Ostomy Not Draining Irrigation Water.

A forum devoted to "Irrigation" - a procedure that may be helpful for some people with left-sided colostomies.
Anyone can read. Only registered users can post.
No commercial posting allowed.

Moderators: Jimbob, ot dave

Forum rules
Before posting, please read our Discussion Board Terms and Conditions and our Code of Conduct.
Post Reply
Jessicajessica
Posts: 1
Joined: 2020-05-16 15:51:19

Ostomy Not Draining Irrigation Water.

Post by Jessicajessica »

My dad has a new colostomy, specifically a descending sigmoid colostomy. He got it on Feb 24 of this year.

A nurse came to the house a bunch of time and taught him how to irrigate it. He really liked the effect of irrigation, and chose to do his at night. He's done it many times now on his own and uses water at an appropriate temperature. He put in 1000mL last night (may 15) and only about 250ish mL flushed out.

I suggested he go for a walk, drink a warm tea, and put a warm compress on his abdomen (not on the stoma but to the right of it). He has felt little to no nausea, and nausea he has felt may be due to the fact that he didn't eat in the morning when he should have.

It is now the next day, and his stoma still has not emptied. A small amount of thin, clear but brown fluid had come out, his estimate is about 30mL.

His stoma is not swollen, according to him. I've listened to his abdomen with my stethoscope and I hear minimal bowel sound in the right lower quadrant but better sounds up above. His abdomen is bloated, but he always had some bloat to him, firm and non-distended. He is not complaining of pain.

It has been 18 hours will still no fluid but some gas. Has anyone had this happen with their stoma? Any suggestions on how to treat this? Should we be worried?
User avatar
ot dave
Posts: 2119
Joined: 2010-03-04 19:26:19

Re: Ostomy Not Draining Irrigation Water.

Post by ot dave »

Hi Jessica,

I wouldn't sound an alarm just yet. From the symptoms, or lack there of, that you are describing, it doesn't sound like anything is wrong. If he had a blockage, the water wouldn't have gone in...
It could be that he was just dehydrated, and the water was absorbed by the colon...which is one of the functions of the colon. And, if he hasn't had much to eat, there may not have been any output. Each one of us has different metabolism and rate of transit. For me, I need to irrigate every morning. For others, they can go a day in between irrigations and not have any output. With limiting intake and using immodium, I can go 48 hours between irrigation sessions.
Sounds like your dad has slow transit times or that he might have been dehydrated, or a combination of both.
Obviously, if he starts to have pain/discomfort, you'll want to get in touch with his physician. But right now, it doesn't sound like anything is wrong. He's just going to have to figure out what his new normal is going to look like.
Hope that helps some.

David
stage III rectal CA 12/08 - colostomy 3/09
"Gatoring since 2010"
Psalms 91:2
Post Reply