I am a skinny 23 yo male who has had a jpouch for a year. I have sharp pain around my stoma site which comes and goes. The are does not seem to bulge out and visibly looks flat. I had to doctors check it out and both of them said it wasn’t a hernia, but don’t you have to have a CT scan to know for sure?
Will try to have some massage on the area…
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Given your description it’s more likely to be scar tissue that sometimes makes itself known as stool passes by. It could be tugging on the bowel or narrowing the opening a bit.
@Scott F posted:Given your description it’s more likely to be scar tissue that sometimes makes itself known as stool passes by. It could be tugging on the bowel or narrowing the opening a bit.
Hm, is there any treatment I should do? I was looking into getting some massage to try and loosen up the area or do some exercises to strenghten it.
@Fredz posted:Hm, is there any treatment I should do? I was looking into getting some massage to try and loosen up the area or do some exercises to strenghten it.
I don’t think there’s any evidence that massage or exercise helps, but some folks have said positive things about deep massage, and prudent exercise is beneficial even if it doesn’t help with this particular problem.
I also get some pain around the stoma site now and then. I am attributing it to scar tissue as it was placed right in my core. Everyone who has felt that area has said no evidence of a hernia.
my GI for my pouchoscopy also performs an ileoscopy to make sure the bowel at the takedown site is normal.
@Scott F posted:I don’t think there’s any evidence that massage or exercise helps, but some folks have said positive things about deep massage, and prudent exercise is beneficial even if it doesn’t help with this particular problem.
I see. Well, I will test things out. I kind of want to get a CT scan just to know for sure what’s going on, but two doctors have already looked at it and said it’s probably scar tissue so maybe I should listen. But they have been wrong before so I’ll wait and see how I feel. Thanks!
@New577 posted:I also get some pain around the stoma site now and then. I am attributing it to scar tissue as it was placed right in my core. Everyone who has felt that area has said no evidence of a hernia.
my GI for my pouchoscopy also performs an ileoscopy to make sure the bowel at the takedown site is normal.
Sounds like my situation as well! I have a fear of getting a hernia so I kinda want a CT to know for sure, but scar tissue is what I have been told is the problem so maybe I should just believe the doctors haha. Have you found anything to help? I will try some massage and exercises.
Other then a light quick massage with my fingers and/or shifting positions if I am laying down in bed, not much else
The pain/twinge dissipates quickly and I forget about it.
I will say that for a few seconds I am always thinking the worst.
I had an ultrasound done to see if I had a hernia and it was a hernia, but it was low in the groin area not the stoma area. I had to have surgery to repair it and it was successful. I do have some minor pain now and then when going #2, which is normal caused by scaring, which is normal. If your worried about a hernia ask to have an ultrasound, it is cheaper then a CT scan.
Fredz,
if you are in pain/discomfort for a long time, I would recommend pushing back at the doctors for a ultrasound or CT scan.
it’s your body and you have to advocate for yourself.
my surgeon didn’t order a CT scan after takedown when I was complaining about feeling the stool passing thru the takedown site.
had a scan been done it would have showed the fistula that ultimately leaked 10 days later and had to be repaired under septic conditions.
@New577 posted:Fredz,
if you are in pain/discomfort for a long time, I would recommend pushing back at the doctors for a ultrasound or CT scan.
it’s your body and you have to advocate for yourself.my surgeon didn’t order a CT scan after takedown when I was complaining about feeling the stool passing thru the takedown site.
had a scan been done it would have showed the fistula that ultimately leaked 10 days later and had to be repaired under septic conditions.
100% agree. I have had to doctors say it’s scar tissue and I do believe them, but why not just thave a CT and rule out a hernia as well. I think I will do that. Thank you!
It is an error to think that an unnecessary CT scan is harmless. I ended up with kidney surgery I would have been better off without because of a confusing finding on a CT scan. CT scans also include appreciable radiation exposure.
@Scott F posted:It is an error to think that an unnecessary CT scan is harmless. I ended up with kidney surgery I would have been better off without because of a confusing finding on a CT scan. CT scans also include appreciable radiation exposure.
So you suggest I shouldn’t do anything or what?
@Fredz posted:So you suggest I shouldn’t do anything or what?
If you are getting occasional discomfort at your old stoma site, and two doctors have told you that they don’t think it’s a hernia, then yes, I would do nothing about it unless things got worse. In particular I wouldn’t go through the time, money, and risk of trying to rule out every unlikely cause. If the pain is debilitating in intensity or frequency then the calculus is different, of course.
@Scott F posted:If you are getting occasional discomfort at your old stoma site, and two doctors have told you that they don’t think it’s a hernia, then yes, I would do nothing about it unless things got worse. In particular I wouldn’t go through the time, money, and risk of trying to rule out every unlikely cause. If the pain is debilitating in intensity or frequency then the calculus is different, of course.
Sounds smart, thank you! Appreciate it!
I had a hernia when I was pregnant but they weren’t able to do a scan bc of obvious risks to the baby. They confirmed it with an ultra sound. It bulged every time I pushed out my stomach too so it looked weird.
My sister in law is an athletic trainer and has since done a lot of work with muscle massage after surgery. She worked with my other sister in law after her c-section to loosen up the scar tissue. I’m not sure how effective, clinically it is, but both said it was helpful.
@Bubba1028 posted:I had a hernia when I was pregnant but they weren’t able to do a scan bc of obvious risks to the baby. They confirmed it with an ultra sound. It bulged every time I pushed out my stomach too so it looked weird.
My sister in law is an athletic trainer and has since done a lot of work with muscle massage after surgery. She worked with my other sister in law after her c-section to loosen up the scar tissue. I’m not sure how effective, clinically it is, but both said it was helpful.
Thank you so much! Mine bulges out a tiny bit if I like lean backwards and try to push the area out, but it’s very hard. So I assume the doctors were right saying it was scar tissue but you never know. I will try doing some massage!