Today my stoma nurse (Kerry) visited me, to check my stoma, see how I am etc.
It was an interesting visit, Kerry was pleased with my stoma, she said it looks healthy, it’s settled to its size and won’t shrink any more. The diameter of my stoma is now 30mm and has been for a while.
Kerry also explained to me that I am now more prone to getting a hernia, this is because of the surgery I’ve had. My stomach muscles are weaker than before. This is not to say I’m likely to get a hernia, everybody is different, some people only sneeze and they get a hernia, well, that’s what Kerry says. It also depends on how good my muscles were before surgery, the better they were before, the less likely of me getting a hernia. She explained to me that I can wear a support belt, which I would be referred for, I believe someone will visit me, or I may have to pop into hospital, to be measured for a support belt.
They supply just one to start with, to see if it’s something I would wear, I don’t have to wear it all the time, it’s mainly if I’m lifting etc. If I do get on with it, they supply me with 3 support belts per year. One of the reasons they want to see if I get on with this belt before supplying any more, is the belt costs approx £70 each. Thankfully I don’t pay, not sure if that’s because I’m on benefits, but, I did ask Kerry a question.
As I am on benefits, I don’t pay for my urostomy bags and equipment that comes with my supplies, so my question was, if I was not on benefits, would I have to pay for all this?
The answer was, yes, I would have to pay for this, but, if I go to my GP, I could apply for a yearly medical exemption, which means I would pay approx £9 can’t remember if that’s monthly, but it does mean it would cover me for unlimited equipment in my supplies, for example if I ordered an extra box of urostomy bags, I wouldn’t have to pay any extra.
I believe I would have to reapply for this medical exemption yearly.
I’m getting on better with my bags, I’m getting 2-3 nights out of them, sometimes up to 4 nights, I personally wouldn’t leave it on longer than that. I have also got used to turning in the night and sleeping on either side.
I last had a CT scan on 15th March 2021. I then received a phone call from Dr Szita’s team on 14th April 2021, which I was expecting.
I was told there was nothing new from my CT scan results, which is great, as this means the CT scan results were good and nothing to worry about.
I have now been referred back to urology. I will be having a video conference with a nurse from urology on the 27th April 2021, as my CT scan results were good, I don’t think this is anything to worry about.
