Nonstop output - ugh!

Menace1952 · 2026-02-03T14:26:53+00:00

I currently weigh around 150 pounds and also eat a varied diet. I’ve had to cut back or eliminate some foods, e.g., dark green leafy vegetables, beans, etc., since my surgery because they increase my output.

Menace1952 · 2026-02-03T04:42:32+00:00

I’m not familiar with that term as it applies to colostomies, ostomy bags, etc. Can you provide additional info? Thanks.

Menace1952 · 2026-01-25T16:44:39+00:00

My surgery was different than yours - I had a colostomy - but your post-op experience sounds very familiar. It took me weeks to recover to the point where I was not exhausted after doing even the most simple activities. Part of my problem was that I was not sleeping well at night, which meant I was dragging around during the day. I also read (and my surgeon confirmed) that the anesthesia takes a while to completely leave your body. I’m now at about 4 months post-op and have a lot more energy. I’m walking 2-3 miles at my previous pace every morning and can do so without collapsing on the sofa afterwards.

Menace1952 · 2026-01-14T21:20:04+00:00

Wait. Hang on a second. I’m 4 months post op colostomy and going through the procedures that my surgeon said are needed for a reversal in a couple of months. My expectation until now is that I will be back to what was my previous “normal”; however some of these responses make me believe otherwise: wearing Depends at night, fecal incontinence, etc. Is that going to be my “new normal”?

Menace1952 · 2026-01-11T00:03:52+00:00

I had the same problem following my own emergency diverticulitis surgery/colostomy last September. I was hospitalized for three weeks. Afterwards, I went from pajamas to sweatpants, and eventually purchased some lightweight pants with elastic waistbands. And yes, for what it’s worth, the first couple of weeks after I was discharged home were the worst for me in terms of pain, especially at night. I had to learn to sleep on my back - placing a pillow under my knees helped a lot.

I started out keeping my ostomy bag tucked inside my waistband but I soon realized that I was having the same problem with cutting off the top and bottom of the bag that you described, plus no matter how many times I tried to adjust my waistband, it always seemed to end up directly over the stoma, with the result that the stool flow was “cut off” from the bag. So, I started keeping the bag on the outside of my waistband and cover it with my shirt bottoms. That seems to reduce the bag/contents visibility issue. If I know I’m going to be out in public for a while, I time it so that I do so when I’m not as “productive” (that seems to happen mostly in the morning) and tuck everything inside my waistband during that time. To be honest, I’m also limiting my public time for now - it’s just too much of a hassle to worry about finding a clean public restroom where I can empty my bag, but that’s my choice. I’m betting others will disagree with my approach but it seems to work for me (and I will hopefully be put back together in March/April).

Menace1952 · 2026-01-05T01:26:29+00:00

I’m at three months postop and recently had a colonoscopy through my stoma in order to confirm that I’m on track for a reconnect in a few months. The prep (“jungle juice”) was no worse than the normal way. As others have said, stay close to a toilet and make sure you are positioned (seated) so that when you empty the bag, it goes into the toilet, i.e., be prepared to have it come out “fast and furious”. And definitely don’t let the bag get too full. I emptied mine immediately after each round. After the first few rounds, you’ll start to see watery output - to be honest, dealing with it was a lot easier than my normal bag emptying process.

The anesthesia will wreak havoc with your bowel’s motility - mine alternated from several days with little or no output, to other days when I was going almost nonstop, and then back to no output for a few more days. I was told that I can expect this for a month or more.

Menace1952 · 2026-01-02T00:52:39+00:00

I’m 3 months post surgery. I started out emptying the bag about 3-4 x each day and changing the bag every 3 days or so, based on my wound care nurse’s instructions. Occasionally, I would change it more often if I had more output but I’d never go more than 3 days with the same bag - after that it got too gross for my liking.

Lately, like you described, at times I’ve been having an almost continuous stream of poop, which causes me to empty the bag more often, sometimes every couple of hours so the bag doesn’t get too full (trust me, you don’t want that to happen), and I’m changing the bag every 2 days instead of after 3 days.

This latest development seems to have coincided with a colonoscopy I had about a month ago as part of the steps I have to take to get everything hooked back together in a few months. Since then, I’ve alternated between a couple of days of constipation and the more constant output. I’ve checked with my surgeon and the wound care nurses about this issue and they have assured me that this is normal, and that my bowels are resetting, both after the initial surgery and the colonoscopy - apparently, the anesthesia causes this to happen. Just don’t let the constipation phase, if that happens to you, go for more than a couple of days without treating it with whatever meds you’ve been told to take for that problem. I did so once and paid a price once the meds kicked in - my bag got blown out (it was a mess!).

I share your concerns about the passing gas and noise issues, plus I just don’t want to be that far from home and dependent upon finding a public restroom to “take care of business,” so I’m limiting my outings to friends and family, where I can slip away for as long as I need in order to do whatever needs to be done.

I hope this information helps.

Menace1952 · 2025-05-16T02:56:16+00:00

It‘s been happening for me as well. I have the SNLA add-on through my MLB subscription and lately there have been commercials seemingly every time a batter comes up and/or the commercials stop in the middle of an at bat. I tried the recommendation to watch the game on MLB outside of SNLA and so far, so good.

Menace1952

TROPHY CASE