The downsides of having a stoma

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Hobbes650

Hobbes650

Joined
Jun 4, 2012
Messages
449
Another thread got me thinking- what are the downsides you've experienced with a stoma (compared with before surgery)? I could only think of two:

1) I don't get as much reading done. :poo:

2) I can't do the old "pull my finger" joke. :biggrin:


Please add to the list.
 
Erm I never used to wake to find myself laying on a bag on air before!

Public toilets that don't flush well are more problematic. It looks like I have a seriously bad case of the squits. and I'm sure people wonder how I ended up with poo down the front of the bowl rather than down the back lol.
 
The only downside for me has been the loss of my bikini body. But even that's not that big a deal. The pros have definitely outweighed the cons.
 
Can't get out of doing yardwork anymore. ;)

Gaining weight because you can finally eat food again!
 
One of the advantages for me was I could not be blamed for a fart.

I also could dump it standing up, if I had to.

The downsides were many for me. One was the sheer volume was a big hassle. Leakage was another one. It was often sore, which I do not miss. I can see that for many, it would be much better than suffering with other symptoms.

Dan
 
D Bergy said:
One of the advantages for me was I could not be blamed for a fart.

I also could dump it standing up, if I had to.

The downsides were many for me. One was the sheer volume was a big hassle. Leakage was another one. It was often sore, which I do not miss. I can see that for many, it would be much better than suffering with other symptoms.

Dan
Click to expand...



Reminds me of a funny story. Sitting on the couch with my roommate and a mutual friend when we start smelling something really foul. My roommate looked at our mutual friend and said "Nice try, but you're so busted". Our mutual friend said "How'd you know it was me?" I gave him a look and then he said "Oh that's right, I forgot". And he thought he was so clever by being silent...not. :lol2:
 
Had to give up refereeing hockey for a while because I couldn't fit the bag into my protective gear. Can you imagine the mess that would make out of a sheet of ice?
 
Misty-Eyed said:
...
Public toilets that don't flush well are more problematic. It looks like I have a seriously bad case of the squits. and I'm sure people wonder how I ended up with poo down the front of the bowl rather than down the back lol.
Click to expand...
This is why I like the toilets in the USA better than the ones here in Oz - the water comes up much higher in the bowl.
 
It's awful not checking the decor of all the toilets across the world....Then again, I guess I dont miss it THAT much! :hallo3:
 
Susan2 said:
This is why I like the toilets in the USA better than the ones here in Oz - the water comes up much higher in the bowl.
Click to expand...

Haha I feel like I'm sitting on a lake when I'm using a toilet in the states. Not been there since my op but would be afraid that the end of my bag would dangle into the water!
 
Nyx said:
The only downside for me has been the loss of my bikini body. But even that's not that big a deal. The pros have definitely outweighed the cons.
Click to expand...

Mines the opposite! Before my op I had no waist and my stomach was so large compared to the rest of my body. Now I don't have my colon I have this nice waist!!
 
Susan2 said:
This is why I like the toilets in the USA better than the ones here in Oz - the water comes up much higher in the bowl.
Click to expand...


When I go to Singapore I come back hating US toilets. Over there they have that little hose or spout that sparys water on your bum after you finish. Not that it matters with a stoma, but it's a nice touch. :)
 
Misty-Eyed said:
Haha I feel like I'm sitting on a lake when I'm using a toilet in the states. Not been there since my op but would be afraid that the end of my bag would dangle into the water!
Click to expand...



That's why you should face the toilet and squat like a sumo wrestler. :poop:

(yeah, I finally found a use for the dancing poop!)
 
I miss just jumping in the shower and getting in a long hot bath haven't used out spa since Miss Piggy came into my life.
Everything seems a little more complicated like clothing choices, sleep ins, bathroom routines etc but am sure it will seem like less of a chore as time goes on.
 
2thFairy said:
Do you sometimes feel yourself staring at it longing, like a long lost friend?
Click to expand...

Haha yeh! although I pass the odd bit of mucous so I get a bit of a go at remembering what it used to be like in the good old days!


wow, this is the sort of conversation you could only get away with on this forum lol
 
:poop: Indeed. A few weeks back I had a really good mucus poo. It felt ever so nice! :highfive:

And yes....only here could we talk about that!
 
The only downside for me is nobody can call me an @-h-le anymore because I don't have one. My sister use to when I first had my bag and then I got wise and was like, WOW, are you really ignorant. I don't have one so you must be one. HA!
 
GutlessWonder86 said:
The only downside for me is nobody can call me an @-h-le anymore because I don't have one. My sister use to when I first had my bag and then I got wise and was like, WOW, are you really ignorant. I don't have one so you must be one. HA!
Click to expand...


Yeah, but then they start calling you S**t Bag instead. :eek2:

You won't win that one so don't even try. :tongue:
 
True LOVE is my wife and I had one at the sametime and she showed me how to put the bag on. lol. True story. My wife has UC DX about 28 years ago and I have crohns DX 2011 and after a operation gone bad and I went septic I got my bag for 9 months and then a reversal 4 months ago. My wife will have her's for the rest of her life. The upside was having someone in my home to help me with it.

The down side was the stinging I would get around the stoma and that I could not sleep on my side anymore.

One more thing,,,, what do you say to your wife if you BOTH have a bag and you want to have SEX.... " hay honey, wanta BAG BAGS, (I hope she doesn't read this, we have been married for 39 years) BUT WERE NOT DEAD !!!!!!!!
 
My very first bag change done by someone other than hospital personel was by my husband. I had a leak and no one was available to help. I was freaking out, so he just took over and went through all of the steps that he had just witnessed 30 minutes prior to the leak. It was very touching. A strange story to tell outside of here, but it is a very special memory.
 
Jim (POPS) said:
One more thing,,,, what do you say to your wife if you BOTH have a bag and you want to have SEX.... " hay honey, wanta BAG BAGS, (I hope she doesn't read this, we have been married for 39 years) BUT WERE NOT DEAD !!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Now THAT is funny!!! Btw, I just asked my fiance if he wanted to bag bags with me....lol He declined....

:rof:
 
This is a fantastic thread because many of these issues are all things we can relate to in one way or another. For me, there are no longer any downsides. I was with friends over the weekend and one of my friends has a j-pouch and is experiencing a lot of problems that are detrimentally affecting his life. I asked him if he would ever consider going back to having a stoma, and he said that he had not seriously considered it.

I found myself telling him a long list of pros about why a stoma would be a great option, and couldn't think of a con that was substantial enough to even rule out the possibility of having a stoma again. Yes we can have problems, but for me personally, life is exponentially better with a stoma.

If I had to pick a downside it would be having to use public toilets a little more frequently than I like, but in the grand scheme of things I can live with that. One thing I have found myself still doing is occasionally sitting on the toilet and reading; almost as though I'm still going through the motions (pardon the pun :)). I guess some habits are just too difficult to break :lol2:
 
I love the fact that usually it's not a mad dash to the toilet, just miss doing silent deadlies and blaming the dog. Also it is a bit embarrassing when miss piggy starts shouting and I am in the company of relative strangers. Had a job interview last week, and I'm sure the ladies interviewing me thought I was strange with my hand firmly held over my Stoma and mumbling farts coming from under the hand. They were probably waiting for the smell to come.
 
Yes, mine always decides to comment in places where it is very noticeable, like concerts or the theatre.
 
Stinging, leaking, changing sheets in the middle of the night, having to get up in the night, stinging more, having to empty the bag 20 times a day.................
upside - sorry can't think of any right now other than hopefully it will allow me to get off pred for awhile.
sorry to be such a downer when you have all just given me a good laugh but so far its just a pain - literally. Things can ony improve!
 
Upside - I have never used so little toilet paper in all my life.
I usually have a massive stockpile.
So unnecessary now. It's just taking up space and could take years to get rid of!
 
upside - you have good days like today and realise how great they really are! Lets see what i post tomorrow......:) ..And thanks for all the support girls, amazing what that little hug button can achieve!
 
Upside? No little accidents when I can't get to the loo and don't get up at 6 to spend an hour on the loo.

Downside? Major accidents all over the bed, get up at least twice a night and am constantly waking up to "check", skin so sore you can't really call it skin as there isn't any, emergency stoma placed right on my waist so no clothes fit, output it so high I'm having weekly 5 hour magnesium infusions, wound dehissed after surgery so I'm packing a giant hole which I'm pretty sure is turning into a fistula, feeling of déjà vu as exactly same thing happened in 2009, to sum up I hate myself at the moment whereas before the stoma I just hated the Crohn's.
 
Ditto, Fruitloop, got all the same problems but don't need the magnesium infusions. I hope. This is my second too and the first was also a problem.
 

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