Life after a sigmoidoscopy can be a journey of ups and downs, especially when you're dealing with a stoma and looking forward to a possible reversal. One person recently went through a challenging sigmoidoscopy and got some good news: if the inflammation in their rectal stump clears up, they might be able to have their stoma reversed. However, they've been experiencing quite a variety of stoma outputs, ranging from "green lava flow" to "black treacle," "yellow and runny," and now "porridge-like." This has meant emptying the pouch up to 12 times a day, mostly at night. A helpful tip they found was chewing spearmint Tic Tacs, which has made things a bit easier.

Here are some pieces of advice and insights from others who have been through similar experiences:

1. It's normal to worry about incontinence after a stoma reversal. Some people choose to delay the reversal because of this fear, while others have found they experience little to no incontinence even with minimal Kegel exercises.

2. Using incontinence pads before the reversal can provide peace of mind, even if you end up not needing them.

3. Bowel urgency often improves over time. One person shared that they now receive enough warning before needing to go and that their bowel movements mostly happen at night in a predictable pattern.

4. After a reversal, scar tissue at the anastomosis site can sometimes cause small-bowel blockages, but these issues may decrease gradually over time.