Hi Apr op

monzaman

Hi Andy

Glad you have been able to break down the door and gain access into the stoma support group.

Having your surgery and a stoma is certainly better than all the alternatives, you should find that afterwards you will regain back a life that you thought was gone forever. You should find that (nearly) everything you enjoyed previously will still be within your grasp.

You will have to allow for recovery time before you can start to do something but as we are different you may progress quicker that you would expect providing that you don't lift anything heavier that a ½ full kettle of water and you don't strain your stomach. Back to driving 6-8 weeks but others have mentioned they've been behind the wheel quicker.

Listen to your body it will give you all the indications you need with a little twinge.

Living with a stoma, it is up to you who you tell that you have a bag to poo in, personally I tell the world and his brother that I have one. One thing for certain is you won't be alone. It's hard to tell if the person standing next to you is a fellow ostomate unless they just happen to give themselves an assuring pat down.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask in this group we believe that there is no such thing as a silly or daft question if something is bugging you pop in and ask it we'll give you the answer and you can move on.

I can answer most questions including those on stoma necessities and help you find solutions should you stumble across a problem.

I'm on site 7 days a week and can be found at some very strange hours if you need to chat.

Good luck with the pre assessment on the 24th and hopefully that the OP will follow very shortly afterwards and you can soon be like me Living each day with a Stoma.

Keep in touch.

Ian

Hi Ian and thanks I’ve all ready told mates friends even blokes on site (I’m a painter on new build homes) that I’m going to have a poo bag I don’t care what others think hopefully me and my new bestie will get in great hey it’s going to save my life 

again cheers all the best Andy 

As BODACH mentioned we are all different. I was lucky and was walking my dogs after two weeks. Partly from necessity as my dog walker let me down. I was also driving after three weeks, but only on very short trips for dog walking, and driving at 15 miles an hour! Luckily I live in North Devon so it wasn’t a problem. I did listen to my body and rested when I needed to though. My first day home I overdid things, and the next day was laid up as a result. You’ll learn to prioritise what you need to do over what you want to do. Wishing you all the very best.

Hi monzaman,

Welcome to the group! Now that you know what you're facing and when you're likely to have surgery, you should start to prepare for it now. Get all those odd jobs done that you've been putting off, fill the freezer with easily prepared meals, sort out all your paperwork. Have you thought about how suitable your bathroom is for you for when you get home? Where would you store all your supplies etc? There's quite a lot to prepare for, and it will keep you more than busy! But this preparation can make all the difference to you. You might go in to hospital and be relatively fit pre-op, but post-op is entirely different! I found that after surgery I needed so much help from the nurses, and even when I got home, I still needed a lot of help as you won't be fit to do much at all. The surgeon should guide you on how long before you can drive again - it's usually 6 - 8 weeks. They say it's when you're able to do an emergency stop. 

When I got home the recovery truly began. I had a short attention span, and was very tired. The Barbie bum will tell you that you can't sit for long periods of time. I came home from hospital with painkillers - but no-one told me that they were addictive and I had a job coming off those (Tramadol). So watch out for that. My op was mid-September 2012, and I returned to work January 2013. Don't be afraid to contact the stoma nurses, the colorectal nurses, the surgeon's team or even your GP if you have anything that you want to check with them. They're all there for you.

Getting used to your stoma will be a rollercoaster - it's not too bad in hospital because it's so soon after your op, but you won't get home until you can show that you can look after your stoma, and change the pouches. It's a big learning curve too. You'll get to know what you can eat, and what effect certain foods have on you now. 

About 2 years after my op, my stoma nurses asked if I would be interested in irrigation - and that might be something that you could look in to. It gives you back some control of your bowels, and it gives me loads more confidence. I irrigate the stoma first thing in the morning, emptying the bowels and don't usually have any output for the rest of the day. In your line of work I'd also mention that you should speak to your stoma nurses about hernia prevention - better to prevent one that have to deal with one!

There are so many practical things about your recovery and stoma management, so just ask!

Take each day at a time, listen to your body, set small achievable goals, and most of all, don't panic!

Good luck for your op... I'm sure it'll be op time before you know it!

Linda :-)

Hi 2207and thanks for that a great and informative message cheers Andy 

Hi Linda store all supplies? I meet with stoma nurse on the 24th feb sorry to sound so stupid 

cheers Andy 

Hi Andy,

Good to hear from you. The practical side of things with a stoma isn't discussed very often. You'll find your own way of what works best for you but this is how I store my supplies:

In my bathroom I've got a 2 basket storage unit that I put wheels on and in the baskets I store my current supplies for my stoma - pouches, disposable bags and wipes, amongst other things. (I put it on wheels so that I can easily move it around for when I irrigate). The supplies come in bulk, so I've got a basket that slides under my bed and the excess supplies are in there. I was never one to want to see everything piled up and 'in my face' as I do like to feel as normal as possible!!

Some people will dispose of their pouches etc immediately, but that might not be workable if you're some distance from the bin, so you might want to think about that. I started off with a nappy bin for my bathroom, but that was too footery, so that never lasted long. I treated myself to a Simple Human bin and I've found that that works really well for me. 

When I'm out and about I've got a plain black wash bag which is in my handbag, and in there I've got 6 pouches with wipes and disposal bags, a tin of body spray incase I need to spray the bathroom, anti-bacterial hand gel for my hands, and a pair of brand new knickers. I obviously take no chances when I'm out and about lol.

Hope this will give you some ideas for you, but it's only by trial and error that you'll find out what suits you best.

I was at my stoma nurse last week, and whilst waiting to go in, I looked at everyone in the waiting area and couldn't tell who had a stoma - you should look around you when you go to see your stoma nurse. You'll be amazed that you can't tell by looking at someone if they have a stoma or not, and that's a big boost!

Linda :-)

Cheers Linda great bit of info there

you reckon when I go to the football matches with my sons I should take spare bags and pouches sorry for the questions 

it’s just a man bag at the footie lol all the best Andy 

Hi Andy,

I think you should have a couple of spare pouches and disposal bags with you wherever you go - just incase! Depending on which pouches you use, you might find that they fit quite neatly into your back pocket or jacket pocket. But a man bag will do the same job!

Linda :-)

Thankfully no worries now since the reversal but when we went out I had a rucksack with spare bags, wipes, black bags, spray, etc. It is worth asking stoma nurses if you can have a disabled toilet key, very useful and my nurses said it is completely ok to have one. Best of luck. Peter