My husband recently had an Ileostomy procedure on October 11th. We came home last week and things have been good considering the adjusting we've had to do.

I've read some of the postings and suggestions about blockages but I guess I have a few more questions!

My husband was eating a sandwhich last night and suddenly got sick to his stomach and proceeded to throw up. After throwing up he said he felt better, but I put him in a hot shower and changed his ostomy bag to watch the output amount. This morning he again was throwing up but his temp was normal. I called the doctor's office and they said no food/liquid and if he keeps throwing up to call in the morning and he'd be admitted.

This afternoon I bought a heating pad and that seemed to help his blockage or whatever issue he was having slightly. His bag is filling up a bit more with a pastey substance (where as for two days it was liquid only and I thought nothing of it until sitting down to read some things.)

He has the ostomy bag with the charcoal piece inside the consumes gas and releases it on its own so the bag does not feel up with air, so I can not tell if he is having gas. It also makes it difficult to see his stoma and watch to see if it is swollen.

He gets waves of severe cramping and nausea, and although he is nauseated he has had nothing to eat or drink so nothing is coming up. After being on pain meds for the past week and then suddenly going 24 hours without any I called the doctor again and asked if he could take his pain meds. They said yes. At first he was in pain from taking them but now he seems to have knocked out from it.

I'm still monitoring his temp and it comes and goes between 98 point something to 100.01 so far.

I cant get him to walk or jump like other suggestions and god forbid I touch his abdomen.

Are there any other suggestions for blockage besides heating pad, hot showers, hot liquids?

He had Crohn's disease for so long and went 10 years without any issues, suddenly the past two years have been a nightmare I'm looking for any information I can get as we are young (I'm 23 and he is 27) and this situation is completely new for both of us.


Sorry this is so long, I have other questions about changing the bag and the stitches around the stoma but this was the most important.

Thanks!

I am no expert but I thought I would share my thoughts. Hopefully someone with more experience will reply.
Given that your husband is only 2-3 weeks post major surgery, unexplainable things do happen. This could be a blockage issue, but again it could be one of those things that happen after such a big surgery. I think you are doing everything right. You may want to avoid solid food for a couple of days. Make sure he is hydrated. Don't give him Gatorade due to high sugar. You can try Vitalyte mix. Dehydration is number one cause of nausea. Drink protein shake. I would suggest 25+ grams a day. If you can take chewable vitamins, that be great. I take Forvia.
I hope he feels better soon. Recovering from first surgery is difficult, but good news is that everyone recovers eventually. This is pass soon.

It sounds like you're doing a great job taking care of your husband! For blockages... here's what my nurses told me and it worked for me.
1. Have him lie on the bed or floor, help him bring his knees up to his chest - he'll likely need help being post-surgical. And then help him rock back and forth a bit. Repeat as needed.

2. Heating pads work good, but I had better luck with a hot water bottle... I don't know if the hot water bottles get hotter or what.

3. Have him gently massage the area around his ileostomy (away from the incision though).

What has he been eating? There are foods that are known to cause blockages... do have or need a list?

Becky

Hello,

Thank you for your replies!

Late last night after finally being able to massage above the area and have him try some of the suggested techniques, he began to rapidly pass food again!!! YAY!

We emptied the bag twice last night and it was full again this morning.

He has a follow up appointment with his Crohn's specialist regarding vitamins, but they haven't discussed this with us yet (although I've asked everyone we've come in contact with!)

I think the Gatorade was making him sick as well so I switched to water, I heard pedialite for kids can be good but is also high in sugar? I'll have to look up the Vitalyte as I haven't seen it before.

Ugh, my husband loves beans. Ever since I have known him, he doesn't care if his Crohn's acted up, he wanted beans! On a day I was gone and he was home alone, he decided it would be a good idea to eat a WHOLE can of beans with hot dogs, grrr!!!! The damage was done by the time I got back (and an angry wife certainly isn't enough to convince a man to part with his favorite food) but this definitely kicked him in his butt. I checked his stoma last night and sure enough, he was passing a whole bean! (Although he claims he chews his food very well and takes small bites....)

I assume he ate quickly trying to consume the can of beans before I got home and didn't chew very well! After the whole bean passed, the flood gates finally seemed to open!

I do have a list of the foods he should and shouldn't eat. The Doctor told him he could go to a normal diet and he "can eat whatever he wants now," even though we read that his diet should be gradually increased! My husband took this information as, eat whatever I want.

We've been pretty good at the foods until the first day I was gone and scarfed down whatever he could find. He said he has definitely learned his lesson (but you know he'll do it again most likely!) I checked the cupboard to make sure NO MORE BEANS were in the house, now my lovely husband can't get to any unless he sneaks something in the cart!

UGH!

Oh yea the heating pad seemed to really help the process. Once we started massaging his stoma finally started to release gas. THANK GOD!

I would certainly follow the advice of your doctor and keep calling back if things dont get better. I just had my step 1 on 9/27. I think I got a little blockage a couple of weeks ago. I had no output for a long time. What I did was first panic and call the surgeon. I then made sure I didnt eat anything else but drank a glass of white grape juice and put a heating pad on my abdomen. The juice and heat got things moving. I also sat up.

I hope your husband starts feelin better soon. That is very scary.

I have had a blockage after my first surgery, too. Did your husband nurse give you a list of special diet? My surgeon recommended foods that can thicken the stool but won't cause blockage such as creamy peanut butter, avocado, banana, cream of wheat, rice, soft meat( white fish or chicken), etc. Avoid gas causing foods such as raw veggies esp. broccoli and cabbage. Raw fruits should be avoided too since they can cause a blockage. Beans are major gas-causing food, so it should be avoided as well. Take care and good luck!

Oh,and another thing...call Holister or Convatec and ask for ostomy bags that are transparent so you can check the stoma without removing the bag. You can see the output too. I personally liked Holister's convex bags with velcro closure. They worked great. Good luck!

Dx with UC, 1995
Total colectomy, J-pouch, and temporary ileostomy done, 06/16/11
Take down, 09/28/11

They told me to be very careful the first 6 weeks after getting the ostomy. Never had a complete blockage, but have had several partial blockages. Drinking grape juice has worked on every one of them so far.

So glad he's doing better! One thing to keep in mind with the food list you were given -- I was too restrictive on what I ate for a long time. The things on those lists are things that commonly bother people, but some people can eat them and have no trouble. I'd recommend trying them when your husband is comfortable with it, but in SMALL amounts (you know, like not a whole can of beans, but maybe 1/2 cup?). Also, the skin on the hotdogs could have part of the culprit as well... but yeah, chewing well and eating very slowly is key to success in avoiding blockages!