I'm going to be having an ileostomy in a few months, and have a couple of questions:
1. Can absorbing medications be a problem after an ileostomy? I saw this mentioned when I was reading about the surgery on web sites - I think this was on an NHS patient guide - but it didn't specify which medications or what you can do if you're not absorbing them after the surgery. Do you have to take them in a different form (pills, liquid, etc.), or do you have to increase the doses to make sure you absorb enough for them to work?
2. My ileostomy is going to be reversible, which I think means the rectum will be left, and I'm told will still pass mucus sometimes. Since I have problems with incontinence now, does this mean I'll still pass mucus unintentionally after the surgery? I also get a lot of discomfort in the rectum before I have a bowel movement, so will I still get that discomfort from the mucus?
Sorry if these are really obvious newbie questions! I'll be meeting with a stoma nurse soon, but I also like to get the opinions of people who've experienced this themselves.
1. Can absorbing medications be a problem after an ileostomy? I saw this mentioned when I was reading about the surgery on web sites - I think this was on an NHS patient guide - but it didn't specify which medications or what you can do if you're not absorbing them after the surgery. Do you have to take them in a different form (pills, liquid, etc.), or do you have to increase the doses to make sure you absorb enough for them to work?
2. My ileostomy is going to be reversible, which I think means the rectum will be left, and I'm told will still pass mucus sometimes. Since I have problems with incontinence now, does this mean I'll still pass mucus unintentionally after the surgery? I also get a lot of discomfort in the rectum before I have a bowel movement, so will I still get that discomfort from the mucus?
Sorry if these are really obvious newbie questions! I'll be meeting with a stoma nurse soon, but I also like to get the opinions of people who've experienced this themselves.