A few ileostomy/ bag pictures.

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littlefreebird

littlefreebird

Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
312
a few ileostomy/ bag pictures.

well i'm 15 weeks post-op now, have been working full time in a new job for 7 weeks now!
it is amazing how quickly you get used to having a bag, i completely forget it's there and couldn't imagine not having it there now and using a toilet the usual way lol!

finding out i needed the surgery in june, then actually having it done in july, i had 1 month to mentally prepare, i was all over the place, i convinced everyone i was fine with the whole thing but i was very teary- it all just happened to fast.

this forum was an absolute life-saver. i've been through it, parts were tough but life is now amazing and i just wish i had it done sooner.

i always wanted to share a couple of pictures because if i can make one person who is potentially facing this op feel a little less scared about the whole thing, then that would make me very happy.

my surgery was open surgery- to remove the entire large intestine, rectum and anus. some people are lucky enough to have it done laproscopically if the surgery is well planned in advance but mine was classed as an emergency.

the 1st pic is around 4-5 days post op. the plaster to the left is where my drain was.


this pic is how my wound and bag currently look like. i still have the little dots (from where the staples were lol) and please note the pic is taken into the mirror so my bag is actually on the right.


and another...


this pic i have to apologise for the posing- it was one of my first nights out and i was quite excited lol. just wanted to post it to show that the bag is not visible under tight clothes...because in my opinion after this surgery you are definatley not limited in what you wear.


if you have pics to share in this post- feel free! :)
 
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You are looking great! i'm glad you did this! before my surgery, I was desperate to see what I'd end up looking like. Hopefully this will be useful for people going into surgery, I know I'd have appreciated it before. anyway here's me as of a few minutes ago.

dgje34.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing, ladies! I think this thread will be helpful for many.
 
thanks for sharing ! I am so happy you are doing so well :)

I would share Gab's pictures but she may hunt me down after LOL.
I'll ask her and see what she says for sure tho :)
 
Thank you both so much for sharing your experience and pictures! I am new to all of this but know that I may be headed in that direction. You both are very strong, brave women for going through this and sharing with such bright attitudes! Thanks again and I wish you both continued health and recovery!!!

Suzanne
 
I have pics of mine up here already somewhere...I'd take a new one but I'm much fatter now...lol
 
thanks everyone and thanks emily for sharing, that has healed up really nicely for you!

nyx, you're scar looks very similar to mine, purple-ish and mine has stretched/ widened also. thankyou for sharing :)
 
General Encouragement

I feel that when one becomes chronically ill you can turn into one of 3 people. You either become very angry, very depressed or learn to be happy in spite of it. Even though sometimes we may go through the first 2 before we get to third it is always better. Congratulations on coming out ok. You have made me feel better and a little less scared just in case my Crohn's gets to that point. Thanks for such a positive attitude.
 
Brave to post pics ladies. Looking great and it will certainly help people who will be scared at the life changing effects of major surgery. :)

I see myself as lucky that the positioning of my stoma means I don't have to limit what I wear.
 
Looking good. Did you have your surgery in the royal? I had my op on 12th sept in the royal I had about 40 cm off small bowel removed and a temp (hopefully) ileostomy. Unfortunately I also had a psoas abcess which resulted in a total hospital stay of 5 weeks. Good to see how well u look.
 
It's good to hear ( and see :) ) how you brave people are doing so well. Thanks for posting - you'll be an inspiration to many, I'm sure x
 
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Glad it all went well and your lookin great now.

Here's my little beauty!

IMGP0925a.gif


2 op's through the same hole last one 17 months ago. They stappled me up the first time around but last time they glued me back together! Stitched me on the inside and glued the skin back over the top. It was quite odd. made me feel a bit worried really that it might unstick :p

JK
 
Nice pic JK, I remember when mine was that shade... it fades to pink ever so slowly. I'd love to see more pics from anyone who's willing to share, it's really interesting! As a side note, in my pic I am one year post op and had a laparoscopic surgery so mine is little... but still, it took me a while to be not embarassed in a bikini this summer :redface: I think I hate the little laparoscopy scars more than the big incision itself.
 
Yes this is what I'm talking about!

Last week I posted a video of my stoma and another pic here;

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showpost.php?p=365465&postcount=103

I took some more today which is a month after my laproscopic op.

Without bag;
cb7e07e6.jpg


Closeup without bag;
430c0494.jpg


With bag;
0c32207e.jpg


And I also took some close ups of the scars as you can't even really make them out on the pic. I put a small kirby clip next to them for size.

1a6769d8.jpg

be0a4e83.jpg

6fc933eb.jpg

75c092b2.jpg

cf9f923a.jpg


And no, I'm not deformed in the last one. It's the one in my belly button!
 
Thanks for sharing. I'm terrified of ending up with a bag (mostly because of my own vanity), so it helps to see you wear it so well! You look fantastic!
 
whilst were at it i thought id put one up aswell, but youll have to excuse the poor quality and the strange hairy belly!... lol still a scar from the gastostromy above the mucous fistula but where i had a drain isnt so bad.

4580da5f.jpg
 
chrisnsteph1022 said:
You have two bags? I don't understand.
Click to expand...

the smaller patch isnt a bag as such, its a patch that covers a mucous fistula. i think what i have is referred to as a loop ileostomy. Not much comes out of this really other than small amounts of mucous. although the smell of it is horrible!..
 
May I take this moment to wolf whistle at all of you gorgeous lovely ostomates???
:thumleft:
 
Some pretty sexy stomachs in this thread! *echoes Misty's wolf whistle*

And littlefreebird wow! You're stunning! Great abs!
 
emr52 said:
oops didn't realize this was the stoma subforum :blush: my bad! I just hadn't seen a thread like this before. whoopsies!
Click to expand...

We all have scars! Dont be embarrassed...WE arent! You should see Nyx in her swimsuit...Uh huh....she rocks!
 
emr52 said:
oops didn't realize this was the stoma subforum :blush: my bad! I just hadn't seen a thread like this before. whoopsies!
Click to expand...

I saw what thread it was but any excuse to show what i'm hiding under my shirt is a good excuse :p
 
yall make those look good,lol im glad everyone is healing and doing good, and pray this help everyone go into remission
 
no don't worry the more scar pics the merrier, they're very interesting to see, thankyou everyone for sharing!

bigtruck, i actually had my op done in antrim area as it is the hospital closer to where i live, hope you are well on the mend now!

michelle, thanks for posting, its good for people facing this op to be able to compare the lapro with the open surgery! them little scars will heal up great for you. and it apears we are wearing the same bag.

i usually wear a one piece bag by coloplast, but this day i was just trying something different lol.

martin, will your drain/ loop ileostomy be taken down or do you need it there long term?
 
You are welcome! I had noticed although yours looks like the old style dan sac bags. I started off on the one piece new style and am used to them now. I wanted to try the 2 piece and my local stoma nurse bought some to try but in the old style. Couldn't stand them! I think if it wasn't for the new style I'd use the coloplast ones too.

And yes they are hardly going to be noticeable which I'm thankful for. But I thought you'd put on loads of weight since the op?? You are tiny! But looking good! I've lost a stone since the op. Seemingly everywhere apart from my stomach!!! Grrr! None of clothes fit anymore lol. Glad you're doing well :)
 
glad you're doing well also, you seem to be coping great!
yes i'm over a stone heavier in the the last picture than in the bag pictures lol
 
littlefreebird said:
martin, will your drain/ loop ileostomy be taken down or do you need it there long term?
Click to expand...

I've been told it can be reversed, but i haven't been given a time scale as the surgeon wants to be happy that everything is ok after all the comlications I had and that there is no crohns symptoms appearing. although at the moment it feels like things are starting to go downhill so I'm not to confident of getting it reversed at the moment!
 
So happy for you Freebird! You look beautiful:) Just remember folks, we have this disease, but this disease does not have us!
 
Wow thanks for sharing this post. Freebird - you look great!! You cover it very well, as do I and no one can't even tell I've got a bag. This definitely will help others who are facing surgery to have a stoma. I've had mine for 7 years.

Kris that is so true - this disease does NOT have us! I refuse to let it run my life!

Great thread - although I don't have the courage yet to post mine, but it sure makes me feel a lot better to have this subforum :)
 

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