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dealing with ostomy noises

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Posted 6/28/2011 1:05 PM (GMT 0)

Hi, New to the site. Just had surgery 2 weeks ago for (hoping to be ) temporary illeostomy. I am a 50 year old  with Crohns diesease (only diagnosed 4 yrs. ago) --I thought I was doing well with all of this, but the past few days I feel totally overwhelmed.  One of my problems is dealing with the lovely fart noises the ostomy makes.  I know this sounds ridiculous, and perhaps in time I will get a sense of humor about it. But right now my vanity, and pride is making this hard to deal with.  I am avoiding social situations, and just plain feeling sorry for myself. I"m just having a difficult time dealing with it all and just wondered how others learned to cope with all the changes. ........deedee3

Posted 6/28/2011 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
hi deedee, welcome to the board!

i'm almost 1 yr post ileostomy surgery and believe me my gas was BURSTING out at the first 2-3 weeks, but then it was completely gone! it is completely normal for the stoma to be VERY loud right after surgery, but it gets better with time. after a while the stoma becomes very silent and you start to forget it's even there.

if it keeps being noisy, try to see which foods causes you gas and avoid them, at least for a while. you can try them again like 3 mons later. good luck! let us know how you're doing.
Posted 6/28/2011 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Everyone is used to my gurgles and rumbles and burping noises from my stoma. At work it is really funny as will usually do it when it goes quiet. I've just got used to it and it does depend on what I eat and how much I drink. It will settle down but you will probably find most other people will just think it is your stomach making noises and no one will ever think it is an ileo.

I just say to my customers, if it starts when I'm talking to them, 'oops, sounds like it needs feeding again' and that makes people smile.
Posted 6/28/2011 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
Lol that's cute Stripey. What do you do for work?
Posted 6/28/2011 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Dee Dee

Welcome to the site. I also had a very noisy stoma at first that quieted down a lot. Now I'm starting to eat some really gassy foods, and it makes noises then, but not usually.... after it settled down after a month or so, when I was eating easy to digest things, it was completely quiet.

I was able to laugh about it, I kept being bummed that my three nephews live in another state..... I think it takes pre adolescent boys to really appreciate those noises (but then my partner's 16 yr old assured me that plenty of the high school boys would be amused too)

But I think the surgery is a huge adjustment for anyone, and it's easy for one thing to become the symbol for it all.... Two weeks out of surgery isn't very long, and you might just not be ready for social situations anyways, as you've been through a lot and have a lot of healing to do. It can be overwhelming to deal with all the changes..... I hope you're letting yourself cry, get mad, whatever you need.... a little bit of feeling sorry for yourself is OK in my book, you earned it.

Are you walking a lot? I found that really helped me to just flat out feel better, which helped with the emotional stuff....
Posted 6/28/2011 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your replies. Not knowing anyone that has ever gone through this, I am happy I found this forum.

I have been feeling sorry for myself the past few days, but some of it is just not knowing what to expect. I do need to get moving though. I'm taking your advice bluegrass and will get back to taking my dog out for his walks. Thank you all again.
Posted 6/28/2011 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
This forum has been incredibly helpful for me .... people have been so generous..... feel free to ask more questions and read old posts; there's so much information here on what to expect.

If you're up for it, you can also contact the nearest CCFA or United Ostomy Assoc chapter. They both have programs where you can meet or talk to others who have had the surgery. It was so inspiring to me to meet someone in person who was healthy and active, while I was still so sick....
Posted 6/29/2011 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
Definitely it will be extra noisy after surgery. It does settle down. After a month or so you will notice a difference and obviously if you pinpoint that certain foods add to it you will avoid them.

Hubby is 6 months now and very little instances where it is extra noisy. The few times here and there it has happened, we haven't even tried to analyze what might have triggered it. Overall it is not such a big deal and yes I also compare it to a regular person's stomach noises when their stomach growls.

In the overall picture and the overall scheme of things...where he was 6 months ago and where he is now is a complete 180 in comparison. His is permanent and "it is what it is" and for us and where we are at in life we have too much living to do and to make up for.

So nice to eliminate tons of pills each day and be out of pain and the constant anxiety with the constant urgency and frequency that consumed his life and mine. Is it an adjustment and lifestyle change..of course it is....but it is still so much better than what it was.

Take it slow...2 weeks is not a long time at all....you will find each day will become easier and easier. This is a great forum and as you come up with different questions that there may not be a specific thread for you to research, you'll get a lot of help and support here.
Posted 6/29/2011 10:25 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 11 months post-op and it too was sooooo loud in the beginning. Gosh, at night it would keep me up. The noises subsided a bit, still was somewhat loud 3/4/5 month. Now, it makes occassional noises, usually after I eat, but I can just muffle it with my hand and try to smile :-)
Posted 6/29/2011 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome, DeeDee! My name's Cece. :-) This is a wonderful, supportive place to learn and share.

I agree with everyone's responses. For some reason, it's really gassy and noisy at first, but give it some time, and it will quiet down a lot. The only time mine gets a little chatty is first thing in the morning when I have a cup of coffee or breakfast on an empty stomach, which is okay, since I'm at home 99% of the time. If I'm visiting family or am at work when it happens, I'll casually press my right forearm against it, which completely muffles the sound. Hey, at least we can muffle it and don't smell up a room, unlike people without ostomies! smilewinkgrin

Hang in there, it will get better!
Posted 6/30/2011 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
DeeDee, mine was pretty loud when I had the end ileo but with the loop ileo I rarely ever heard anything out of my stoma, and if there was a noise I could verily hear it myself. My stoma with the end ileo stuck out quite a bit and I don't think that helped. It did decrease in size the first month or so and that did help a bit. The noise was always very bothersome to me because I'm a newspaper reporter so I would have to sit through meetings or interview total strangers who knew nothing about what I had been through. I would always keep one hand cupped on my stoma and if I heard the slightest noise or if I could feel something coming on I would apply pressure. That did help. I would also sit my purse on my lap, too. Soft drinks always gave me a lot of gas so I would avoid those until I was done with my work. The noises are the one thing I do not miss. Hang in there. Things will get better. 

Posted 6/30/2011 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
Mine is usually pretty quiet now that I am I healed up from surgery (it was very noisy at first), but every once in a while it acts up with a crazy noise and usually during the worst times. A month ago I was in a quiet meeting with a bunch of people and it made the loudest noise. I have no idea what people thought it was because it definitely didn't sound like a grumbling stomach, nor did it sound like passing gas out of a butt. I just made a silly smile and put my hand on my belly and shrugged. When this happens, I try not to let it bother me as there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

You can definitely hold your hand over it to muffle, but it is the unexpected ones that seem to be the loudest:)
Posted 6/30/2011 10:52 AM (GMT 0)
I named my stoma Bubbles because of that and now she barely ever acts up!! I just say "oops, noisy stomach today".

And not having any smell is wonderful!!LOL
Posted 7/1/2011 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
People have no idea that it is an abdominal fart! Think about it... would you think it was that if you were in someone else's shoes? I would just think it was someone's stomach! So, I do the same as the rest of the posters and just try to muffle it and smile! Must be hungry...

Walking is a great idea! It will really help build up your endurance too. Keep in mind, your small intestine is learning a new role - that of the colon. It takes a little time :)

Welcome to HW - what a great group of folks!
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