I still don't get it!!! Smooshing your Stoma.

Ok, so my head just can't get around this. How can people wear tight jeans, or roll up their bags into their underwear, or even wrap up their stomas/bags?

Maybe because mine is only a month old, but it is going all the time, and the darn bag is always all poofed up. If you wrap it up, or cover it tightly, where does all that go? I'm always paranoid the bag will pop, or I'll spring a leak.

How does wearing tighter stuff work, tecnically? I'd love to be able to wear jeans again, or smoosh up the bag so it doesn't show as much, especially when I go back to work. If you cover everything up, what happens when it fills up?

You should have less and less gas as you heal and your body adjusts. As for output, it is directly related to what/how much goes in. Your body should adjust there also, at least to where you will know when it's most active, etc.

I wear mens jeans mostly, there's more room in the crotch for the fluids in my pouch while the waist area helps hold everything in.

I had a function to attend over the weekend and wore my spanx (a type of girdle). I didn't even notice my pouch was pretty full until the end of the evening because it flattened it out pretty well. No big bulge.

I do wear long tops, always, to hide when I do have a bulge. Mostly because I don't want people to see it on the way to the rest room to empty it, but there's not always a bulge (although since my last surgery almost 3 months ago my output has been pretty steady also).

I think I also use the restroom more frequently when I'm in public, so there isn't a noticeable bulge. That does get tiresome though, but necessary if it's a dinner you're attending that lasts forever with many courses, lol.

I haven't mastered the beach yet. I was wearing a cover up, but it was hot, so started wearing running shorts over my swim suit, but they had to be pretty big and baggy to hide things and didn't look very nice.

It's just something you'll have to play around with. Don't be afraid to experiment with different types of clothes, but you may want to "experiment" at home first, lol. Different body types can get away with different things and it depends on where your stoma is placed and how much output you have.

It was probably a year before I ventured into wearing anything fitted.  After I started wearing "It's Not Just Another Panty" undies, with a little pressure constantly on my belly, it helped with the discomfort when I walked.  I didn't feel every little jolt with each step.  And it also kept 'things' in place when I moved around.  They were suggested by my ET way back when.  When buying them, buy a size that is just snug, not tight.  That was the ticket for me.  They gave me a lot more confidence.  And smooshing is not a problem.  When I buy dress pants, I still prefer the pleated ones.  They disguise the pouch well when you might not want to run to the bathroom right away, or if you are going out to dinner.  I also have several pair of fitted pants, jeans.  I tend not to tuck tops in anymore, just because it is more comfortable for me.

Back in the 50's and 60's when my mom had some abd surgery, they recommended she wear a girdle during the post surgery healing process to keep the constant support on her incision/abdomen.  I will have to admit I questioned this idea, but it helped me.

Good luck,

it always worried me about how it would smoosh all the stuff around too, but it doesn't I can't say i understand it, but it works, lol. It hasn't been that long since your sugery, so i can't imagine you would even want to put on anything tight, it will take awhile for the swelling in your tummy to go down, and the gas, and output will lessen. I have a bathing suit, that i wore and i don't think anyone noticed, I am gonna post a pic of me in it, well my bottom half, my hair looked too bad to show my face, lol, on the pic page. I thought it would smush the stuff up too, but i stayed out on the beach for a few hours, and it didn't bluge. The pic is after we had been out there for about three hours.

I just have to put my two cents in the discussion. I had my proctocolectomy about 7 weeks ago now. Being overly concerned about people noticing the bulge, I resorted to wearing only skirts. Actually, the little flouncy ones are kind of popular here now. My husband tells me it's all in my mind about people being able to tell I'm wearing a pouch. With time I will feel more comfortable -I Hope.
NeNe205

Amey said...
Personally, I do not care too much if people see that I have a....buldge.

I have to say, as a guy.....i second that emotion! if my pants look extra buldgey - it just makes the ladies wonder!

sorry...i had to say it

indeed...wait....now it makes sense....that's why all those guys were staring at me last week when i was in West Hollywood!

or bend down to get the toilet paper off the floor?

Only a group like this could turn around a simple question and make it humerous. So I have to put my 2 other cents in. When women go through a transition (an operation to alter their bodies to that of a man, surgery that makes an ostomy look festive) some wear a fake (I think I will be censored by saying the correct name) .... unit. It's referred to 'packing'. My girlfreinds and I joke around that I am just "packing" (not that I would want a unit, having a hard enough time with the equipment I have .....

I've never worried about smooshing my stoma when I wear clothing, but one time, my cat stepped right on my stoma when he was climbing onto my stomach. I didn't like that, so now I cover my stoma with my hand, and he steps on the back of my hand instead.

GladBag - You really SHOULD come see the Dodgers in Spring Training. My Husaband and I have a friend that would be perfect for you. She's a Doctor, so she wouldn't care about a lil' old bag. She's not a Dodger fan, though.

And those of you with well behaved cats, please have them come teach my dog. She's forever trying to lay down on my darn bag. 

Ohio43 --

Since I almost always have a watery output, I don't usually rinse my pouch throughout the day.  But I do rinse in the morning before I leave for work about 6:30 a.m., usually when I get home around 2:00 p.m., and then before bed.  If I'm not home or staying at a home base, like a hotel, etc., I usually don't rinse.  In other words, if I am out and about, I don't.

So how's your stamina been getting back into the swing of things at work?  What type of work do you do?  Do your co-workers know about your surgery?  Are they understanding?

Congrats on your progress!

 

I don't bother rinsing out after I empty. Since I have an ileostomy, the bag is only going get dirty again a couple of minutes later so it's not worth the effort.

that is what i do too, only i have a little squirt bottle, and i clean the tail with mouthwash, on the outside.