Hi everyone. I had step 1 (of 2) done 2 weeks ago and I am just wondering about a few things.
First, drainage from the anus. I know some mucus and blood is to be excepted. But I am having copious amounts of beige liquid. I have to go to the bathroom over 10 times a day and a couple times at night. Now my bum is feeling very irritated.
ALso, I have had a problem with fainting. It can happen when I slowly get up or even when I am just standing. I have been monitoring my blood pressure and it has been around 90/60. But I have been lower before (80/40) and had no problems with fainting. Sometimes I don't completely faint, everything just goes dark and my head and hands get very tingly. It is a horrible feeling.

So what do you think? Did any of you experience these things? I put a call into my surgeons nurse, but she is out of the office for a few days and I didn't know if these warranted a call to the emergency nurse.

Thank you

Hi.. A couple things.. I had the drainage too. It ranged from completely clear to almost brown. It would also come in waves for me. Sometimes I would have alot on an ongoing basis, and sometimes I would have very little. I posted the same question on this board and everyone assured me it was ok. I also asked my surgeon about it and said it was fine as well. FYI.. you may see a little blood sometimes too - that is probably OK as well.
As far as the blood pressure, I had the exact same thing. I have always been on the thinner side and had lower blood pressure (average - 100/60). After my first surgery and takedown as well.. my blood pressure has been hovering in the range you describe. I got the same feeling as you - it always happens when I stand up too quickly. When I was i the hospital for my takedown, they equated it to my being underweight. I have lost about 15 lbs during this whole thing (went from 105 to 90) and haven't been able to gain much of it back yet. The overwhelming thought was that if I gained some weight, blood pressure may go up a bit and these spells may lessen or even disappear. Hope this helps..

As for the beige liquid, it sounds like you are passing bile, stool, and / or other digestive juices. This would also be why your bum is getting irritated. This is not uncommon. Some people have small amounts of stool, etc. pass through the stoma and on down out their bottom. Nothing to worry about, though you should probably start using protective creams to keep your bottom from getting too sore. It's a bummer, but I suppose it's good preparation for post-takedown.

As for the fainting, yes you should definitely get checked out. 80/40 is extremely low, though 90/60 should be okay. You may be low on iron, maybe your hemoglobin levels are low, or it could be the effect of meds. You aren't in the process of weaning off prednisone still are you? Weaning off of that stuff made me lightheaded and prone to faint.

Steve

The drainage is normal. I remember having the same thing happen after step 1. If your butt is irritated then more than likely its butt burn. One thing that I found helpful was to use the ostomy barrier wipes on my butt and it would cut down on the irritation. Other things to do are to use a squirt bottle, dab don't wipe, and if you have calmoseptine or Ilex use them. Do a search on the site for butt burn and you'll find lots of really helpful suggestions.

The fainting is not normal. I remember after my first step I had the same experience but I had lots of complications and was on heavy drugs for them so its not surprising that it happened to me. After step 2 I almost blacked out in the middle of Home Depot (thankfully I'd just ran into a friend who caught me before I hit the floor) but that was because I was dehydrated. Make sure that you are staying hydrated. There are powders you can mix with water or juice that have electrolytes in them. Even drinking pedialyte for children would help. If I was you I'd call the emergency nurse to find out what is going on. It may be something as innocuous as being dehydrated. So the cause may not be serious but you could cause yourself an injury if you fall down because of it.

Take care, I hope you feel better,

Suzanne

Lack of hydration could be causing your low BP. Try drinking more fluids, especially those with electrolytes. Eat salty snacks to help retain water. A good hydrating beverage is vitalyte which can be found at REI stores or ordered online at www.vitalyte.com

Sue

You can also get propel packets cheaply at the store and mix them in water.

I agree with Sue - the fainting sounds like dehydration. While I had a loop ileo I experienced that for the entire 'loopy' time that I had it. Try the Vitalyte. It should really help. Also, eat foods with lots of salt to make you more thirsty so you drink more.

The copious amounts of slippery goo is typical as well. (I'm now afraid to use the word 'normal' JAN - see what you've done?) Don't dwell on the slippery beige goo - it has nothing to do with your future life with j-pouch.

kathy

The mucus drainage is totally normal. I was having a lot of it from about 2-4 weeks after Step 1. I am now a little over five weeks out and it seems to be slowing down a little. It's annoying, but the consensus opinion is that it means nothing with regard to long-term prognosis.

The fainting I'd be a little more worried about. While dehydration is probably the most likely culprit, my similar signs were actually caused by an electrolyte imbalance (low sodium, to be specific). Before I was diagnosed, I was at home, drinking as much Gatorade and water as possible, trying to ward off dehydration. In retrospect, this was actually further diluting my already low sodium levels, making the problem even worse.

My recommendation? Ideally, get in contact with the emergency nurse and see about running some bloodwork. In the meantime, keep drinking plenty of fluids, but try to add in some extra salt wherever you can: boullion, pretzels, etc. You can even try salting some water or juice (1/4 tsp. salt per 8 oz. liquid - sip slowly).

If at any point you feel like you're getting significantly worse within a short period of time, go to the ER.

As everyone else stated the mucus and drainage is normal. I use to faint from low a BP. If I sat up to quickly and then stood up my vision would go black and the next thing I knew I was on the floor. Dehydration, and meds could be the culprit but be sure to get check out asap.

Take Care of yourself,
Carolyn

Steph,

I don't remember having the drainage problem, but I had a lot of problems (and still to this day) with low blood pressure. (After 5 years with my pouch, I still have an average bp of 90/50). While recovering from stage 1, I had the exact same feeling as you do when everything goes black when you stand up. At two weeks post-op, I was still in the hospital but it took several weeks post-op before that feeling went away. In the meantime, I drank tons of water and gatorade. I also would eat foods like mashed potatoes and applesauce to "thicken" the stool. This helped me lose less water. I also lost a lot of weight and was underweight to begin with.I felt so weak and I couldn't walk very far at all without sitting down. I remember getting very discouraged and emotional because I just felt so weak. I began to really doubt my decision to have the pouch surgery in the first place. It was about 4-5 weeks after stage 1 that I turned a corner and all of the sudden, I got MUCH better... stronger, increased blood pressure, feeling less vulnerable. It will happen for you, too - hang in there! Its a huge surgery, and it will take time to recover. (By the way, my mother was shoving Ensures and Boosts down me the entire time even though I felt they were making me worse. I asked the surgeon about it and he said that they are so concentrated with nutrients and vitamins that they can cause pain and be counter-productive to delicate digestive systems. He suggested diluting them or just focusing on taking as many fluids as possible.)

Yes, to all of the above! Work on increasing hydration and helping to retain water in your system. What ever works! I remember begging my doc for an IV and what a difference it made. Sometimes it is very difficult to regain hydration orally. Once I did so via IV, it was easier. Vitalite....try it! Best wishes!

Hi Steph,

I had a similar problem after step one but onlt have discharge say every three days and only a small amount.

I was told that this was normal. However, I took some antibiotics(Ciprofloxacin) for a couple of days and the discharge stopped for weeks and then came back slowely. I took the antibiotics for 2 days and the same thing happened. But as this was not a real issue for me I lived with the discharge and did not take any further antibiotics for that condition.

I am not proposing that you take antibiotics but going 10 to 12 times in 24 hrs doesn't seem in the normal range to me. But then again you only had the op 2 weeks ago.

The fainting issue is clearly not right. Your body has been hit hard by a major operation and it is adjusting and it needs helping. Could be dehydration as the others suggest. Can't but help to try some rehydration medication, I take it evey day in the form of a powder that you dilute with 200mg of water.