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Posted 10/7/2012 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there,

I'm thinking of speaking to my doctor with regards to my scars on my tummy from my ileostomy, although I still have my bag I would like to have some plastic surgery as my scars are really bad. Not to sure where you guys are from but im in the uk and was hoping that i maybe able to get it on NHS, although it is my choice not to have it reversed i'v just had enough messing around with my intestine if its working leave it be lol!

any advice ??

Many thanks Melissa
Posted 10/7/2012 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
i don't think any extra surgery would be the best way to go. although, i did go to the surgeon about something and he said i could have lipo on the non stoma surgery, but i was afraid to!
Posted 10/7/2012 7:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Melissa. When was your surgery? It can take a while for the scars to reduce. Am sure you'd get it on the NHS if Dr refers you and they're bad affecting you etc.. but you might have to wait a while!

I'd leave it for a while and see how you feel and if they improve.
Posted 10/7/2012 7:52 AM (GMT 0)
Be aware that more surgery causes more adhesions and complications down the line. What surgery did you have and what for?
Posted 10/7/2012 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
They think it was Colitis there still unsure as to whether its was Crohn's or UC. I had my large intestine removed march 2011 it hasn't healed well at all I have a large unsightly scar and a small one at the top with is rather deep like a little well :( Although i don't like the thought of more surgery it is the only thing I get upset about now and I truly hate it, although I guess in time that may subside.

Thanks melissa
Posted 10/7/2012 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Melissa,
you just wrote that it is the only thing you get upset about now. It reminded me of a lot of things, something much earlier than my life with UC, surgery, stoma, and jpouch. When I was 13 I was in a car accident with my mother, went flying through the windshiled and woke up sometimes later with massive consussion and a lot of stitches to the head and face. What I remember is how I displaced all of my grief and horror, particularly about my mother's leg being crushed, onto anger and irritation about the scars. I remebered this again as I went through the last three surgeries. Scars are very obvious things to get upset about, they are not pretty and they marr our bodies. But I really think getting upset about them is a way of directing the vulcano of emotions about everything else, the illness we suffered through and having to get cut into because there was no other way to resolve things. I know we all consciously accept surgery as cure, but the bottom line is, we get cut into, and at some basic level this is enraging.
The spot where my stoma got closed is really not very pretty, they chose a non-cosmetic closure to reduce the chance of infection, and they said if I don't like it they would do cosmetic work on it later. I don't like, truth be told, but I am not sure if I want to go through any more surgery for that reasons. I am going to wait and see how it changes and also how my feelings change.
Which is the main thing now - your feelings about your body. Scars are trauma and I don't think it's superficial or vain to be disturbed by them. So wait and see how you feel. You may not feel bothered by it in six months, and scars fade away more than you imagined. If in some time you still feel dissatisfied and want to do something about it, the go for it. But give your feelings a chance to develop first.
Posted 10/7/2012 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
My surgeon is having me use micropore tape on areas of the scars that are not fading and are pretty large. You wear the micropore tape for 12 hours and remove it so your skin can breathe. It works really well on ugly keloid scars. I have also used silicone sheets for scar removal after a large breast biopsy. The tape works much faster than the silicone sheets. The tape is prescription. I'll post the name tomorrow. I don't have it with me at the moment.
Posted 10/9/2012 2:21 AM (GMT 0)
The tape is called Cordran tape. You wear it for 12 hours and take it off. My scar goes from above my navel down past the top of my pubic bone, The keloid scars are 1-1/2" at the top and 3/4" at the bottom. The bottom one is twisting and creating a weird crater. Cordran tape contains a topical steroid. I may also need to have steroid injections into the lower keloid because of the tension it is creating on surrounding tissue and muscle. Steroid injections help soften and smooth out keloid scars. The tape is expensive and not covered by my insurance. Silicone sheeting is sold over the counter but takes much longer to work. You wear it for a period of months over your scar. Silicone sheeting was first used for burn victims. No one knows why it works so well. Most surgery scars will fade away on their own without any problems. Some people are just prone to developing keloid scars which can be painful and aggravated by clothing or in my case certain exercises such as abdominal crunches.
I honestly do not even think about the scars and wouldn't have asked for treatment if the surgeon had not recommended it. You may be amazed at how much the scars fade during the second year.
Posted 10/9/2012 7:45 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Subzero.
They cut an elipsis around my stoma when they closed it, so I have a scooped-out place with droopy puckers on each side. I do not know if it bothers me but I'm happy to wait another year and see how I feel. I'll check out what Cordran tape could do.
I hope the keloid material gets resolved and that you won't need steroids. The word steroid alone gives me chills.
Posted 10/10/2012 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
B'Dereh,
Thank you for your concern. I think the shots are so small it doesn't even enter your system but the tape has already started working so I don't think it will be an issue. Our bodies change so much in a year that I cannot imagine what will happen to these scars. My abdomen is lopsided at the moment. The left side is 3/4" larger than the right. I have lost 15 lbs and the weight loss is not evenly distributed. It makes me laugh because it is so strange. On the bright side I can now do 8 miles at a time! I am half-way through training and feeling great.
Fondly,
SZM
Posted 10/10/2012 9:44 AM (GMT 0)
Subzero, I know that cort creams and non-oral forms of cort aren't supposed to enter the system. But my friend's teenage daughter is using a cort cream for some skin expressions of diabetes and reports that she is feeling some effects. Don't like cort, never liked the sound of it, and the months I've taken pred were absolutely weird. I was either unable to think a realistically critical thought, talking like an idiot on amphetamines or felling insane for no reason.
It sounds like the 3/4 inch less on the right side is because there was a stoma there and not on the left side. I have that too. Not sure if that's the weight loss or just an uneven ness that cold even itself out over time.
It is raining like crazy here but you've inspired me once more to do several miles of walking. The only option I have is the Tiergarten, which is lovely.
Posted 10/11/2012 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
B'Dereh,
I will remain on alert for any side effects but so far I have had nothing but softening tissue.
I'm glad to know you have the unevenness too. It makes me feel a little less weird. There are certain running clothes I cannot wear because it emphasizes the scars and lumps. Brooks clothes are the worst on me. Nike and Northface brands both cover things up while still not giving any chafing or over heating.
Most of my routes are along a river or through the forest. The rainy season is due to begin this week-end. I have my rain gear and head lamp ready. I am not going to let a little rain stop me. I found a cool app called Trailmix. It adjusts the pace of my music to my walking pace. Zoey the Siberian has finally learned the difference between paces: Slow 20 minute mile, Medium 18 minute mile, Fast 15 minute mile. I know these times are kind of pathetic but it is what I need to do not to get injured past eight miles.
Enjoy the Tiergarten!
Posted 10/11/2012 8:37 AM (GMT 0)
Nothing sounds pathetic, it's the last word I'd use for someone building themself back up with such loving and responsible self-care.
I'd love to have such a beautiful growing puppy walk with me. I talked thorugh the husky subject with a scientist at work the other week and really had to admit I do not have 1-2 hours per day to run alone or with a husky. And getting to somewhere for walking or running is at least 10-15 minutes on the subway. So we concluded that the dog most appropriate to my life is a dachsund, which are wonderful, funny, intelligent dogs, but just don't stir my heart like huskies....
At this very moment there is a 12-month old female husky at an animal shelter. They had to amputate one of her front legs but "her homepage" says she's getting along just fine. She is not small, for a female. I'm wondering if I should go see her on Sunday and see how I feel?
Posted 10/11/2012 8:43 AM (GMT 0)
PS: I do think that this new abdominal landscaping will really even itself out, even if it takes 12-18 months.
I have hear other women and men talk about being lopsided.
It is already much improved with me, compared with how it looked just after each surgery. I was just surprised with how they closed my stoma, because all the photos I'd seen showed a silent, peaceful little seam
Posted 10/12/2012 3:54 AM (GMT 0)
B'Dereh, You need to match the dog with your heart. The dog will be your companion for more than ten years.
Zoey is 39 lbs at one year. She is six lbs smaller than her mother. A normal size is 40 to 45 lbs. Our other Siberian, Loki, is 83 lbs. He is a giant Siberian. Our other males never weighed more than 55 lbs. How big is the female at the shelter? The larger females tend to be incredibly gentle and calm.
On the other hand, my mother-in-law bred dachshunds in Bavaria. Her dogs were elegant, quiet and smart. They didn't move my heart but if they are well bred and trained they can be easy to get along with and have interesting personalities.
I tend to pick out Siberians who are a bit of a challenge: hiding your car keys when they do not want to go for a ride, ringing the doorbell and laughing at you for answering the door, persuading the cat to open the compost bin and throw steak bones on the floor or other tricks our dogs have done. Siberians are like very smart, humorous, challenging children. If that type of child makes you laugh and feel alive, then you will love to have a Siberian. Their love of life and sense of humor is contagious.
Posted 10/12/2012 6:27 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, I know about huskies: Winnie came out of the muddy rain and jumped into my clean sheeted bed to warm up and cuddles, had no problesm telling me to fk-off, ate 4 rum-soaked fruitcakes cooling on the counter as soon as my parents turned their back, disappeared every day at 4 pm to go to the old age home, because the residents had saved their doughnuts for her. Yes, she had quite a sense of humor but I can't say how I knew when she was laughing her head off or smiling. Not sure if I could live with any other kind of dog. I'm just not home all day and that is the problem.
Posted 10/18/2012 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
Winnie sounds wonderful. No wonder you miss her!
When Loki laughs, he spreads his front legs a little bit out to the side and makes this weird growly, hissy sound with his mouth half open. He is the only one that laughs. Zoey, Zorro, Huckleberry, Luna, Terra, Mojo, and Nikita all smiled but did not laugh. Zoey is the only one that barks. She has a Lauren Bacall voice, deep and gravelly as if she smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. I wish I lived in Berlin. Your dog could come over and play every day.
I lived in an apartment in Chicago with Huckleberry. As long as he had a good walk in the morning and at night, he was fine in the apartment. I worked at Univ. of Chicago during the day. He had a lot of toys and bones. I think he liked watching the busy streets.
It is a hard decision to make.
Posted 10/18/2012 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Melissa,

I had the keloid scarring after my surgeries. My scar got really wide and very raised. I did get the cortisoid injections and I had no side effects. My scar flattened out and got much lighter. This is probably just a coincidence but about six weeks later I developed an incisional hernia. I was sitting in the front seat of my car and I had to reach back really far to reach something and I felt something inside me pop. So now I have to have that taken care of and the surgeon said he will try to make my scar look better because it's still just as wide. It doesn't bother me that much but I'm 41 so I don't care that much about it. Keep us posted because I would like to know what you end up doing and what the results were. Good luck!

 

Posted 10/18/2012 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
Subzero, yes I miss her sorely still after all these years and turn my head at every husky I see (which is how I am about all lost or previous loves). Winnie also would run all the way to other states, like CT and NJ, which is why I'm wondering how you could be so lucky to have a husky happy with a couple of walks every day. I heard one man complain how his husky got so restless at home alone that the poor thing destroyed furniture, and behaved so badly that he couldn't find another home for him. I'm not sure if a husky would be patient enough to wait for the weekend to go to Tiergarten for a couple of hours of romping. Also the idea of plunking down 500 euros for a puppy while I'm still unemployed as of December 1st doesn't sound like an adult thing to do. Despite all these grown-up considerations, I'm also wondering why I can't just have what I want. A decision will take place in the next months, I suppose, and spring time is better for finding a puppy so I'll wait and see.
I just passed my 7th month since reversal and have to admit there's a lot of improvement, six times a day only, and much better control as long as I avoid butter and cream, much less chaotic and I sleep the night through fairly often. There is always at least once a day when it takes forever to get empty, but I'm still very happy with the way it's developing. How are you doing?
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