Does colostomy wreck/cut muscle of stomach?

Wondering if surgeons wreck abdominal muscles with cutting you open.

Also if back pain goes away after diseased colon is gone?

Also this whole close up the rectum sounds interesting. I think that might happen in my surgery. Have to wait to talk to second surgeon. what does that entail.(No pun intended) Think they would take out bunches of bum fat if I asked?

I guess an iliostomy. The one where they take out large intestine and close rectum? The first surgeon never even told me what he wanted to do. I have another different surgeon appointment in a few weeks.

If you have the proctocolectomy where they remove the colon and everything below resulting in a permganent ileostomy...that's exactly what I had.  That can be done laparsopically.  The back pain may take awhile to go away b/c the recovery from the surgery and all may be a little hard on your body. 

The sealing of the bottom area is interesting...and weird, to be honest.  Do not be afraid of using A&D ointment and be prepared for some drainage...it's gross.  I wore a maxi pad just set further back. 

Having the ileo isn't that bad...I actually really enjoy having mine.  It's a wonderful exchange for getting rid of the disease. 

It took me a couple months to get most of the medications flushed from my system, but now that I'm good to go it is AWESOME!!!  I'm having a really hard time eating healthy right now b/c now that I'm able to eat practically anything I want IT'S ON!!!!  : )  Don't worry...I do try to work out when ever my schedule allows it and it will be part of my weekly routine very soon.  Which is something else I could never do while sick. 

Having the surgery laparscopically is much better for your body.  I had a c-section and that was not fun either.  Again, it was all very worth it.  : )

 

I had two children via vaginal birth, 1987 and 1990.

Then in 1999, I had colorectal cancer, a colon resection (vertical incision navel on down, 6 inches long), gall bladder removed via laparoscopy, temp ostomy.

My doctor told me I could never do sit ups or use nautilus type exercise equipment for my abdominal area and finally lift anything over 30 to 40 lbs. again. For life. He said it was because I had delivered two children prior to all this surgery I had done.

Post-op I looked 7 months pregnant (I went from a size 12 to a 4, in about 2 weeks). My stomach eventually went down. How did I do it? I sucked in my gut all day long, in batches - 10 at a time, while I was blow drying my hair, driving somewhere, watching TV, standing in the kitchen cooking. I started with 50 a day and then worked up 100. My surgeon was amazed my stomach was so flat. Of course I have to add that I was also petrified to eat the wrong foods (the ones that gave me 3 bm's during one meal and D). So combined with small meals and pulling in my stomach muscles so many times a day, I did flatten my stomach. Without sit ups.

I've gotten rather lazy since then and have settled into a size 8. My stomach somewhat pooches out, I don't look pregnant on any given day, but it's not flat anymore either!

So don't fret, you can try my stomach trick!

OH I feel relieved to hear these things. I haven't met anyone as active as me with an iliostomy except one triathlete who said he had a bag for 6 months and then reversal and he didn't train as a triathlete then. He said he couldn't imagine trying to workout hard and compete in races with a bag on. My heart has been very sad ever since he said that. I want to have some other opinions too. I want to have hope and keep from getting too depressed like I have been the last two years as my life seems to have literally gone down the toilet.

People can do some amazing things with no arms and no legs and learning to cope. I want to keep racing if I can. I want my job back (I help people workout for a living) Right now I am often too tired to have many clients and way too tired to do things with them like I used to. I will not let myself be quite as over worked as I was before but I still want to do it.

So the surgery looks better and better as I think maybe I can run without losing my insides every time I go out. And maybe not going to the bathroom for more than 30 mintues. I love hiking too Suebear! I hike in Waterton National park by where I live and last year I could barely make a couple hikes a week instead of one every day. OK I'm sure you have the pictures in some form and get it.

Thanks again, for a clearer picture and better perspective. I appreciate it.

Trigirl - some history on me:

My dad and his sister both died from colon cancer. Back in the 1980's.

I had 2 benign colon polyps removed in 1997 (a routine pap and anal smear revealed slight blood in my stool).

I began experiencing faint rectal bleeding Dec. 1998. My Internist said I "probably had hemorrhoids". I wanted to believe that, so I did for a few months. STUPID PLAN! By Feb. 1999, I knew I needed to see my Gastro doc. He did a Flex-sig on April 6, 1999. He found a "polyp" barely inside, bleeding, without touching it. The exam room went instantly silent, so I knew I had cancer. I knew in that split second. He said to call him the following day at noon. By 2 pm, April 7th, I knew it was malignant.

A 3 week period began of pre-op testing, seeing a colon surgeon, etc.

I was told all along that my cancer was caught extremely early, my tumor (the "polyp" changed to a tumor by now) was only 1 inch in size. Most patients come to surgeons with baseball sized tumors I was told.

2 days before my scheduled April 29th surgery, I had one final test - a rectal ultrasound. Up until now, the plan was to "scoop" out my tumor, and begin either chemo or radiation for 6 weeks. The ultrasound revealed the tumor was possibly penetrating the third bowel wall layer. My simple surgery turned into major surgery, in the blink of an eye. Instead of a 1 day stay, I was in for 7. I had a major incision, not a simple, lower colon dilation. A temp colostomy, reversed 2 months later. My gall bladder removed also (since a pre-op cat scan revealed hundreds of gall stones).

Long story short, because I had major surgery, my surgeon was able to obtain clean margins, so I didn't need chemo or radiation. I was diagnosed with Stage I rectal cancer (the official dx).

Because they had clean margins, they got all the cancer. It had never spread and wasn't penetrating the third bowel wall layer, only resting on it, about to penetrate it.

I could have had the simple scoop out surgery, in hindsight. But my surgeon always said - "it's best to get clean margins whenever possible".

BUT, my life has been anything but normal ever since. I am grateful my cancer never returned. I haven't even had one stinking benign colon polyp since 1997!

That's my experience.......in case you are wondering, managing a temp colostomy was much easier than what I am going thru now. But now we have lousy medical insurance, two daughters in college that we are supporting (something I want to do). So now is not the time for more surgery. So I am putting up with my situation as best I can.

Hope that wasn't too wordy! I feel as though I am in a life boat all alone though, I don't quit fit in with cancer survivors who have had treatments, I don't fit in with Crohn's or Colitis patients, and while I was never officially diagnosed with IBS/D, my surgeons have said I fall in this IBS/D category the most now.

I often joke - if I could only give up food! (don't worry, I won't.....LOL). But food is sometimes my enemy. I sure know what "we are what we eat" means now!

Good luck to you. In hindsight, I wished I had asked a lot more questions than I did. But all of this was so new to me back in early April, 1999.

[*EDIT*] - I had one important year incorrect, LOL! My rectal bleeding began in 1998! Not 1988! I changed it......

It really depends on the individual, as well as the kind of surgery. I had my ileo done a LOOOOOONG time ago and it was a cut from only a bit below my sternum to just above the pelvic bone. So I've never had a flat stomach since then with the knitting of the abdominal muscles. That said, surgery has progressed a lot in how the work is done. And again, depends on what each person needs and the doctor.

I teach Pilates and completed a 600 hour program of study to get certified (after doing the work for years first). So core work? I've done a lot!! Unless you have an issue, do it! After you are healed sufficiently. I lifted huge weights for years. Good thing I didn't know I couldn't do that, too! There's a piece on the Convatec site about an ostomate climbing Mt. Everest. I've read about runners, too. It's up to you and your body.

So many doctors really only know how to perform the technical process, they don't know too much about post recovery. And in the era of malpractice suits, they are inclined to err on the side of caution. Start slowly, be healed first. If it is uncomfortable - STOP! You might be able to work up to it, or try again with more time.

More hope. Thanks for the information and encouragement. You make it sound way easier than it seems at the moment for me. I have been trying to work my head into this thing.

Appreciate the comments.

I'm sorry to tell you this Trigirl,
but if you have a permanent ileostomy, then it will wreck your abdominal muscles to a certain degree. Not just because of how they do the surgery (even if they cut you, the incision will be on your midline and not in your muscles anyway-that heals fine) but because the intestine will be brought to the surface THROUGH your abdominal muscles. There is no way around that. Sorry.

My surgeon told me I could never do sit-ups again (or even leg lifts, crunches, etc.) because I will always be at risk for a hernia and damage to the ostomy. Even when your site is fully healed, it's always weaker than it was before surgery.
He did say swimming, biking, running, cardio, is great and fine! Still very good for you. I do like the 'tighteng' of your abdominal muscles periodically.

My stomach is slightly bulgier on the ostomy side. Meaning-it sticks out where the ostomy is, while the other side is much flatter. BUT I don't think it was that was after my 1st surgery.

But I didn't feel like excercising much b4 surgery, and now I have SO much more energy (I like to stay active) and am biking regularly.

It's still YOUR body. You can try whatever you feel you can handle, Once you've healed, and that may take a good year.
I have a hard time believing that I can NEVER do sit-ups again, and maybe I'll try them in a few months.

But don't be afraid of being active! If you go to the Cymed website about a professional athlete with a colostomy who surfs and rock climbs and bikes and does all sorts of very physical activities.
I bet you'll be even stronger after surgery, if you have to have it.

Oh yeah, and the back pain: I still have extra-intestinal symptoms. I never had back pain, but my knee and hip joints hurt. and I have carpal tunnel syndrome now (which I may have gotten without u/c) but things are better. Things hurt occasionally. But i don't have to take pred. (refuse to take pred.) for them to stop, they just do....weird.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

It will be a year next month since I had my second reversal. I had my first one last May 2010 and after a few days was back in the OR because it leaked. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks and given another stoma. I had to wait another 6 months for my second reversal Dec 2010. A few months passed and I got a hernia right by my reversal incision and had to have another surgery to repair it this past April 2011. It is November now and my abdomen where my stoma and hernia were are is still very sore when I get up. Will this soreness every go away?