Hi, my name is Ira. I am obviously new to this site, but it is plain to see how valuable it is to a lot of people. I am 50 years old and I just had my take down surgery early Wednesday, the 23rd of April and ate nothing but ice chips the rest of the day. Thursday I was on a liquid diet, with plenty of watery discharge. Friday I was on soft but solid food, with what I would consider to be light discharge and I had to strain most of the time to get anything to pass. Today is Saturday and it has been the same as Friday. The doctor allowed me go home this afternoon and now I am starting to worry that maybe I should have stayed in the hospital, because I still have to work hard to pass anything and I have what seems to be a tight stomach with somewhat of a bulge in the vicinity of my incision. I know there is still a good deal of swelling, which might explain the bulge, but if I am not blocked, why am I not dealing with much heavier discharge? I have been taking a pain medication, which I am led to believe, might slow things down, but somehow I do not think this is the problem. The lack of urgency makes me suspect that my stool is not reaching my j-pouch the way it should be. Anybody have any ideas as to what might be going on with me? Thank you.

Maybe drink a lot of fluids including something with electrolytes and maybe some broth to see if this gets things moving, perhaps you're a bit dehydrated. I would try not to strain at this point since your surgery was fairly recent, you also don't want to risk causing a hernia by excessive pushing.

Hi Pixie. Thank you for your suggestions. Perhaps I am a bit dehydrated. I feel that I drank plenty of water while at the hospital, but maybe I didn't. I have been drinking more water and Gatorade at home. I will give the broth a try too. You are right, I do need to be careful with my straining. I am a big time worrier, that I admit. I will also admit that I am scared. I do know that I have to keep things in perspective and not lose sight of the fact that I just had surgery and that things are bound to change, hopefully for the better. I have so much to learn. Thanks again for your feedback.

Hello there. I had the EXACT same thing happen to me after my takedown on April 11th and it turned into a blockage. Did the nurse give you a perscription for stool softners? If you have them take them, they will help. If not, I would call your doc and get a perscription for one. In the meantime try to avoid starches and drink lots of water. I hope this helps!

Hi Cindy,
Thank you for your reply. I hope you are doing ok yourself. I called my doctor's office and they told me that they did not think I had a blockage and that my bowel was probably still trying to recover from the 3 month layoff and that I should start taking some over the counter stool softener and water fiber. I noticed spots of blood last night. Not a whole lot, just enough to make me fear the worst. I called the nurse again this morning and she told me that I should not worry and that this is not uncommon at this point. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning to have my staples removed and I will for sure discuss my situation with him then.

I was unaware of starch causing problems. What can you tell me about this?

Thank you again for your concern.

Ira

When my daughter feels like that she drinks lots of white grape juice. I got the tip from this site. It makes her feel a lot better. She drinks the entire bottle (64 ounces) in one day.

Hi Mila,
Thanks for the tip. I will keep it in mind.
Ira

Hi Ira,

It is not uncommon to have difficulty passing the first stools, it is new to your body and it will take some time for things to become stable.
The output will be watery to start with, and eventually it will become paste like. Drink lots of water and stay away from raw veggies.
The illeostomy site where the intestine is protruding will look like it is somewhat raised but the skin around it should not be reddened or raw. You need to make sure that you clean this are properly when chaning the appliance, and try not to change it too often, or it will become sore.

I had my surgery when I was in my early 30's, and it was difficult for me to get use to it...I wish you all the best and I hope that once this is all done...that you realize that it is so much better then suffering from constant pain from the UC.

Hello NJ,
Thank you very much for replying and for caring enough to do so. I wish you all the best in return.
Roger