Since I had my urostomy almost four years ago, the amount of mucus has increased dramatically. Sometimes it is so thick that it blocks the tube to the night bag. I drink plenty of water each day, but it makes no difference. I have asked the stoma nurses if there is anything I should be doing to decrease the mucus, but they don't know.
Over the years, I have learned more from this site than from the hospital on how to deal with my ostomy. Has anyone experienced this problem and found a way to lessen the mucus, or have I just got an overexcited stoma?
Once again, your help and advice would be very welcome.
vpl
Dec 07, 2013 8:55 pm
Bill
Dec 08, 2013 10:07 am
Hello vpl. Thanks for your post. I thought I would reply, not because I have any solutions to the problem but simply to share with you that I also have this excessive mucus at times. There doesn't seem to be any logical explanation as to why some days it is like a thick, sticky, goo/glue-like film and on other days there is hardly any at all. I tend to think that producing such a film is nature's way of protecting a vulnerable area of the body so there is part of me that welcomes it as a sign that everything is working as it should. Of course I may be wrong about this, but I figure that putting a positive interpretation on it is probably a better approach than letting (something I can't do anything about) it worry me in a negative way. Being an 'experimenter', if it started to worry me, I think I would take samples to one side and see if there was anything non-toxic that would have an effect on it. After all, that's what they would do in a laboratory if they thought that they could make money out of it.
Best wishes
Bill
Best wishes
Bill
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Posted by: Nini4
Well, I hit the two year mark. I went back and read my posts from when I first found this site. I was very fortunate in that I stumbled upon it only 4 weeks post op. I have said many times that this community really saved me. The first 2 weeks after my surgery I shut down completely. It wasn't until about the 3rd week that my son came in to my room, flicked on the light and told me I was going to have to get back to living because I was scaring him. I had fallen into such a depression. He ticked me off, but it also made me stop and think- what was I going to do? Feel sorry for myself and sulk, or be grateful I was alive.
I've re-read my journals from that time and it was after my son kicked my butt, so to speak, I took an honest inventory and had to dig deeper than I've ever had to. I mean, I had survived a pretty nasty divorce, after a pretty crappy marriage and that was tough. But this was different. I felt like I was now a handicapped person who would be limited in their life and be looked at as a freak. My mental state was precarious, at best.
But then I found this site. I just lurked a bit before posting. I read so many of the other stories and I started to see just how full my life can be, I was not handicapped, and certainly not a freak! The stories of survival, the sense of humor, the support and compassion was inspiring. It was then I made myself get out of the dark, and get my sh*t together.
Not all rainbows and sunshine at first, hardly! But with grace from myself - to myself, and the kindness and willingness of the folks here to be supportive, non judgemental and openly share intimate details about their life circumstances, l not only survived but thrived.
I think of all the years I had suffered with such extreme pain, barely functioning, and the many hospital stays and how that is all behind me now. (All fingers, toes, and legs crossed that I never have to go near a hospital for myself ever again. I think I'd rather have a fork stuck in my eye. I loathe every about them.)
So, to everyone who has been a part of this journey with me, to say thank you is not enough. I'm forever grateful to know you all. My Angels, each one of you.
And as the Grateful Dead famously said,
"what a long strange trip it's been!"
Im so happy I'm tripping with you all.
vpl
Dec 08, 2013 11:17 am
Hi Bill,
Thanks for replying. You're right about laboratories making money as and when they can. I might collect the mucus, bottle it, and sell it as wallpaper paste. (Black humor!)
Thanks for replying. You're right about laboratories making money as and when they can. I might collect the mucus, bottle it, and sell it as wallpaper paste. (Black humor!)
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Bill
Dec 09, 2013 6:31 am
Hello vpl.
Wallpaper paste will make very little cash. The big money is to be made from vulnerable people who are desperately looking for some sort of 'cure' or relief from something.
So, if you took the concept of mucus being able to 'cure' something; mix small amounts of it with common substances that cost you nothing; package it in many layers with suitable 'instructions' and pretty pictures on the outside; have a 'celebrity' advertise it and put a huge price on it in order to convince people that it is somehow better than anything else. Then you'll have a product that many people will want simply because they 'believe' it will be good for them and at the same time you will be making a fortune out of other people's misfortune. What better formula for this modern world!
Best wishes
Bill
Wallpaper paste will make very little cash. The big money is to be made from vulnerable people who are desperately looking for some sort of 'cure' or relief from something.
So, if you took the concept of mucus being able to 'cure' something; mix small amounts of it with common substances that cost you nothing; package it in many layers with suitable 'instructions' and pretty pictures on the outside; have a 'celebrity' advertise it and put a huge price on it in order to convince people that it is somehow better than anything else. Then you'll have a product that many people will want simply because they 'believe' it will be good for them and at the same time you will be making a fortune out of other people's misfortune. What better formula for this modern world!
Best wishes
Bill
vpl
Dec 09, 2013 7:25 am
Fancy going into business together, Bill? You supply the ideas and I'll supply the goods.
Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister
Bill
Dec 09, 2013 7:59 am
Sounds like a perfect partnership, except with mine as well we'd probably have a surplus of mucus. Or maybe we could use that to stick on the labels!
Past Member
Dec 15, 2013 9:19 pm
Hi, I have found that cranberry juice can help with mucus. I usually have a glass at breakfast and before I go to bed in the evening. If you don't like the taste of juice, you can buy cranberry extract tablets from any good herbal shops. I've had a urostomy for 40 years and have found that cranberry is the best solution. Keeping the mucus to a minimum helps keep urine infections at bay. Good luck.
Past Member
Dec 15, 2013 9:30 pm
Hi, I have found that cranberry juice can help with mucus. I usually have a glass at breakfast and before I go to bed in the evening. If you don't like the taste of juice, you can buy cranberry extract tablets from any good herbal shops. I've had a urostomy for 40 years and have found that cranberry is the best solution. Keeping the mucus to a minimum helps keep urine infections at bay. Good luck.
vpl
Dec 15, 2013 9:31 pm
Thanks Ibr for your suggestion. I did try the juice for a while, but it made no difference.
lanabana
Feb 28, 2014 10:35 am
Mix baking soda in water and put it in your bag after emptying it, it helps with the mucositis.
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