I was all pleased with myself for making a tasty jackfruit masala last night. We enjoyed a nice early dinner, watched a bit of telly and went to bed to snuggle down so we could hit Monday with a bang.
The bang was earlier than planned, when I woke with a start in the middle of the night, and it took me a while to know why… realisation setting in as a wave of pain hit me right in the gut. Oof!
The first thing I did was lower my hand to my stoma bag to see what is going on there.
Oh. Its empty. It is never empty in the night?! I always have to get up and empty through the wee hours…
Aw bugger, it dawns on me maybe the dinner hasn’t broken down as much as I had anticipated. I started mentally ticking off the list:
No output
Abdominal pain
Feeling like I wanted to vomit
Swollen tummy
A blockage is not only as painful as a painful thing on a painy day, it can also be very dangerous. For me lasy night it was constant pain with waves of it getting much more severe. Apparently it is kind of like labour contractions in a way (how do you mothers have more than one child?!). Of course, your brain goes to the worst case scenario…
If you have no output after 8 hours you should get to A&E, and I’m laying there at 7hours gone… Google reminds me of my nurses instructions of what to do:
Gently massage
Walk around
Squat (yep, 3am in dressing gown and socks… it’s a look!)
Drink plenty of fluids
Stop eating (no worries there)
Warm the area
I added “wake up the husband and cry at him” at about 3:30am, no longer able to put up with it without sympathy! Another half an hour and we will be pulling our clothes on and heading to A&E, somewhere I really would rather not be right now. The panic sets in, and I am placated by cuddles as I sob about how much it hurts. Then, flashback to a day in the office a while back (well certainly not in the past year… damn covid) when Claire gave me a diet coke one day when I was struggling. Aha! There is one more thing we haven’t tried… carbonate… oh so glad I did. A good few glugs of Tesco’s finest cream soda, lots more massaging and eventually I feel things moving. Over the course of a few hours relief comes, pain subsides and I am no longer planning my trip to Maidstone Hospital. Phew!
So, really this is a reminder of the symptoms for ostomates, you may experience:
• Thin, clear liquid output with foul odour; can progress
to no output.
• Cramping pain in the abdomen (belly); may be near the
stoma or the entire abdomen.
• Decrease in urine output; urine may be dark in colour.
This may happen from dehydration due to not wanting to
drink fluids because you don’t feel well.
• Swelling of the abdomen and stoma.
When at home, do not panic and try the below before you call 111
•If your stoma starts to swell, put a new bag on with a bigger hole so you don’t give the stoma trauma
• If there is no output from your stoma, stop eating solid food and drink water and warm drinks. Some people swear by warm milk
• Take a warm bath or use a hot water bottle to relax the abdominal muscles
• Move, walking can help move things
• Try several different positions. If you are in bed, bring your knees up to your chest or lay on stoma side and rock
• Massage the abdominal area and the area around your stoma. Most food blockages occur below the stoma and rubbing this area should help move blockages
Hopefully this is enough to help it pass and you do not need a trip to A&E but if it is prolonged and you are vomiting call 111 (advised these covid days first) and if you go, take a supply of your own stoma bags, and good luck!
Oh, and paint a smile on the next day when you are knackered!
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