Hi My daughter had the first surgery with the ileostomy bag last monday. It has been one week and she still cant eat anything without abdominal pain and vomitting. We were told it would be 6 days here in the hospital and it look like it might be more. Has anyone out there experienced this? The stoma was giving us green output 2 days ago and then we ate and vomitted and now its red and clearish.

Hi! Welcome...there are lots of great people here to get advice from. My daughter had a very rocky road too, and I know it's hard to watch your child suffering, but hang in there, things will get better! How old is she? What did she eat? Sometimes it takes awhile for the intestines to "wake up," and a blockage can happen, hence the green output, but not sure about the red...ketchup and beets are kind of scary on the way out. I'm sure others will be along to offer advice/experiences. Take care, and if you ever need more personal one on one chats, feel free to PM (private message) me!

last friday was the first day they allowed her to have jello and popsicles. She vomitted all night that night so we went back to water. Her bag output was greenish which they said was great but after she vomitted it went clear/redish. It then started to get normal (greenish) again and she was hungry so Sunday they allowed her to eat again. She had half of a cinnamon roll for breakfast and experienced pain all day she had a few pieces of chicken for dinner and then vomitted all night again and today the output is clear/redish. Is it normal for the intestine to wake up and stop again and wake up and stop again?

My husband had ileostomy surgery on June 11th. He had to have an NG tube twice during his 13 day stay because he developed an ileus. Everything did work out ok and he had to take it easy at first, but here it is July 9th and he is doing just great. We put our faith in the doctors and nurses at the Cleveland Clinic and they were right when they said things would get better. Hopefully this will happen to your daughter. This is major surgery and everyone's body takes longer to respond.

They may be advancing her too quickly. Ileostomy output is not the sign that the intestines have fully awakened. It is the passage of gas that indicates things are moving along.

Jan

The output in the bag can be green, especially when you're not eating much. I believe it's due to the bile. The vomiting does sound like maybe an ileus or a blockage. It's frustrating at first, as it can take some time for everything to function properly, but keep in mind that your daughter had major surgery. I did have pain when eating for the first few weeks; I was told that this is due to things passing through a new route that the body isn't used to. It does get much better. After the first month, I felt so great...so much better than the past six years with UC. It must be difficult to watch your daughter in pain and not be able to do much to help. My mom (a nurse) was frustrated beyond belief by that.

Hi, Poor you. I'm a mum, too, and I can understand how hard it must be for you to watch your daughter go through this. My advice would be to keep her on liquidy things like yoghurt, very watery, slightly sweetened oatmeal porridge (I had that after childbirth and it tasted great at the time, so I did the same after surgery!), any soothing soup she might want etc. Jello sounds a bit too acidic to me. Green output is normal; the wild colours can freak you out, but they're often normal. And remember that just by being there with her, you're helping her recover. I lay in hospital and yearned for the feeling of a gentle hand that would stroke my hair, and fingertips that would brush across my forehead. I wished I had a mum there, basically. Those things help relieve pain more than you'd think. My brother, who'd spent months in hospital not long before me, did those things instinctively when he visited me. I'm pretty sure he did it because that's what he remembered wanting, too. So you may feel helpless, but you're invaluable to your daughter. I hope she starts really recovering soon.

I had the stopping starting problem as well. I ended up having to lesson the pain medicine and walk more. That finally got everything moving 'properly' for me.
I'm sure everyone recovers at a different pace and I hope she's feeling better soon.

I had a similar cycle after my first surgery, it lasted for a couple weeks. It got better when I took over on deciding what i should be eating. instead of moving to soft food, i moved through various thicknesses of soups. I also refused pain medication, walked alot (often with a yoyo, something the nurses found highly amusing).
Eventually eating worked again.
It will get better, be patient, keep her active and as happy as possible.
Does she have an NG tube? Is she at a hospital that has GI expertise?
Take it slowly, chew some gum, have some soup, it'll work soon enough.

I am a mom of a jpoucher also. This happened to my daughter, so if she is throwing up every time she eats then she should't eat. Her bowels are not completely awake yet or the swelling in not quite down and the food is not passing. She should chew gum, I hear that it helps wake up the bowel, and she should be up moving around. It will work out soon. Best of luck to you both.

I am nearly 2 months post TD and I experienced alot of the stuff that you are talking about. I vomitted alot of green stuff in the hospital until I got the NG tube. I didn't eat anything in the hospital, I stayed so nausous and sick. They never pushed me to eat alot, they said it would come in time. Just keep drinking. I also started the vomitting again once I got home. So I dehyrated very fast and was back in the hospital. I think it was a combination of the bowels taking a long to wake up and me being so sick before my surgery (had the worst flare ever had before, that led to the surgery). Walking did seem to wake the bowels up quicker even though I could barely find the strengh to do it. Also once I went back into the hospital for fluids,raise magnesism, and potassium levels I got better. I did not try food for about 3 wks though, just had no desire for food. Once I got hydrated I did gradually add food: potatoes, soup, jello and drank alot....gatorade and water.

Just keep doing what you are doing with the support. I'm 30 yrs old and my mother never left my side. Best nurse that I ever had! The most important thing is to stay postive. I am still experiencing pain but nothing like before. I just needed all of the support I could get. I felt so alone. Hang in there, it will get better.

Thank you for your advice. Sierra was taken into surgery again this morning. She ate quite alot yesterday as requested only no output and lots of pain. They found that her stoma opening was large enough for air to come out however when a pinky was inserted it wouldnt go in. They cute the opening larger and found no obstruction close to the stoma. I will pray that once she is able to eat again (possibly Sat) that everything works the way it should.

I'm sorry your daughter is having such a difficult time. I understand the frustration. My husband had to have a stent inserted into the stoma and along with the NG tubes being inserted twice, he was able to make progress. It did take 13 days for everything to begin to work properly. I can remember how nervous I was every morning just to see if the doctor thought he was making progress. I was sure he would be in the hospital forever! Once everything started to work, it hasn't been a problem and he eats a good soft diet. My husband is worried about dehydration and blockage problems but I'm sure that is because surgery was only a month ago. Hopefully everything will begin to progress for your daughter. Which hospital is she at?