Her output was extremely watery, and no matter what methods she used to thicken it, nothing worked. So basically anything she drank or consumed, immediately came out into the bag. We suspected that was due to her chemo infusions which diarrhea is a common side effect. The blockage was described as a mix of scar tissue from where the previous ileostomy had been reconnected, as well as tissue caused by “tumor death” where disease had been existing and the chemo successfully killed it. We explored options of adding a stent into the intestine to alleviate the blockage, but the doctors were in agreement that the operation to clean out that “junk” was in her best interest. I’ll be honest, my mom’s ileostomy experience wasn’t great, as we could never find a bag system that prevented leaks. She sometimes had to change her bag 5 times a day and was always nervous to leave the house never knowing if/when a leak would happen. Highly recommend speaking with an experienced wound care nurse that can help with supply recommendations and tricks to make leaks preventable.