there and it's no wonder it creates rectal pain. I used to irrigate squatting in the bath and using the adapted shower-hose so I could see what came out. I was always very careful not to damage the inside of the anus which might have caused me even more pain!  After a few months I was only getting clearish, liquid  mucus  which was relatively easy to pass, so I stopped irigating. It's now been more than 12 months since I needed to irrigate and the intense pain I felt at the beginning is no longer present. It's as bepositive and my stoma nurse says-- it gradually gets better -given time.  Hopefully your problem will resolve itself in the near future.  Best wishes

Bill.
Past Member

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tudibird

Thank you all for your feedback. Fortunately, my doctor told me to start taking stool softeners (which he thought the nurses had told me to do at discharge - which they hadn't). Since starting the stool softeners, things are going much better and I am having less pain and pressure. Hooray!

 
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