Urostomy

I was born with an exstrophy of the bladder and in 1969 I had an ileal conduit (urosromy).  I had to have it redone in 2001.  Currently I am having large amount of mucous come out from my stoma.  I will have severe pain and then a large plug will come out of my stoma.  My urine will become brown and I usually get an infection after this occurs.  Do you know what could be causing the mucous and the sever pain?  Does anyone else have this problem and how do I prevent this from occuring.  Thank you 1969urostomy

[David A Burks, MD]

Hi,  
You don't have Interstitial Cystitis, but mucous coming from your urostomy is normal.  Your urostomy is made of bowel. Bowel normally makes mucous to lubricate the surface for passage of stool.  Your urine now runs thru the bowel segment and washes the mucous out. The mucous can be heavy, especially if your urostomy is made of bowel taken from the colon.   The urine can look thick with a lot of sediment in it, and you can get infections.  The key is to keep yoursely well hydrated to keep the urine flowing and the mucous dilluted out. There are other options for handling urine production and evacuation that are safer for your kidneys in the long run and more cosmetically appealing. You may want to consult a Urologist who specializes in reconstructive urology to discuss your options.  Good Luck.