Managing A Prolapsed Stoma

One of the biggest fears that an ostomate may have, is that their stoma may prolapse. I will be honest with you this has happened to me, twice, and I am going to tell you my story to hopefully placate any worries or concerns you have around a prolapsed stoma.

The first time I got a prolapsed stoma

First things first, it is weird and slightly shocking if you have a prolapse. The first time this happened to me I was out with friends on Saint Patrick’s Day.

I had been working throughout the day and got on the train to London to go to a bar and have a fun evening. I remember as we went up to London I felt a dull ache around my stoma, that felt like I had a partial blockage. If you have had this feeling before, you will know what I am talking about. It felt like my stoma was trying to force something out, but it was struggling. Not a full blockage experience but in between. I tend to press around my stoma and the stoma skin when this happens just to relieve some of the tension around the skin. After about 10 minutes of this feeling, I got off the train and instantly noticed my bag was completely full.

‘Brilliant,’ I thought and ran off to the toilet, emptied my bag and everything was fine. I then made my way to the bar, grabbed a drink and chatted to some friends.

Now my bag usually sits on the outside of my trousers. I tend to do this when I am wearing low waisted jeans, which I was on the night. I also tend to check my bag to see if things are ok. I am not sure if this is something to do with being in hospital, but I tend to find myself holding the bottom of my bag and squeezing food. I know this sounds gross, but this is more to make sure my output is ok.

I was chatting to my friend and felt my bag being full. So, I thought, ‘Ok, fair enough. I’ve had a beer or two, so must be time to empty my bag.’ I went to the toilet emptied my bag, but when I felt my bag, I could feel my small intestine filling my bag, so when I undid my bag to drain the contents out, my small intestine was coming out of the bottom of it.

This totally freaked me out. I was trying to comprehend what had happened. I didn’t feel much pain, just more fear and shock about what had happened. I immediately left the loo, explained the situation and then thought, ‘I have to get back.’ Fortunately I walked to the station, which was close by. I googled what to do in this situation and just laid down. I got picked up at the station and went straight to the hospital. I sat in A&E for a few hours and my stoma had retracted in that time. I then felt fine, and the doctor said things were ok now, so keep on top of it.

He said this can just happen sometimes. It telescopes out and it can be something that happens all the time, or occasionally. Keep on top of it and come back if the colon changes to a dark colour.

I had no issues with my stoma pre this event nor prior. I was back to gyming as normal within a few weeks, and everything was great. Happy stoma life continues…

But then, it happened AGAIN!

The second time

The second time I was out with some IBD friends, and we organised a meet up. I met up with some of the Pelican and Respond ambassadors and we had such a blast in London. We went to a mini golf bar, and I remember sitting down and having that same feeling, my bag feels full, but something in my nag is much more solid that normal.

My stoma has prolapsed again.

I remember turning to my IBD mates, who are also ostomates and said, “Sorry guys my stoma has prolapsed, I am just gonna lay down for a bit, that ok?” They all laughed and said of course, no worries. I lay down and it started to go back in. I thought everything was alright and carried on with the day. But when we got to the next bar, I could feel it wasn’t going back, so again lay down for a while. After a long time, it went back to normal and I must admit, I must have looked like a right idiot laying down, holding my stoma bag, but being with some amazing ostomates meant they just made sure I was ok.

The day after my partner and I noticed my stoma was more swollen than normal, so I lay down in the bath and put some sugar on it. My stoma went back to normal in a short amount of time and fortunately it hasn’t happened since.

My only advice here is to not panic if it does happen to you. Lay down and the stoma should hopefully go back in. But always go see your doctor or visit the hospital to be safe! The sugar trick does work, but again follow this up with your stoma care nurses to make sure nothing else is going on.

So, there you have it, another blog about my stoma and some of the weirder sides to stoma life. I hope you found it insightful and if you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to me on socials @ibdlife.

Much love and speak soon,

Cheers

Ant @ibdlife

Disclaimer: This blog post is intended to give advice to ostomates. The information given is based on Ant’s personal experience and should not be taken as clinical advice. If you have a prolapse stoma, please contact your local stoma care nurse for advice and support.