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Posted 10/4/2011 7:24 AM (GMT 0)
It's been nearly four weeks since having my Ileostomy, been home two weeks from the hospital.

I am avoiding going to places because my stoma is making all those noises and it is embarrasing. Maybe I am expecting too much too soon, but am avoiding public places.

My son wants me to take him to visit friends at the park, which means other parents who I know will be there. They don't know that I had Ileostomy surgery, and I can just imagine talking to them and my stoma begins to make a noise.

I am not eating foods that cause gas and do chew and chew my food.

Thanks for letting me share this.

Cleo

Posted 10/4/2011 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
Cleos.

I've had my ileostomy for almost 6 months and when i first got home my stoma made lots of noises too. I was very paranoid to go places in fear of ppl hearing the gurgling noises but it does eventually stop. I think its just your body getting used to everything and getting used to the new foods being pushed through your stoma. As you were most likely able to eat these foods before a lot can change when you have an ileo. Are you eating at regular times? an empty bowel can produce gas and i have found that when i dont eat for a long period of time then eat something the air from the empty bowel gets pushed through causing my stoma to make a lot of noise. Gas pain can be painful too especially in the first months after surgery so you want to make sure you are keeping something in there. I hope this helps :)
Posted 10/4/2011 1:16 PM (GMT 0)
As Newone said, it gets a lot quieter w/time. I think there's nothing to be embarrassed about, although I know it's hard. I laughed when mine made loud noises ("good one" etc).

You can put your hand over your stoma to muffle the sound some. And people without ileos rumble sometimes too....

It's a shame for both of you to miss the playground....think of how you would react if one of the other parents was making sounds as a result of health-restoring surgery? Would you be as harsh as you're being w/yourself? Most people are just happy that you're feeling better, and the others aren't worth worrying over...

easier said than done, I know....
Posted 10/4/2011 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
It will calm down in a few weeks. But if you yourself get hungry it will rumble again. You can wear layered clohes, put your pocketbook on your lap, take a jacket and lay it across your stomach lots of things. Sometimes I will fold up pieces of cloth and put them over it. But its a lot louder to you than it is to other people.
And noises happen to other people too, I was at the dentist and the hygenist leaned over me and her stomach rumbled so loud it sounded like a train she said, I'm so hungry, did you hear that? We all just laughed.
Don't avoid going out, remember hthe ileo made you healthy so you could go out!
Posted 10/5/2011 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the advice everyone, Its made me feel a bit better. I think I should just go out with my son and take the plunge.

I have noticed that my stoma plays up more in the late afternoon than the morning. Don't know why this is so, I do eat at regular intervals though.

Thanks for brightening up my day.

Cleo
Posted 10/5/2011 2:11 AM (GMT 0)

Blueglass said...
.think of how you would react if one of the other parents was making sounds as a result of health-restoring surgery? Would you be as harsh as you're being w/yourself? Most people are just happy that you're feeling better, and the others aren't worth worrying over...

Excellent point, Blueglass :)

Cleos, I was at work one day and was chatting with a co-worker who knew about my ostomy. My stoma piped up loudly and Max just looked at me and said 'See, Harriet (my stoma's name) agrees with me too!'
Posted 10/5/2011 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
Cleos,
For me I was just thankful to have the thing..before it I could not leave the house because I had no control. I have had it since 2004 and am very grateful for it. It's true it will calm down after a while and keep watching what you are eating..if you get diarrhea I found an amazing drug..hyoscyamine.make sure you ask for the sublingual. With that medicine you can leave the house and not worry about an attack if that's why you got the ostomy.(crohns) sometimes you can press your stoma to avoid air coming out..it kinda hurts but works. Goood luck.
Posted 10/5/2011 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
We are so hard on ourselves and yet not on others as stated above. Alot of good hints to help you. Initially there is more grumbling we found and things did settle down a lot.

Kind of watch when and why it is more noisier than other times and maybe you can help control it with the position your sitting in (purse, extra layer of clothing etc. as mentioned)

In the park you are out in the open which is even better than indoors I would think. Definitely go out to the park - enjoy your time with your child and the fresh air. You will definitely get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment too. Since you are so new to this....plan it when you have done a full change so you have the best seal. You know when you need to change so don't over do it when it is near that time so you don't worry about a potential leak.

Hubby is 8 months now and life is really good and so far very dependable...his full change days are Sunday and Wednesday (today) and no problems in between. He could go longer on the change but we find this to work well for him and keep from having leaks etc. (One blowout at home a few months after surgery but that was his own doing....ate way too much and foods that kind of backed everything up that night.)
Posted 10/5/2011 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
hi cleo,

you didn't mention whether you have an ileostomy or colostomy? cuz colostomies are usually noisier then ileostomies. but with either one it does get better with time.

another thing i wanted to bring up is that not long ago an ostomate friend of mine tried a product called colonsilence, which is basically a silencer for the stoma :) he is thrilled with the results and really recommends it. he says it totally solves the noise issue. i didn't try it my self, cuz i have an ileostomy and don't have noise problems at all, but from his experience, sounds like it's a good product. their site is: http://www.colonsilence.com

generally, as everyone else said and from my experience too, it calms down with time, so i think you should give it some time first, cuz most chances it will calm down. only if it doesn't, then you can try the silencer. i just want to mention that i think, and i'm really not sure, that this silencer is made for colostomies and not ileostomies, but maybe you can ask the producer this question.
Posted 10/6/2011 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
Cleos,

The silencer sounds practical. Also if you feel like going just go, tell them of it if you wish, then do what you please. In the long run what other people think doesn't really matter. Not meaning to sound crass and it took me almost dying to come to this conclusion. But ask yourself, 5 years from now will it matter that some other parents heard my stoma? Using a bit of tough love here, hope that is OK, but it is a freeing way to look at things. Had I had this insight earlier in life I would not be in the situation I am in today.

Rosemary
Posted 10/6/2011 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
The only places that concern me with noises are those 'pin drop' quiet places like Church, Doctor's Office Waiting Rooms, etc. There I usually keep my hand over it to muffle the sounds. But if there are any background noises like being outdoors or at a shopping mall, etc., the noise it makes is not as noticeable because of the background noises.
KBD
Posted 10/7/2011 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
Agree with kbd, you can muffle it..I have to fly on two weeks and am panicked about it, not a way to hide it there and god for bid I have an attack, the whole plane will smell, I am just going to sit close to the bathrooms..
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