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Low rise jeans if they sit right onto stoma

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Posted 4/25/2013 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
I was wondering if this is much if an issue is one doesnt wear a belt. A concern up to now has been how I am going to get work pants to work with a stoma, since I will need a belt to hAve a shirt tucked in for those. But when i wear jeans, which nowadays are basically almost all low rise for men (mine are), i can see that a prospective stoma location might end up exactly at the top of the rise. Will I need to chuck out all those jeans in that case, ie will it snag on the wafer or hurt the stoma, or is it pretty troublefree if it just sits there minus a belt? Does something like ostomy armor or even better, just ostomysecrets underwear largely solve the problem, end of story?

PS pluot I didnt use the word beltline- oops I did just then, lol
Posted 4/25/2013 8:23 PM (GMT 0)
I think to a large extend this depends on how tight the pants are and how tight you make the belt. I have had pants that end up sitting right over my stoma (aka the part where the belt would go if I wear one would sit over the stoma). If there's some wiggle room, then you should be fine. If the pants are painted on you might be uncomfortable. I hear other women say they wear skinny jeans all the time. Those tend to be tight all over (from my experience, if your stoma still falls somewhere under the denim it's still experiencing pressure as if it was under the "waistband" wherever that may hit.

I wear spandex working out all the time. While that is naturally "stretchy" it does compress the stoma some. I've never had an issue.
Posted 4/25/2013 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
This will also depend on the size of your stoma, which won't be totally clear until 6 weeks or more after surgery. If your stoma sticks out more, like mine does, wearing pants where the waist falls right at the stoma might be more difficult. If your stoma is short, or closer to your body, it might not be as big an issue. My stoma is so long that just having a pouch on squashes it some. So far I wear all of my pants right underneath it, even though in a perfect world I would pull them up a bit higher. Sometimes when I sit the waistband will ride up and push against the bottom of my stoma, and I will loosen my pants if I can, but I don't know if this is necessary. I am very new to this and still learning myself!
Posted 4/25/2013 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks! I don't wear particularly tight jeans but they aren't baggy. If I went up to looser waist size jeans then they would fall without suspenders. I guess this will have to wait and see. So long as my work pants beltline are not right on the stoma, I guess I can fudge on my liesure wear since I dont tuck a shirt in for liesure pants.

Oh, UCwhat?, re. stoma size- isnt the stoma normally bent downwards into the pouch, regardless of its length (well, unless it is really short in anich case nothing to bend, I guess)? BTW how is your stoma doing now? You had earlier mentioned that it was not draining down into the pouch but instead was draining upwards or something. Has that changed / improved overtime?

Post Edited (Probiotic) : 4/25/2013 6:23:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/26/2013 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
Sometimes my stoma bends down, sometimes it leans a little more to the side, he kinda has a mind of his own. I notice that it moves around a lot, wiggling and such. At times the output does drain down, sometimes it stays towards the top of the pouch or on the side. It seems to depend on which way it's pointing at the time and whether I am laying down or not. There is still a little swelling around the base of my stoma, that is going down bit by bit...so maybe he will settle into a more permanent position eventually. All in all, I can't complain...the surgery and that little bugger of a stoma did save my life :)
Posted 4/26/2013 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
I can't wear low rise jeans because they either the bag off the wafer or rub the stoma too much and this causes this to bleed. Ugh.
Posted 4/26/2013 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
It took about two months for me to feel comfortable in the undergarments that cover the entire flange and a few weeks after that to start wearing pants that cover my stoma entirely (mine is high enough that low rise pants, if they're big enough to really sit on my hips, can go just under the stoma). I'm now finally at the point that unless the waistband is SUPER tight, I can pretty much put it anywhere with respect my stoma. Same with seatbelts when I ride in cars, etc -- don't really notice where they are in relation to my stoma anymore. I can't really put into words exactly what the issue was, especially since stomas don't sense pain, but I guess the feeling of pressure, which they do sense, wasn't comfortable for me until now.

The only time I've ever had an issue with something snagging on the wafer was when I was trying some new underwear with a very snug elastic waistband that was supposed to cover the whole pouch and flange -- it rode down during the day and seemed in danger of pulling the pouch down with it, so I called that a failed experiment and moved on with my life. I really can't imagine a man wearing jeans anywhere near that tight!
Posted 4/26/2013 9:18 PM (GMT 0)
Lol Pluot- ain't that the truth! (Men not wearing jeans that tight) I am amazed at the jeans that my wife is willing to squeeze into- you gals have a higher pain threshold for that kind of stuff methinks. So, after a couple months you say your pouch would still fill fine, with the stima just above the top of your jeans?
Posted 4/26/2013 10:41 PM (GMT 0)
Ehhhh... it varies. Every once in a while I do still get buildup above my waistband, usually I'll discreetly adjust my waistband (looks like anyone else hitching their pants up) which allows it to flow downwards. Many here tape the top of their pouch to their belly which would help a lot with this particular issue, but it bothers me so little that I haven't felt the need to bother :) I think it happens most often if I'm sitting for a long time at a meal -- I output a lot while I'm eating (I believe that's typical) and when you're sitting the output has no reason to flow past the crease of your hips, no matter what you're wearing.
Posted 4/27/2013 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,
This is a very interesting post. I am just 24 days post op, total colectomy with loop ileostomy and j pouch. I am in the waiting for take down. I have not ever tried putting on regular clothes. I am afraid to try. So it has been sweats and yoga pants for me. I don't know what I am going when I have to go back to work and business casual is the attire required. IMy stoma is pretty high, but I dont think that I can find pants or jeans that will rise above the stoma. I am afraid to wear lower rise pants, and then face the question, stoma under pants waistband or outside of pants with a lose blouse over top. UGH!!! I am thinking skirts and dresses are my only option. (at least I have the option, the guys out there and not likely to start wearing kilts I bet.

All that being said I find that the suggestions and the information in this post helpful. May be I need to be brave and see how my pants fit. At anyrate I won't be heading back to work for at least another 3 weeks. I guess I have time.

Than you all for listening.
Posted 4/27/2013 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
OOPs... correction to my above post.
I am afraid to wear lower rise pants, and then face the question, BAG under pants waistband or outside of pants with a lose blouse over top.
Posted 4/27/2013 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
I wear my jeans with a belt and it goes right on top of my stoma. For a long time I didn't think that would be posible, but then last winter I got some awesome jeans from the juniors dept (yes I know I'm old but I'm not old enough for mom jeans :) ) and they rode down constantly, so I finally decided to try a belt and it has been fine. It is not a problem at all!
As for business attire for women, I'm not exactly sure what that consists of for you, but you should be able to wear anything you want. The only thing I have found I can't wear are tight dresses that don't have some type of looser fabric over them. But I'm too fat to wear that anyway :)
If you get underwear that comes up and you can tuck yoour bag up into, super easy for a man, jut get those boxer briefs. And for a woman hipsters or boyshorts, I have taken to wearing 2 pairs. And then I tape my bag to my stomach, partially to help with the output going to the top but mainly to keep the bag from flopping over.
Posted 6/16/2013 6:47 AM (GMT 0)
I found a site ostomyoutdoors.com, the feature article talked of clothing. This athletic woman uses My Hip T, its like the bottom half of a Tshirt & you wear it under your shirts, pull it down low to hide the entire bag. Its made of cotton & spandex, so does hold the bag close to your body.

I'm short, so use my long camisoles underneath shirts and with jeans to hold the bag closer to my body. It makes the bag practically invisible! I went to a mall today & didn't feel like I needed to use my purse as a shield to hide the bag, yay! I wear low rise jeans so I dont have to deal with a waistband rubbing against the stoma. I also plan on wearing these camisoles under my high waisted dress pants so the bag (again) will not be noticeable & I dont have to worry about the bag "snagging" on my clothing.

That site had good info on products on the market designed for active people. This woman wears some type of girdle or band while she jobs, to avoid getting hernias--great idea!
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