It normally takes about 6 to 8 weeks for the bowel to settle down after surgery. After this, most people can start eating the foods they used to have before their operation. Your stoma nurse will give you advice about what you can eat and drink shortly after your operation and in the long term.
It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks to recover from an ileostomy and get back to your usual activities. But you should avoid strenuous activities or heavy lifting for 3 months while your tummy muscles heal. It's important to rest and take the time you need to adjust to the change in your body.
The wound usually closes completely in 8 weeks. Bowel function tends to be erratic up to 6 months after surgery; frequent bowel movements and seepage at night are common in the first few months.
A healthy stoma is pinkish-red and moist. Your stoma should stick out slightly from your skin. It is normal to see a little mucus. Spots of blood or a small amount of bleeding from your stoma is also normal.
Sleeping on your back is a safe option, especially in the days and weeks after surgery. If you are sleeping on the same side as your stoma, you may feel a little vulnerable and worry that it may either hurt or you might roll onto your stoma and even your pouch. The mattress will support the ostomy pouch as it fills.
There are safety measures you may need to think about. For instance, many doctors recommend avoiding contact sports because of possible injury to the stoma from a severe blow. But special protection may be able to help prevent these problems. Talk to your health care team about any limitations you may have.
A good night's sleep is an important part of recovery after ileostomy surgery. Yet adjusting your sleep patterns with an ostomy bag will take some time and patience, especially in the early days. Fortunately, with some simple bedtime modifications, you can still enjoy a restful night of restorative sleep.
Possible side effects after stoma reversal
In a small percentage of patients it can take up to 6 months before the bowel motions become more firm. It is fairly common to pass looser and more frequent stools than you may have been used to previously.
It is normal to feel exhausted in the early weeks and months following surgery. You probably didn't get much sleep in hospital as they are really busy places. You are up at night changing or emptying your ostomy pouch so your sleep has been interrupted.
Avoid drinks that cause bloating
These include lager, beer, prosecco and any other fizzy alcoholic drinks. So, while you don't need to cut these types of drinks out altogether, it's a good idea to just stick to one or two to prevent your stoma bag from ballooning.
For those with an ileostomy, output tends to be thinner and more frequent, prompting about six to eight bathroom trips a day. Some people who have an ileostomy may be looking for ideas on how to firm stool up a bit and decrease output and/or trips to the bathroom.
Bending. It's near enough in possible to do gardening without having to bend down. This is fine, but you can bend down in a way that reduces the risk of injuring your stomach muscles and stoma area. For example, rather than bending over at your waist, try bending down slowly at your knees.
Many people enjoy leaving their skin uncovered for 15 to 30 minutes after taking their pouching system off. This is called a skin break. Taking a skin break can help with irritation or keep it from happening. You can decide if you want to take a skin break.
A colostomy is an operation to create an opening (stoma) of the large bowel (colon) onto the surface of the tummy (abdomen). Your poo no longer passes out of your body through your back passage. Instead, it passes out through the stoma. You wear a bag that sticks onto the skin over the stoma to collect your poo.
Your nurse will teach you how to care for your ostomy pouch and how to change it. You will need to empty it when it is about 1/3 full, and change it about every 2 to 4 days, or as often as your nurse tells you. After some practice, changing your pouch will get easier.
It is normal for some food to pass through to the stoma unaltered. However, foods high in fibre may cause a blockage because they are difficult to digest when eaten in large quantities or not chewed well. Foods that may cause constipation or blockage: Vegetables with skins or stalks such as celery, peas or sweetcorn.
Once home, avoid strenuous activities that could place a strain on your abdomen, such as lifting heavy objects. Your stoma nurse will give you advice about how soon you can go back to normal activities. At first you will pass wind through your stoma and then, usually within 2 or 3 days, you poo through it.
Many people gain unwanted weight following stoma surgery due to changes made to their diet in an effort to control their output. Sometimes, the changes to our body image can affect self esteem which can lead to more emotional eating (read Sophie's article on emotional eating here).
But you will probably need at least 6 weeks to get back to your normal routine. This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace.
After a stoma, the bottom part of the bowel no longer has poo passing through it, but it still produces mucus. Dead cells from the lower bowel or rectum may be mixed in with the mucus.
Diarrhoea can occur from time to time with ostomates, whether you have a colostomy or an ileostomy.
You can bathe and shower as normal with your stoma and, unless you have been specifically advised otherwise, you can do so with the stoma bag on or off. It won't fall off in the water if you choose to keep it on and if you bathe with the stoma bag off, soap rinsing over the stoma isn't a problem.
Coffee and tea are fine, but just like other foods, be aware of any reactions in your digestive system. Carbonated drinks may cause gas. Beer can cause the output from the ostomy to become more liquid. You can drink alcohol.
You may wish to keep your clothing loose for the first couple of weeks, because your tummy may feel uncomfortable. But the good news is that in a few weeks, you should be able to wear your usual clothes. Wearing tight-fitting clothes will not affect your stoma.