Hello,
My partner has had a storma operation on the 10th September due to a tumor in the anus. Before diagnosis she was getting a mucus discharge and unfortunately since the storma this mucus discharge has gotten worse, she's getting no sleep as she get the urge of needing to go to the toilet a lot but the storma is doing that for her.
It's getting to the point that she's no energy and severely depressed, the storma nurse informed her about the feeling she would get it this us way beyond that, has anyone suffered from the same symptoms and is there anything that can ease this.
Thank you for any help.
Ian
Hi Ian.s and welcome to this part of the community.
Can I start by asking what kind of stoma your wife has? Is it an ileostomy or colostomy? In this group we have different experiences of different types of stomas, so it’s helpful to be able to connect with others who have the same type. I have an end colostomy myself, so that means I don’t suffer from the mucus leakage you describe but I’m presuming because of the location of your wife’s tumour she maybe has a loop colostomy?
It’s very common both to have mucus and the urge to go to the toilet, so I think a lot of people will be able to identify with that. Your wife is not far out from her surgery so it may well be that these both calm down and get better in time. I still occasionally get the urge to go to the toilet after more than 3 and a half years of living with stomas, but not often. These are phantom feelings because your body still has the memory of life before. It’s like someone having a limb amputated but feeling an itch where the limb once was.
Some people continue to have mucus even well out from surgery and just sit on the loo and let it pass in the usual manner. To my knowledge there’s nothing that can be done for either of these issues, as they are both normal, but I will let others add their thoughts. As I said, your wife is not long out from surgery and will have a lot of recovering to do, so while it all seems overwhelming at the moment it should get better in time. I hope things improve for her-it’s physically and mentally a big thing to go through and she does need to give herself time.
Sarah xx
Hi Ian
I don’t have personal experience of a defunctioning colostomy, but I do understand how tough the first weeks of recovery are. Your wife is fortunate to have such a caring husband, and I’m sure you are a great support to her. You take care and look after yourselves-this is tough and it’s scary. Having a supportive partner really does mean the world.
Sarah xx
