made it home today!!!

That's awesome that you're home already!! It's normal to have an active stoma at first. The output will slow down and thicken as time goes by. Foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice will help thicken it, if it's watery.

For odor control, a capful of hydrogen peroxide in the pouch works well and so does Hollister M9 drops, which you can purchase when you order supplies.

I can't give any advice about the urethra issue. Hopefully, it's no big deal and will go away on its own, but definitely ask your surgeon about it.

Enjoy sleeping in your own bed!

Good news - 4 days - woohoo! Must feel so nice to be home sleeping in your own bed on your sheets. I remember receiving very little sleep in the hospital - either I was in pain or they were checking me several times through out the night, to move my IV or check fluid output. I don't remember having even 3 hours in a row of uninterrupted sleep!

So that's good news you're home so quickly.

about keeping your temp down, a nurse told me to continue doing the breathing device exercises each hour I was awake and I did that after my ostomy takedown (when I was a really good post-op, cooperative patient). I continued walked through out my day, the breathing exercises, keeping a pitcher filled with iced water by my bedside. I treated my bedroom like a hospital room and all of these habits combined really helped me get back on my feet much sooner.

Good luck!

I like the entry in your blog where you talk about eating McDonald's french fries in the car on the ride home and not having to worry about where the nearest bathroom was. Isn't it AWESOME to be free of that stress?? You will find that there are so many things you will be able to do now that you couldn't do before, plus your energy will be through the roof! Welcome to your new life post UC!