Permanent ileostomy....

[garethj220871]

Hello my name's Gareth and I had a panproctolectomy operation on the 22nd of October to have a permanent ileostomy and remove my anus anus and rectum. There were complications and I was in intensive. Are for 8 days afterward the op. I have eventually started to feel better and have been eating some soup and some jelly and the stoma bag seems to be working ok. The wound is very painful around my abdomen and my anus which is understandable. The biggest problem I have however is these constant urges to go to the toilet even though my rectum has been removed. Do these symptoms pass if at all because it feels like I'm about to **** my pants any minute and it causes terrible stomach pain. I thought everything now went through the stoma and that you shouldn't have stomach pains and bowel sensations....Please help

 

[DJW]

Hi Gareth.

Glad you're starting to feel better. I can't explain the stomach cramps/pain beyond it being related to the surgery. Feeling like you need to go with the rectum gone is fairly common. I still get it occasionally 20+ years later. Things are still fresh and swollen. Talk to the doctor on your next visit but I would spend any time worrying about it.

 

[IvyL]

I very occasionally get "phantom rectum" pains. I get them when my stomach is upset and my stoma producing high volume, watery output (i.e. stoma equivalent of diarrhoea). They will probably not be painful once you've healed. They will just be uncomfortable, but remind yourself that it doesn't mean you'll have an accident, it's physically impossible, you don't need to rush to the bathroom, and you should find them much less noticeable after a while.

Stomach symptoms can still occur with a stoma though, because you do still have intestine left, and it will be linked to your stoma activity, but only if there's something wrong or you're flaring. At the moment you're just not healed. It will get a lot better.