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Posted 10/8/2007 1:19 AM (GMT 0)

Yeah, Rachel, you've gotta move to Florida! Real estate prices have really dropped, so it's a great time to buy. Amey's a realtor, so she can back me on this (and probably hook you up with a great deal)!

My dad lived on Maui for 10 years, and yes, it's beautiful, but it's also outrageously expensive!! Florida's got great weather and picture-perfect white sand beaches. It's paradise that's affordable!

Posted 10/9/2007 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
AMEY--I actually have not taken a Vicodin since Thursday and I just got my staples out yesterday and I am feeling pretty good. I managed to go to Wal-mart the other day but I opted for the motorized cart. Which was quite a good laugh for me. I don't understand how I can drive a car so well but can't make it through the ailes of Wal-mart without knocking something off everything 5 feet lol :)

I'm starting to feel the energy pick-up, in fact I'm going to Target in a little bit. Can't wait, it is my fav store and I think I'm gonna try to walk it.

Florida actually sounds greart when I think about it. I am a Christian going on 4 1/2 years now and I would love to go see Paula White, who I believe her home church is in Florida, maybe the Tampa area, not real sure though.

SUMMERSTORM--I am an obsessive-complusive clean freak. Everything has its place and should be in its place when not in use :)
Cleaning is seriously my method of relaxing when I am stressed or upset.

RICHARD--Through my 2 surgeries in 4 months, I have also been dealing with my first divorce. In fact 5 days after getting home from surgery #2 I was at the lawyer's office signing papers. Court date is expected to be in November. I couldn't handle the ex's need to interfere and he didn't want to tell her to butt out of our lives so I chose to leave. Not to mention that in the middle of the active CD he had health insurance cancelled on me. Nice guy huh? So available, not quite yet :) And now my profile goes like this: Soon to be divorced 30 year old single mother of a beautiful 4 year daughter on top of my recent ileostomy and ileum resection. I'm not sure how appealing that sounds ;)

PEGGY--I currently live in Sidney, OH which is about 75 mins. east of Columbus and 2 hours north of Cincinnat. I will be moving to Troy, OH in the spring so that my daughter can start kindergarten at a Christian-Based School. Which will be 30 mins. south of where I am currently living.
Posted 10/9/2007 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hey. Just fond this site and have been replying to a lot of threads.. when I had my ostomy done I went very depressed and still get times when I'll just burst into tears, but I think it's better to let it out. I've been getting better recently, mainly cause I found talking about it helps. So I set up a Livejournal about my stoma and how it's affecting my daily life. Also, referring to people talking about jeans, I find men's jeans are good because there's more room around the stomach (my stoma is next to my navel, very high up); same with maternity jeans and also buying a size bigger but skinny-cut; they still fit your leg and are also looser on the stomach.

And as for the night-time issues, mine fills fully with gas and faeces every night, and if I don't wake up in time to empty it the edge of the seal has peeled away twice before and resulted in accidents.. but things could be worse, I mean, at the end of the day, before about world war two we'd have probably all ended up with perforated bowels.

I confess, sometimes I feel like it really isn't fair. I'm only 18 and I can't wear revealing tops or clothes that are too tight in case my bag shows any more; and I have to be constantly alert for leaks and so on.. I can't go out and get drunk because I worry about leaking and it's consistency and not being able to take care of it and so on. And that people my age can be really insensitive about bags in a physical appearance kinda way. :/

Mind you I wasn't ever a dancer or an athlete or a cheerleader or anything. I miss being able to fit into my old clothes though! Just means I'll have to buy myself some bigger tartan jeans :P

</rant> :P
Posted 10/9/2007 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
Oh and you're not allowed a house in America cause I can't come!! :P
Posted 10/9/2007 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
smurf

Hi Group!

haleybaby I hear you loud and clear! Redspout thanks so much for your encouraging words. I'd like to piggyback on that. I'm 28 years old, I regularly 'pass' for a high schooler and i had so many of the same fears and concerns about my ostomie (and my superpubic catheter, but that is a whole other kettle of smelly fish).

What I found: My boyfriend never skipped a beat. I was FAR more nervouse and afraid than he was. In fact, he held back from touching me because he could tell how terrible I felt about my conditions. Eventually though he won me over and we 'messed around.' I told him how nervous I was, how scared he wouldn't want me and ummm...he proved otherwise.

Ladies, don't be scared. It actually helped me a lot to get a opaque bag (be careful with those things though, you can't feel if you have them on wrong, there is a science to it). Once I couldn't see my stoma and output I felt more comfortable because I knew HE couldn't see my stoma and output.

It was amazing. Yes, you're still attractive and beautiful. As odd as it seems, no one knows about your little friend unless you tell them and even then, they probably won't believe you. That's always hard for me to remember, but it's true. No one can see it!

i wish you all the best! and a very happy, uneventful recovery.
Posted 10/10/2007 12:19 AM (GMT 0)
Hayleybaby,
Paula White is in the Tampa area, but I want you to buy the house down the street from me in Fort Myers, so you can come over and clean my house whenever you need to relieve some stress!!! tongue I like to go to the beach to relax, but then that leaves me with a messy house!!

I'm glad you're getting out more and don't need to take the pain meds. I also drove the motorized carts through the grocery store, and the little old people would give me dirty looks, as if I was playing around and shouldn't be wearing down their battery!! Whatever... eyes
Posted 10/10/2007 2:10 AM (GMT 0)

Hayleybaby ----  When I come to OH I travel east on I-70 to the By-Pass then north to I-71.  I could just as easily go thru Columbus and take I-77 north.  How far are you from 77?  Seriously, it may be next spring before I make a jaunt by myself over to visit family for a couple of weeks; hubby and I go over the holidays to visit his family.   Maybe we really can have lunch together somewhere on my way thru town in  the spring, or before if I make it.

Posted 10/11/2007 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
flchurchlady--Your too funny, but seriously once I watched the show Wife Swap--heard of it?? Well the one wife had her own business where people would hire her to come in and COMPLETELY clean and organize every nook and cranny of their homes. She used label guns and totes and I have never seen anything like it. She is AMAZING--truly my role model tongue    
Posted 10/15/2007 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
Haley,
I am new to this site. I have been hanging out with the crohnies. On july 2nd I had a colonoscopy
and woke up in the hospital and my doc. told me I had colitis and my colon was so sick it needed
to be removed. I was to sick to have a successful operation so for 27 days they got my body in shape
for surgery and removed my colon. I don't think any of us are prepaired to have this done and since
it is a life and body changing thing and we are loosing a part of us we need to mourn the loss. I wake
up sometimes at night and think I am normal and than I feel the bag. I cry and yell but I love to dance
so latley I put on my favorite music and get naked and dance. Some how this makes me more accepting of the ileostomy. I am very active I have taught martial arts for 20 years and water exercise
I sail and coach. Having a stoma has been a new challenge. I went a sailing trip six weeks after surgery and I was concerned about the bag filling with air on the plane to croatia. my ostomy nurse
gave me Osto-EZ-Vents to try,you put them on your bag you must follow the directions carefullly and
use extra glue made for plastic on plastic. They are great because you just open the little vent any
where. i don't have to get out of bed at night to let the air out. Hollister also makes a bag with a built
in vent. When ever I get depressed I think about how lucky I am to be alive and I have my life back.
Without the surgery I would not have been able to sail or even work. Over the years I have worked
with a lot of women and men who have self worth issues and I find that once they become active in
finding things they are successful with the body issues go away. Challenge yourself try something you
always wanted to do but do it for yourself. good luck, Fruitcake
Posted 10/15/2007 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
that's a great way to look at it! and i love your name, lol.
Posted 10/15/2007 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hayleybaby,
I love to watch Wife Swap, because they always pair exact opposites with each other, and it's very entertaining!! tongue

Hey Fruitcake - great name -
I'm also an Ostomate Crohnie, so I flip flop between the two forums, as well. That must've been a real shock for you to hear that you needed surgery after your colonoscopy. I had Crohn's for 7 years before my ileostomy surgery, so I had a lot of time to wrap my mind around it. By the time I had surgery, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I was ready to have my colon removed.

That's great that you have continued to do the things that you love and realize that you wouldn't be able to do them if you were sick. That's how I live my life, too. I'm so appreciative to be healthy and active again that there's nothing that can hold me back from enjoying life. Thanks for the tip on the Osto-EZ-vents, I'm going to give 'em a try!

Take care,
Cecilia
Posted 10/16/2007 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Hayleybaby:

Sorry to hear your ex was such a jerk about your illness and surgeries. I hope you had others to help you through your trials.
You're so lucky to have a beautiful 4 year old daughter. My wife and I have 3 sons but would have loved to have a daughter too!

Per your comment, I'm sure my son or any decent guy, could look past the ileostomy to see the real you. I think if you feel good about yourself as a person, you will project a positive image to others. I think it's an "inside job" and from your posts it seems like you've got a good heart. When you're ready I'm sure good things will happen! That's this guy's opinion.

Richard
Posted 10/17/2007 1:16 AM (GMT 0)
Fruitcake--I 3rd that. Love your name. You are inspiring. Thank you :)

Peggy--I'm not sure I know where 77 is.

Indabag--Where was your massive infection and what caused it?
Posted 10/17/2007 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
#4--Ok I am obviously doing something way wrong because I have problems, problems, and more problems and I do not go see my ET nurse until Thursday. I have the ants after 2 days. I have a blister on the underneath side of my stoma, I had little red red bumps around the base of stoma that turned white and the whole darn thing is just extremely itchy, sensitive, and irritating. mad

So how did I screw up????

Posted 10/17/2007 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
I had the same thing, I had little red bumps, itchies, and a HUGE blister like sore, but it was open and oozed. Gross. My nurse kept giving me different bags, and we finally found one that didn't do all that to me. I use the Hollister Convex one-piece. I really wanted to use two piece systems, but they just didn't work. Are you seeing leakage when you change bags? Maybe you could try a convex type wafer? I'm not sure if you've already tried different bags, but for me, that's what cleared up the irratation.

Oh, and no - I doubt very highly that you're doing anything wrong! tongue

Posted 10/17/2007 3:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hayley...Check my response under "Wafer Days, How Do You Count?"

PS. Rachel is my ALL TIME favorite name! That is the same name I gave my little daughter!
Posted 10/17/2007 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hayley:

Hope you're doing better. Re: your question concerning my infections; the doctors believed it started with the gall bladder that threw off stones blocking the pancreatic ducts and the infections followed. The day I got sick I was at Yankee Stadium watching the Mets(my team) beat the Yankees. I had the attack that night and I went to a local community hospital. I was there 3 days before being transferred to a major hospital center.
I was pretty much out of things for about 3 months time. How the infection got so severe is really still a mystery to me and my surgeon. The infection was pre-op. From what I have learned, my situation was extremely rare and doesn't seem to apply in your case (or any others in the forum as near as I can tell).

I hope your problem with the stoma clears up soon.

Richard
Posted 11/1/2007 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
New Question:

 

At what point did you feel comforatable enough with your stoma and bag that you started to sleep on your stomach again.

 

I am such a belly sleeper but still too scared to take that step. Or should we not sleep on our bellies???  I'm afraid of squashing my stomach or of course the bag popping.

 

Amey

Flchurchlady

Shaz

Summerstorm

sfgiantsjo

When did you girls start sleeeping on your bellies again????

Posted 11/1/2007 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
I am belly sleeper, too. I am to a point now where I am "almost" on my belly, sort of. I roll almost all of the way over, and keep my right leg (where the bag is) kind of flung over a big pillow. It keeps my bag from getting sqooshed 'cause it falls in the little space created between the pillow and the bed. Does that make sense? So, I'm not completely all the way on my stomach, but it's close, and I've been more comfortable that way. My surgery was Aug 24th, so I'm still fairly new. I too, have a constant fear of bag popage! :)
Posted 11/1/2007 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
I always start out on my belly. It is the ONLY way I can fall asleep. I do not worry about my bag at night. If you are concerned about your bag try this....take a large plastic garbage bag and put it under your sheets and on top of your mattress. The plastic will protect your bed from any leakage. Then, try to sleep on your belly. My bag fills during the night and my body tends to react and wake me up. I have never popped my bag by laying on it. I have messed my bed but only because I did not have a tight seal on my flange and the bag came off during the night.

Good Luck.
Posted 11/1/2007 6:41 PM (GMT 0)

I, too, love to start out sleeping on my belly.  And almost always do.  If you are not comfortable laying totally flat, start by just drawing your knee up to the side a little..  that will take some pressure off of your belly/stoma.  

I find that I never wake up still on my belly tho.  Like Amey said, I just guess the body responds to the ostomy and you roll over when it starts to fill.  I also just leave one of those green "chucks" underneath my mattress pad and sheet for protection.    Just a security blanket for me is all it is.  And, if you travel a lot, you might just throw a "chucks" in your suitcase for a security blanket away from home too.

Posted 11/1/2007 8:20 PM (GMT 0)
hayley:
I guess I'm in the minority here, so far I have excepted the fact that I have a bag and have not got depressed about it. Yeah, at first I was depressed in the hospital but after a couple of days I got over it. So far I have not tried to wear jeans because I think they may be too high on my waist but I'm not as concerned about my image as most people are. I drive a truck and most of my time is spent sitting and driving down the highway. Fortunately my bag is only temporary.

As for the sleeping bit, well like everyone else has said, every one is different. I usually empty b4 I got to bed and then I wake up about 5 hours later or so and empty again and go back to sleep. I get about 8-9 hours of sleep a day, which is normal for me. I have not had a leak yet while sleeping, which is good thing really.

Good luck though and keep yer' chin up!!
Posted 11/2/2007 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
i sleep on my tummy, and i started doing it as soon as the pain from the surgery went away, probably about four or five weeks out. I sleep on a pad that i got from the hopstila, that way if i ahve a leak all i have to do is pull the pad up change clothes and go back to sleep. Although i do find that if it has something in it i have turned over
Posted 11/4/2007 6:01 AM (GMT 0)

Rachel,

So how is the tummy sleeping coming along?  Have you accomplished that one yet?  How's things for you overall?  Was rereading some posts and decided to check in with you.

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