Back pain after ileostomy surgery - seeking advice

I have never suffered from back pain until now. I am now 4 weeks post-op and find the littlest amount of walking and/or standing causes me terrible back pain. Even when I'm sitting down, I must prop pillows behind my back to avoid the pain and discomfort. I'm wondering if anyone else had this problem post-op. I'm hoping this is maybe because I had a large incision cut down my belly. Any input is appreciated.

Do I ever recognize this symptom!! I thought it was from the Whipple and the ostomy at the same time and all 11 hrs being wide open -- as long as that is all that is wrong, it will get better - lots of rest, no twisting, no raking or garden work, it actually was the biggest hurdle I faced -- after several weeks it was much better and then I reached wrong and started over--
I am just 7 months post-op now and perfectly fine -- I wear a brace if I do wood or whatever (I live on a farm), but please do be extremely careful until it all heals inside. I had some pain patches for a few weeks that were amazing. I do so wish you the best. The unhitching of organs and rearrangement of connectors (FAP - some organs gone) apparently caused mine even though I attributed it to the surgery (time/position/etc) --- Prayers for you!!

My best friend's car was rear-ended and badly hurt her back, damaging the cartilage. She has never been the same since. A few weeks ago, someone told her to try a device they use called the "Bodi-tek Back Magic". It's an adjustable piece you place under the curvature of your spine to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the lower back. She told me last week that in just a few days, her back feels 100% better. She lies on it for 15 minutes in the morning and again at night. I looked it up on Amazon.com, just out of curiosity to see what she was raving about, and it has an incredibly high customer feedback rating.

Hi Tudibird,
I had and still have a bad back since surgery. I replied to one of your previous questions and you know that I am a Surgical Care Practitioner in colorectal surgery.
Your bad back like mine, is possibly due to the position that you were put in on the operating table during your surgery.
As the surgeon needed access to the lower area of your body, either for his positioning or another reason, your legs are put up in a low lithotomy position and there is hardly any support in the lower back area. And the sacral area is taking the weight of your legs and the length of the operation probably did not help.
Hope this could possibly help with why you have back ache.

Regards
Jenny (Stomafart)

I am of the opinion that backache is a common thing in persons that have undergone UC surgery or ileostomy. I too felt severe back pain for some months, especially during the nights. I solved the problem by sitting on a rocking chair with the pillow at the back and stretching my legs and placing them on a chair. Gradually, I was able to have some hours of sleep in this manner. As the days passed, I could lie on the bed for more time and the pain gradually vanished. However, ostomates who are wearing a bag have to sleep on their backs most of the time, complete relief of pain is impossible. I feel that after some months, your back pains should disappear. I am of the opinion that backache is a common thing in persons that have undergone UC surgery or ileostomy. I too felt severe back pain for some months, especially during the nights. I solved the problem by sitting on a rocking chair with the pillow at the back and stretching my legs and placing them on a chair. Gradually, I was able to have some hours of sleep in this manner. As the days passed, I could lie on the bed for more time and the pain gradually vanished. However, ostomates who are wearing a bag have to sleep on their backs most of the time, complete relief of pain is impossible. I feel that after some months, your back pains should disappear.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Well, it sounds like I'm certainly not alone in the backache category. I will hope, as some of you have said, that it will pass. @Stomafart - your reply sounds very logical. My question to you would be, should I expect my back to recover or will this be a new thing that may bother me for a while? Thank you all for the responses. I'm so grateful for this support group. It keeps me going!

It has been since last Feb. that I got the ileostomy surgery and I still have bad backaches and I have bad nausea every day. I take liquid Rolaids and the new chewy Tums without much help from either. Does anyone have the nausea and if so, what helps?

@ Sweed0 - I suffer from frequent nausea episodes, and I take prescription Phenergan. It's the only thing that works for me. There's another med called Zofran that doctors love to prescribe, but that didn't help me at all. Good luck.

Hi Sweedo,
I have had my ileostomy since last May. My first one was in Jan last year but didn't work and had to have emergency surgery to fix and create a second one.
I have to ask. With the nausea you have, are you having decent output in your bag? My doc, after the first surgery, told me that if I got nausea to call him. I did, and he said if it continued to go to the E.R. I did and ended up with a second surgery. Don't want to scare you, but nausea doesn't sound right.
I too went through the scare about the food, but little by little began to eat and experiment. I have always believed in healthy eating and couldn't stand the idea of eating crap. So I have come to believe that the bottom line is chew, chew, chew it up so it isn't a problem. I don't eat stringy things, but I adapt by pulling out the strings in celery, for example, then chop it up. I do fruit smoothies. I EAT NUTS!! I have even lately dared to eat popcorn!!! Wild living!!
Common sense tells me that if I can chew it up well enough, it will be ok. And trust me...I was one VERY sick lady. I left the hospital almost 40 lbs lighter. I went from 156 lbs to 117.
I now eat EVERYTHING healthy with common sense. And I drink champagne!! ...because I still can! And I never have nausea now!!
As for leaks, I recommend experimenting with different bags that you can get as samples from the different companies for free. The bag I was sent home with was not the best for me, and that did take some effort to resolve. You will need to take your power back and become the expert on your own needs. You have raised 7 children.....you can do this!!!! It seems hard now, but you are in the learning curve. Please be patient with yourself...and kind. Soon you will deal with this in a less overwhelming way. I opted to let all my friends and neighbors know what happened to me...that way I can be open and not feel like an outcast. A sense of humor is essential.
I now have a new boyfriend. He takes it all in stride. Saw his wife of 35 years die of stage 4 breast cancer. My ileostomy is no big deal to him. It's all in the attitude.
BIG HUG!!!!!!!!
Lisbett

Hiya, I had my ileostomy done mid-December 2013 and the surgery went well, but unfortunately, I developed a postoperative ileus and then sepsis in my pelvis, so I spent three weeks in the hospital. I have had backache, but I have found that the more I move around and have strengthened my back and abdominal muscles, the less this pain has bothered me. Have you considered that it may be muscular rather than anything internal? I panicked a bit when I started having a sore back, but my posture was all wrong from surgery and not being able to move around as much; it is sorting itself out now though. Good luck, and I hope all is going well with you!

Kirstin
X

I had ostomy reversal surgery last week. I am home and surprised that I have severe back pain. I cannot find a comfortable position and I am having trouble even breathing. Let me know if anybody else has this problem and if there's anything to do for it? Should I go back to the doctor?

Bernadette

Hi Bernadette.

I had stage 1 of a 2-stage surgery done 6 weeks ago. I had such a bad back for 4 weeks I couldn't sleep or walk without getting out of breath. I made sure I had regular paracetamol and ibuprofen and went to sleep on the sofa with a pillow under my knees and a hot water bottle on my back. I then slept on the sofa for about 5 days and had the best sleep ever. I'm back in bed now to sleep, again with a pillow under my knees. I try to sleep on my side for a while too, which is nice as it relieves the pressure from my back. I just need to put a pillow between my knees!

The back pain is pretty much gone now, but I can't walk with good posture for much longer than 5 minutes. I also get a heavy feeling in my chest and get out of breath!

Give it time and you will get there.

If anyone has any comments about the shortness of breath/chest pain, I would appreciate it!

Thank you xx

I'm glad I saw this. I had a spinal fusion in 2013 and it went well. I was worried maybe I was having an issue because I've had little pain for 3 years and now it hurts all the time.

Sorry to read so many have had back pain following their ostomy surgery, seems kind of unfair, we've all been through enough as it is.