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stoma placement confusion...

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Posted 7/31/2012 12:40 PM (GMT 0)
surgery is tomorrow!!! and i just recently have been baffled by something... my placement has been marked for about two weeks now and i wore my favorite jeans to the WOCN meeting but heres my question... i read an old post on here about stoma placement being either below or above your belt line. i am a small guy (5'8" and 130 pounds currently) and i cant see how in the world a stoma could be placed below the belt line. everyone seems to say this is best so that flow into the bag isnt restricted but for my stoma to be below beltilne it would literally have to be in my groin area!!! at the meeting i stood up, sat down, layed down, stretched and moved in whacky ways to see where my skin and belly creased and all and where she put the mark seemed perfect and very comparable to the pics iv seen and where it surgically should be. most of the pics i see on google and such are people wearing their pants or shorts lower than where the stoma is. i dont know if im just different or if theres something im missing but if mine were below my belt line that would mean my belt would cross my belly button and be way high off my hips. can anyone shed any light on this as i want to make sure im not missing anything before i commit to this spot!!! thank you my wonderful healingwell friends!!!

God Bless!!!

Posted 7/31/2012 1:39 PM (GMT 0)
db, I think a lot of women do wear belts at the belly button level (women's pants can come up that high), so I suspect that the definition of "belt line" is the issue here. When people have colostomies instead of ileostomies, they can be a lot higher up on the belly.

Sounds like you got your stoma in a good place and don't need to worry.

My nurse said the best place for my stoma wouldn't work well w/the jeans I brought.... so I said forget it, I'd just wear different clothes. Then I put on weight after surgery, so the men's jeans I'd worn my whole adult life no longer fit right anyways and weren't comfortable (now I'm wearing looser, women's pants and hence am attuned to the differences in where they sit).
Posted 7/31/2012 1:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hubby's is below the belt/waist line and has worked out perfectly for him. He also wears the Ostomy Secret line of underwear which has an extra panel of material that the pouch rests in. This keeps it from resting against his skin and also provides some support for the bag. It will be 2 years this coming December and he has no complaints or thoughts about the stoma should have been placed elsewhere. We live in Florida where it is hot longer than a lot of other areas and he has not had one skin problem with the pouch having this area to keep it away from his "sensistive" skin
Posted 7/31/2012 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
another thing I just thought of...everyone's anatomy is a little different...some people are high waisted, low waisted etc. so that no doubt has a bearing on things too. If you wore your favorite jeans to your Stoma nurse appt and did all the maneuvers you said, then no doubt you have the correct placement marked that will work FOR YOU is my guess. It is very easy to over think every aspect but it certainly is better to think and double check NOW.

Best of luck and let us know how you are doing when you are up to it.
Posted 7/31/2012 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
ok yea that makes sense. me being such a small guy and the level at my hip bones are it would be impossible for me to be below belt line haha i think i just totally overthought this lol. thanks for clearing that up for me. i had a mini attack where i was thinkin, wait... is this... serious??? lol my mind is playin tricks with me the day before surgery!!! thanks for your help!!! yea i live in west tennessee and you never know what you will get here weatherwise. iv never been in a more unpredictable environment. one day its 85 and cloudy with a decent breeze and the very next day its 98, 10000% humidity, and a heat index of 105 lol. weather is so wild in the southern states. bags and wafers really get put to the test i bet around here!!! thanks again for the great enlightening answers!!!

God Bless!!!
Posted 7/31/2012 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
I am 5'6 with a short torso, and my stoma is about 1-2 inches below my belly button, so it's about a half inch below where I wear the waist of my pants. Every once in a while my pants will fall lower than my stoma, which annoys me, but msot of the time it's in a good spot.
Posted 7/31/2012 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hello to all and a HOT greeting from Mississippi!

My stoma is about 2.5 inches over from my belly button and about 1 inch down. My surgery was immediate, so I really didn't have much time to consider placement. I really think my surgeon did a wonderful job. I like to wear flat front pants if I wear pants at all...I prefer skirts and dresses.

I do not seem to have many issues with clothing. I am currently wearing Hollister 8592 one piece bags. I have tried the two pieces (wish we were talking about swimsuits!!) and they are ok also... I do love Hollister.

Will be thinking about you tomorrow and hope all goes well! You are certainly prepared. And remember, I am your neighbor in MS and am here for you!!

Best best to you! Know I will pray early am for you! and the fiancé, and family!

Love,
Mollie
Posted 7/31/2012 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
you all are too kind :) i will update when i can!!!!!! thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!!

God Bless!!!
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