Stopped Irrigating.

[lolapergola]

Hi guys, been a while. I ran in to some problems recently which has made me decide to stop irrigating .
I only took up irrigating when B.M.'s became erratic -I was working and had to be regular , prior to that I'd been fine without irrigating .Anyway ,the irrigation stopped working as well - my bowel wasn't emptying properly and I had yellow stools.I called a stoma nurse who came to my home .During the course of us chatting she asked when was the last time I had had a camera into my mucous fistula .When I answered never she became very alarmed .She sent me to the doctor next day and he had me fast tracked to see a surgeon that same week. I was taken in to have my colonoscopy and to have a camera look at the distal end which had now stenosed at the anus (I still had my rectal stump ) .So he went in through mucous fistula on my abdomen .Thank God all he found was colitis and inflammation. The stoma nurse though he'd find cancer .

The day after I had the tests we went out for a meal to celebrate , but 2 hours after the meal I began to vomit .As I vomited my stenosed back passage opened and a lot of blood came running out , and my bag started to fill with diarehea (or however you spell it ! ) A friend ran me straight to A and E and at 5 in the morning I was put in a side ward on my own - as it looked like something that could spread to others .Thank God I was in a room on my own ,I was so grateful .I really hate being in a ward with 3 other people while I'm throwing up !!Anyway , I was in for 5 days .During which of course there was no call to irrigate as I had the runs so much .It turned out to be gastro-enteritis .
When I got home I thought , let's just see if I return to my old regular way of my bag filling up , take a codeine phosphate and good to go.And I have thank God.My stools are normal coloured now , I have got my bowel in a routine and I plan to leave irrigation as long as I stay I am .

While I was in hospital they discovered a hernia behind my main stoma but they are leaving it .I haven't been given any treatment for the colitis as the doc said the inflammation will go on it's own .
Irrigation is a blessing for sure ,and I finally did irrigate in an airport -Atlanta - they have "family "rooms which has a roomy toilet on it's own .
Thanks for reading

[steiconi]

Yikes, sounds like you have a real scare. Glad you're doing better.

[lolapergola]

Yes , thanks Steiconi ,it really was a stressful time as my GP too thought it was cancer .I shall be making sure I am monitored more frequently in the future .