I'm having surgery

notsosicklygirl said...
Are you using t he 2 piece system? Is it the adhesive one or the snap? I never liked the 2 piece with adhesive to connect the pouch to the wafer. The snap is better.

It's a two piece but I don't know if it's adhesive or snap. I glue the barrier on the skin and then snap the bag onto the barrier. Which one is it? I use New Image Hollister right now.

Sounds like it's a snap. The adhseive one is 2 stickers that you stick together. If you get it off center, it's never right. I don't like it. it's also messy if you want to swap the pouch. With the snap, you can just wipe around it and everything cleans up easily. The adhesive is lower profile, but I'd rather a few mm more, than not be able to change the pouch. I never took metamucil. I guess everyone has their methods. You will see what you like in time. The output, some people like it thicker, but sometimes too thick and it will pancake up at the top.

There are 2 pieces with stickers - you can pull them apart and replace the pouch, but it never worked well for me. I preferred either a 2 piece with a snap, or just a one piece. The one piece is very convenient, especially if you know the size of your stoma, and you can get precut. You can put that on in 1 minute. I carried that in my emergency bag. I used a squeeze bottle to clean out the bag a bit when I was emptying at home, but I would wear my wafer for a week at a time, and often after 3 days I'd want to swap the bag to a new one. My insurance gave me a lot of supplies so there was really no reason to use one bag for too long. I would put the old bag in a ziplock and snap a new one on. of course, you have to take the garbage to the trash because you don't want an ostomy bag hanging around smelling up the trash... I wore all the wafers in the shower and none came off. Showering without an appliance is a risk. I could do it in the AM when I was empty, but after meals, i wouldn't do it. I've also showered with the wafer and no pouch, then snapped one on after. You have to be "empty" to do that, otherwise it could be a mess.

That's normal.

For me after step 1 (2 step JPouch) I was still discharging mucus. I believe for a 3 step you'll have this for step 1 and 2.

Post Edited (Bull101) : 11/27/2018 5:40:27 AM (GMT-7)

Yes if its a 3 step then rectum is removed at step 2-at least on me it was.Barely any discharge for me after 1 or 2

After step 2 you will not pass mucus but sometimes you can get output that passes through the loop. I had a lot of other troubles with my loop. It's fast transit and I was dizzy all the time. I know you already have trouble with balance and fainting, you may consider getting something to stabilize when you are closer to the loop. One thing that's important to remember is that it's only 8 weeks with the loop, so as terrible as it was, it was quick!

On Monday I have an appointment with my GI. I'm still pooping mucus and I'm wondering if I should ask for suppositories?

Another thing I forgot to mention to my surgeon yesterday I wanted to know if I can eat more than soft foods and now I'm beating myself for forgetting to ask

I saw your post about the pathology the other day and I thought I responded... Thank goodness!!!!!! I am so happy for you.

The blood and mucus is normal. You have proctitis in your rectum. It's disconnected, but it still has blood flow, and it's doing what it does unfortunately, and in our case that means fighting itself. Normally I would say email to ask your questions, but tomorrow is right around the corner, so you may end up not getting any more information before then no matter what you do.

I would ask about supps if the symptoms are bothersome. I only passed stuff once in the am, like a clearing of whatever, then I was fine. I know D said she had a really rough time with the disconnected rectum, as did Embers. It's quite common. My surgeon said I could use a fleet to clear mine, but mine wasn't true inflammation symptoms like tenesmus or blood, just one emptying in the AM.

I had proctitis pretty rough in the rectal stump. I was having to pass stuff probably 3-4 times a day. It was no fun but I agree it helps you know you’ve made the right decision. Do you have a date for your next step? I waited for about 5 months between step 1 & 2, then 9 week until takedown. I could have done it sooner but wanted to regain some health first.

The whole time I had an ileostomy I was crapping out mucus several times per day and that's nothing compared to what it's gonna be like after takedown. It can get pretty crazy. Sounds like everything is going well with you. That's great.

The 2nd step includes removal of the rectum and the creation of the pouch. For me, the loop was difficult, but it's a short time you have to live with it. After takedown, the pouch is the holder for stool, not the rectum. The pouch shouldn't be inflamed and you will not pass mucus, but stool will not be compacted like it is with a colon. Mine varies a lot in consistency throughout a day/week. Also, with it being "uncompacted" you go more. You pass more liquids too. If I drink a lot of fluids, I pass more liquid. I don't worry about consistency, but some people take imodium, fiber, eat different diets, etc. to attempt to go less or manage the consistency. I personally prefer to have a liquid movement versus eat a crazy diet. Liquid is actually fast to pass, easy to clean, and it's not urgent, so it doesn't bother me.