Smell and Blowouts

[AuntieRobin]

Hi,

I had to have a temporary colostomy on 10/10/18. My surgeon said to come back in January 2019 for the reversal, but 3 of my doctors said to wait until April, due to how severe the infection was (31 nights in the hospital between 8/22-10/22, multiple abscesses in colon, sepsis, etc.). I'm totally okay with waiting until April.

I was terrified about having a colostomy and I cried a lot. I've absolutely reconciled my emotions, 1. Because I know it's temporary and 2. It's scarier imagining it than having it.

I returned to work on 12/10 after being out for 4 months. Right before I returned to work, I began experiencing issues I'd never had before... 1. My toots smell now (they were noisy but no odor before) and 2. My output is so thick it lifts my convex bag off of my stomach. This is happening every 1-2 days. I know I need to follow a better diet, but I'm afraid to try new foods (especially vegetables) for fear they'll block my stoma.

Is it normal for your gas to smell or is this a sign that I'm going to have a blowout? I welcome any and all suggestions.

Thank you,
Robin

[ot dave]

Hi Robin,

Welcome to the boards. Yes, gas can have odor. It will depend upon what you eat as to the odors you will get...just like before. One thing that you might try to alleviate the gas and having output throughout the day is irrigation. With a colostomy, you can irrigate your colon to remove the output. I irrigate each day. Typically, I will go 24 hours without output or gas. With diet, activity, and medication, I can go up to 48 hours without output or gas. Might be something to look into... Go to the irrigation page for information and to see if it is something you might be interested in starting. Lots of helpful folks over there too. Hope that helps.

David

[Button]

AuntieRobin:
Your body has been assaulted from many fronts contending with an abscess(es), surgical washouts, ostomy placement, and rounds of IV antibiotics.

Your body is recruiting the Calviary to help you heal and recover with broad endocrine and hormonal changes to counter the stress, inflammatory markers, lymphocytes and white blood cells, and more. You can expect that you will feel other than your typical self for several months, a gradual rebalancing.

The off-smell yo your poop is likely due to the nature of the infection process and abscess and intervening IV antibiotics. The natural bacterial floras unique to the small and large intestine have been disrupted. Bacterial imbalance and bacterial overgrowth = foul smelling poop.

I highly recommend that you look into a probiotic called VSL-3. It is a medical grade probiotic originally available only by prescription and typically used for people with inflammatory bowel disease such as Chron’s and ulcerative colitis. VSL-3 is good stuff. You likely need other than a standard probiotic and VSL-3 has earned a solid reputation among GIs and Colon-rectal surgeon’s.

VSL-3 is available on Amazon. You may also find it at a local pharmacy. Call to check. I use VSL-3, myself. I keep it refrigerated.

You poo is likely thick and sticky owing to the effects of the antibiotics and infection process. Poop consistency should normalize as you continue to heal and are able to consume a broader diet.

For now, do NOT overly incorporate high fiber foods nor foods high in insoluble fiber. Your intestines are inflammed and irritable and will not react kindly to too much roughage.

Keep to small portion sizes so as to not overwhelm the intestinal tract with too much volume. Soups are a good choice as they combine nutrition in an easy to digest format with generous fluids.

Hydration is your more important focus. Avoid sugary sports drinks, however, as added sugars lend to gastric dumping and upset. Any number of electrolyte packets/tablets are available, simply add to water or sparkling water. Nunn’s Tablets and Cera-Lyte rehydration packers are my two staples. Both are available on Amazon.

One way to ease pancaking and sticking of your poop would be to use a titrated dose of an osmomtic laxative (MiraLax or Milk of Magnesia or Natural Calm). The intent is to draw more water into the intestine to liquify the stool consistency so that it flows more easily.

Another option is to use aloe Vera juice, 1-2 tablespoons orally a day. Aloe Vera juice acts like an intestinal lubricant. And never underestimate the value of old-fashioned warmed prune juice, 6-8 Oz a day, or a sprinkle of wheat germ in yogurt or cereal, 2 tablespoons a day, to lessen panckacking and thicken poop.

Welcome to our little ostomy corner of the Internet. It’s all about people helping people. We are here for you to help along the way.
Karen

[BillGK]

Robin, my output used to be so thick that it would literally lift my wafer up and caused major leaking. Miralax is your friend. It is safe and gentle and will almost certainly take care of your appliance problem.

[Diane C]

Just to add that Karen is right -- the odor is not always related to food. Horrmones, body processes while healing, candida, and so much can affect output and the smell. I want to add that I take L-Glutamine capsules. It's an amino acid that's a building block for protein. Don't know if it's the placebo effect or not -- but it seems to calm my intestines down and make me feel better.

VERY aggravated that while I was in the hospital and an UNskilled nursing care facility, my cousin and his wife surprised and "helped" me by coming from NC and hiring a cleaner and organizer. I had the probiotic that Karen mentioned in my fridge -- Double Strength VSL-3. I admit I wasn't great at taking it -- didn't love the taste and a while back, I wasn't hydrating enough -- doing far better now with an ileostomy! -- so I didn't take it as often as I should have. This organizer pitched all of the sachets of this -- many sachets of the powder (and so much else -- I'm still going slightly loco finding things and ordering them all over again...). It's costly but my insurance had covered it with a doctor's prescription. I had an integrative health doctor who prescribed it and doubt any of my current doctors would prescribe it now but yes, available on Amazon though costly. So for now, I've switched -- and I'm taking Nucific's probiotic called Bio X 4. I can never tell if these supplements really help -- except for L-Glutamine.

Since you're not eating bulky, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) -- the odor is coming from them and they can definitely add an aroma to your output.

Good luck with this!

Diane C.

[AuntieRobin]

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your help. Y'all are a really nice group of people.

I called the medical supply company and my rep explained the lubricating deodorizer I had should be put in the bag before I put it on, that helped a lot for a few days. She also sent me stoma powder and I learned the hard way that you can't put it on the skin on your stomach, I had to change my bag twice today because my bag wasn't sticking. Also, stoma powder is a mess.

I'm so glad I didn't have all of this trouble when I first had the surgery; I would've been a basket case.

I've had Miralax two days in a row, but my output isn't more liquid, it's stickier. I'll keep trying different stuff and see what happens.

This too shall pass!

Merry Christmas!
Robin

[Button]

Robin:
You will need to continue with the MiraLax to see beneficial results. It will be 48 hours/2 days at a minimum to see any effect. Everyone’s transit time is different, shorter or longer. And eveyone has differences as regards to intestinal fluid volumes and fluid shifts.

Continue with that MiraLax for a good 7-10 days.

Both the infectious process and potent antibiotics that you had to contend with will make your poop sticky and odiferous. It will be a process of normalization that may take 2-4 weeks. This is not a situation with a quick fix. Intestinal issues are slow to resolve. Be patient and consistent in your approach.
Karen

[Button]

AuntieRobin:
I will pop in one more time to advocate that you give the probiotic VSL-3 a month’s usage, in addition to using MiraLax.

Your bacterial flora has been undermined by your series of infections, abscesses, and antibiotics. The normal flora is an essential foundation of our well-being and immune response. Repopulating your intestinal tract with “good” bacteria will also be a process that transpires over time but will bring you long-term benefit.

There are an abundance of probiotics available. It can be hard to sort out what products are of quality and purity. VSL-3 is a medical grade probiotic that has a proven tract record in healing intestinal tracts in misery from severe inflammatory bowel disease and chemotherapy induced bacterial overgrowth. You can trust VSL-3.

You are likely going to benefit from a multi-modal approach to healing your intestinal tract. An osmotic laxative to reduce pancaking and to re-educate your intestinal tract in coordinated motility to move along; a quality probiotic to re-popular your gut with “good” bacteria; gradual and gentle reintroduction of foods, steering clear of highly processed foods and foods with excessive added sugars and stabilizers.

Let us know how you are doing. I learned more from this forum than from any physician or ostomy nurse when I was initially recovering and new to a stoma. There is a lot of collective experience and wisdoms here to draw from.
Karen

[BillGK]

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your help. Y'all are a really nice group of people.

I called the medical supply company and my rep explained the lubricating deodorizer I had should be put in the bag before I put it on, that helped a lot for a few days. She also sent me stoma powder and I learned the hard way that you can't put it on the skin on your stomach, I had to change my bag twice today because my bag wasn't sticking. Also, stoma powder is a mess.

I'm so glad I didn't have all of this trouble when I first had the surgery; I would've been a basket case.

I've had Miralax two days in a row, but my output isn't more liquid, it's stickier. I'll keep trying different stuff and see what happens.

This too shall pass!

Merry Christmas!
Robin

Miralax will work. If you aren’t having the effect that you need after a few days, you will want to increase the dose, gradually. A split dose, morning and evening, is what I take.

Miralax will work because it must work. The active ingredient is what is found in a more concentrated form in Golytely, the thing that we use as a clean-out in preparation for a bowel exam.

[sassie]

Robin, There all right, I used to say miralax did not work for me, I must confess i just wasn't using the correct amount and taking it long enough, inside the cap is lines and take the full amount at first later i tapered off to 17ml BUT it did work..

sassie

[AuntieRobin]

I'm supposed to have my colostomy reversed in a month, on May 1, and I'm terrified. I've gotten used to the pouch. What if I have pain, diarrhea, hemorrhoids or even worse, accidents in public?

What if I go through major surgery and it isn't successful?

Does anyone have personal experience with this?

Thank you,
Robin

[sassie]

I have not had a reverse but i know people have great success and other have gone back, What has your Dr. said about what the outcome he thinks will be, its sure a case of pure choice that only you can make and i wish you the best of the best..

sassie