Still getting aches and pains

[Ktappern]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum so bare with me. 

I had my ileostomy 6 weeks ago and have been home for one month. The first two weeks of coming out were great as i had little pain at all. Then i stupidly go and push myself with a long walk and according to my doctor damaged some muscles and scar tissue. Ever since then i am always getting the odd aches and pains in my stomach. 

Also, im now starting to get horrific trapped wind. The pain is so bad im nearly calling an ambulance each time. I have to drink peppermint tea and wait an hour ir so for the wind to pass. 

Has anyone out there been through this? I know its only been 6 weeks and i need to be patient. But i would like to think that these symptoms should be easing by now as your expected to do normal activities after 2-3 months. At the moment it just feels like 1 step forward and 3 back and it can be really demoralising. 

Any advice and assurance would be great.Thanks 

[tekapo13]

I was very impatient and frustrated to start with and felt all sorts of pains, but did walk every day all be it initially to the end of my drive and back that's just a few steps but gradually to the local shop 10 minutes each way and then after a couple of weeks a little longer and so on.

Even now I get aches and pains 13 weeks on today from the op, I found some of the most uncomfortable pain was from my derriere trying to sit was very painful but that is almost 100% better now just the odd twinges.

Most of my pain does tend to be wind related too, if I struggle too get rid of the pain through hot tea and exercise I might try a buscopan which was prescribed by my doctor and that seems to help but I do find patience and trying to relax as well as the tea and exercise tend to sort it out, its a learning curve involved with  bit of patience I guess.

You will get there I am sure and in another six weeks you will probably have forgotten most of this aggravation Good luck

[emilyanne101]

Hi . Christine  here . I too have an ileostomy  . Peppermint oil just a few drops  in boiled water works wonders for me within  30 minutes . 

Hope this helps  

[Lorraine52]

Hi my name is Lorraine I had my loop ileostomy on the 9th of March ..But in saying that it was my second bowl op in 3months ..My stomach is still very sore ,find it hard to sleep in bed find my self sleeping in the recliner ..Wind hasn't been a problem too much of a problem when it is I take Milanta ...but the feeling to go to the toilet the natural way is very strong seem to be sitting on the toilet all the time ..This is my first real week I feel I can do a bit went back to work for an hour an a half and that was enough ..Hope you feel better soon .

[Ktappern]

Thanks for the reply. 

At the moment im walking for around 20 minutes a day but very slowly and that can bring on some stomach twinges. I think because of this its putting me off from going out anywhere, yet im told that excersize will help. A but of a catch 22 situation. 

Relaxing can be almost as hard as I'm guessing you all can appreciate. Sometimes it can be hard to find distractions and you just sit there thinking why does the pain feel worse than last week etc.

Thanks again

[SonjaNye72]

Hi there, my name is Sonja. I tend to drink hot lemon water or black decaf coffee after everything I eat and I drink a minimum of 2 litres of water a day and I find this really helps. I'm 8 weeks post op and I've been back to work for 3 weeks and doing most of my normal things but I guess it depends on how ill you are before the op. I had UC for 13 years before but under control until about 2 weeks before I ended up in hospital and had emergency surgery. I hadn't lost any weight, so still had reasonably good core muscles, so I got back walking quite a bit, quite soon. I still get very sore skin, like someone has been rubbing it and the first week out, I struggled mentally and even ended up in a&e with what turned out to be the mother of all panic attacks (never had one before) and apparently this is quite normal for what we have been through. I hope things get better for you and you find a way that helps you relax.

[Bec_carer1]

Hi there

My 41 boyfriend has an ileostomy Aug bank hol and 5 months later he is still recovering so don't worry about the time, your body may still be adjusting.

He still has an open abdominal wound that is dressed every few days, not able to drive more than short journeys once weekly, is going for a small walk each day buts isn't back at work yet. He is extremely frustrated by how long he is taking to heal and is still on all his pain killers Morphine & zomorph as is still getting abdominal pain.

They did explain to us that it can be 6-12 months that you should allow yourself to start to feel any closer to normal.

He still has a stump and has been getting blood discharge from it which we are concerned about being due to internal bleeding.

He feels as though he is never going to be normal again so we have just requested psychology support.

He has had really bad stomach cramps and we are finding which foods seem to cause them and struggle to get through his stoma (sausages with skin) and then eliminate them from his diet. Everytime this happens make him drink lots of water too.

To be fair he doesn't really have an appetitie and I have to literally force feed him as I have been trying to get his weight back as he lost 2 stone whilst in hospital.

Don't do too much too soon, listen to your body.

[Ktappern]

Hi,

Since this post im actually doing perfectly fine in a physical manner. After about 3 months all the pains suddenly went away. It was a case of eating right, resting and taking pain medication.

I am back to eating all foods and aren't effected at all. Again this just takes time.

There are times where i still get blood mucus from my discharge. This is normal. I was only told to worry if there was a lot and it was very frequent. This is due to the rectal stump still being inflamed. Im currently on suppositories for this and the work fantastic. Only passing once a day and no blood. Might be worth having you and your partner speak to your GP or IBD consultant team.

Mentally i still struggle. good days and bad. This happens to all of us. Its ok to have down days. Just make sure your boyfriend does whatever he wants. play games, watch films, read a book. whatever makes him relaxed and somewhat happy. I have been through therapy and now being put on medication to see how that works.

Good to hear he is slowly on the mend. As people kept saying to me. Everybody is different and unfortunately these things take time.

If your boyfriend ever wants someone thats been through something similar and neutral to chat to let he is more than welcome to reach out to me.

[e-mail] is my email.