I spoke to my stoma nurse yesterday and she confirmed that blood from a new stoma is common, but to speak to my GP is the blood is coming from inside my stoma. As the blood seems to have stopped for now, I won’t be calling my GP. However, if it happens again, I will.

The skin directly underneath my stoma was red and sore when I changed my bag yesterday but the barrier cream seems to soothe it a little bit. The annoying thing is, when I saw the nurses on Thursday, my stoma and skin were both fine. I’ve taken a picture of what the skin was like yesterday so when I see them next, I can show them. I’m hoping the skin clears up on its own and that the blood was a one off.

As for the cramps, it seems my eating mini pizzas causes them to get worse. I’m not sure why they do but I think it’s best I avoid pizza for a while. I’ve been using a hot water bottle at night to relax my muscles so I can sleep, but I still need to take painkiller. I’m still taking paracetamol regularly but I’m also taking codeine and buscopan (IBS relief) on occasion.