United Ostomy Association Inc Grand Rapids Ostomy Association Helping People with Ostomies and Alternate Surgeries in Southwest Michigan "Call Us We're Here to Help 616 752-8317"

Now that you have, or will have an ileostomy, you should know that you will not necessarily have to change to a new way of life, merely a new way of bowel evacuation. Adjusting to the change in your bowel function may seem difficult and frustrating at first. Body changes often cause feelings of shock, loneliness, fear, guilt, resentment, and discouragement. Many ostomates have some of these feelings and you are no different from the thousands of others who have undergone this lifesaving surgery. You will be able to adjust to the ileostomy as you learn the necessary techniques.

An unfamiliar topic

If ileostomy surgery is a new and unfamiliar topic, you probably have many questions you would like to have answered. For further information, write or call the United Ostomy Assodation. Read the following pages carefully. The glossary will help you with the technical terms that appear in dark type. You may be worried about adjusting to the changes in your body function and the way you look. You may also wonder how you will be accepted by others and if your life will be affected. You may feel as if you are the only person in the world who has to live with this new way of managing intestinal drainage. Actually, there are tens of thousands of people like you, working, living, and enjoying life just as they did before illness and surgery.

An individual matter

There is no one way to take care of an ileostomy. Just as ileostomies differ, so does how to take care of them. This booklet gives you suggestions and ideas for managing your ileostomy. Use the booklet as a guide rather than a textbook. Discuss the ideas with a physician or an enterostomal therapy (ET) nurse and adapt them to your situation. Give new things a fair trial, but do not insist on them if they fail to make you more comfortable. What is good for someone else may not be good for you. The sooner you learn to take care of your ileostomy, the better. Use the weeks of recovery for learning and trying different things. In our society, bathroom needs are kept private. This is the same for a person with an ileostomy. While you learn the new procedures, you may need help. Before long, however, you will again be in control. Having a good sense of humor and using common sense are indispensable ingredients, when changes in body function occur. Be confident, you can do it.

Preparing for ileostomy surgery

Some people have been ill for a long time before ileostomy surgery and are able to prepare themselves emotionally before their operation. Others may not have the opportunity to prepare themselves before emergency surgery. They do not have time to face the prospect of having their operation, or talk with someone about how they feel. Whichever, description fits your situation, there are many ways you can better understand your future life with an ileostomy. This file will give you helpful facts about living with an ileostomy. Your physician and ET nurse or other nurses are also important sources of information and support.
A special source of help with your adjustment is an ostomy visitor. The visitor is a person who, like you, has had ileostomy surgery. He or she can answer many of your questions about day to day life. Your ostomy visitor has successfully adapted to the changes which ostomy surgery makes, and can help you see how you can adjust too. You may also be helped by taking part in an ostomy support group. A support group allows you to share your feelings and ask questions as you make progress with your adjustment. It also allows you to share your successful adjustment with others who may need the benefit of your own experience.* Most ostomy visitor programs and support groups are sponsored by local chapters of the United Ostomy Assodation (UOA). If you would like to see a visitor or take part in a support group, ask your physician, ET nurse, or other nurses. You or your family may also locate the local UOA chapter by checking your telephone directory or by asking local health-related referral services.

Facts About Ileostomies

An ileostomy is an opening in the abdominal wall through which body waste is passed. The end of the Ieum (the lowest portion of the small intestine) is brought through the abdominal wall to form a stoma, usually on the lower right side of the abdomen. When you look at your stoma, you are actually looking at the lining (or mucosa) of the intestine, which is like the lining of your cheek. It is warm, moist and pink Normally, the colon and rectum are removed and normal colon and rectum functions are no longer present.

The digestive system before ileostomy surgery

Anatomy

A description of the large and small intestine may help you understand the changes in your body. The digestive system begins with the mouth and ends with the anus. The small intestine, which is connected to the stomach, is about 20 feet long and is loosely coiled in the abdominal region. It may remind you of a garden hose. Known as the small intestine because it is smaller than the large intestine, it consists of three parts, the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The large intestine is about six feet long and is connected to the end of the small intestine (the ileum).

Indications Ulcerative Colitis Crohn's Disease Familial Polyposis Complications of Cancer Discharge Liquid or paste consistency Unpredictable discharge Contains residual digestive enzymes Management Skin protection Open end, drainable pouch

Anatomy After Colon Removal Ileostomy Stoma

The reasons for ileostomy surgery

An ileostomy is usually performed when a diseased or injured colon cannot be successfully treated with medicine. The most frequent reason is inflammatory bowel disease of the colon. The two types of inflammatory bowel disease are Crohn’s disease (ileitis) and ulcerative colitis. Ileostomies are also done because of birth defects, familial polyposis, injury, or cancer. Occasionally, a temporary ileostomy is performed in order to protect and rest the colon or small intestine, beyond the stoma, while that section is healing.

How the ileostomy changes digestive function

You may wonder how it is possible for you to live without your colon (large intestine). The major functions of the colon and rectum are storing intestinal contents, absorbing water, and carrying waste to the outside. Although these functions are necessary for you to live, they can be taken over by the small bowel. The major function of the small intestine is to absorb the body’s nutrients and water. Enzymes released into the small intestine break food into small particles so that vitally needed proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals can be absorbed. These enzymes will also be present in ileostomy discharge; they will act on the skin the same way they work on foods. This is why the skin around an ileostomy must always be protected. When the colon is present, the food you eat eventually reaches the large intestine where it is stored and more water is absorbed. Many hours or perhaps days later, the mass is expelled through the anus in a formed stool. Peristalsis (muscle contractions of the colon) pushes the contents toward the rectum. When the stool reaches the rectum, the need to empty the large intestine occurs and nerve pathways from the brain initiate the process of defecation.

After removal of the colon and rectum, you no longer have this need or control. Unlike the anus, the stoma has no shutoff muscle. Digestive contents pass out of the body through the stoma and are collected in an individually fitted drainable pouch, which is worn at all times. Because the small intestine does not store and make intestinal contents solid, your stool will never get thicker than toothpaste. However, the soft stool in your ileostomy pouch should not be confused with loose stool and diarrhea.

---

Back to: Home Page, The Digestive System, Glossary.