My mom's latest colostomy saga

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wendybill
wendybill Member Posts: 84
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi guys----looking to vent and mostly for some advice. My mom had a wound debridement last Tuesday that led to yet a second colostomy (unplanned). Her first one is now not functional but still there ( lucky her). Anyway the new one is recessed which basically means that the intestine does not peek out the hole like it is supposed to. This leads to real misery in terms of getting a bag on to catch the stool. So basically crap is running all over the place and she is so miserable that she told me that she didn't want to do this anymore. She basically can't go to work or leave the house until we can figure out a solution. My brother is getting married in three weeks in FL and that is weighing heavy on our minds. My poor ma. Lots of things just don't work out as planned for her. So .... Were NED but in the muck still. Any thoughts? Colostomy nurse at hospital had no ideas. :(
Wendy

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  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #2
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    colstomy
    sorry to hear your mom is in this mess. Maybe they can save the old stoma. I have seen this happen. If not they can close stoma off and create a new one. Why was her wound debrieded, was it necrotic. I am so glad she is still ned, unfortantly secondary problems occur. Tell momI said hello and hope to meet her at the waterfront someday...val
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member
    #3
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    poopergirl14052 said:

    colstomy
    sorry to hear your mom is in this mess. Maybe they can save the old stoma. I have seen this happen. If not they can close stoma off and create a new one. Why was her wound debrieded, was it necrotic. I am so glad she is still ned, unfortantly secondary problems occur. Tell momI said hello and hope to meet her at the waterfront someday...val

    unusual stoma?
    So it sounds like you are having trouble getting the bag to seal properly, right? Maybe you can use something like a hydrocolloidal dressing to seal the edges of the bag. I'm disappointed in the colostomy nurse--she is supposed to be the expert here. Find another one.

    If you want to de-odorize the stool, try charcoal tablets and/or chlorophyll tablets. The stool will be greenish black but the odor will be greatly diminished.

    Some people with a colostomy use a suppository to bring on a bowel movement after breakfast so that they get the BM over with and the bag stays clean for a good part of the day. If the there is no pattern to the BMs, then this method might not be helpful.

    Try this website: http://www.ostomates.org/bags.html These are people who are dealing with the same problems. Maybe someone has figured out what to do.

    This is a temporary problem that has a solution. Meanwhile, help your mom to focus on being NED--that is wonderful!

    Carolen
  • Cafewoman53
    Cafewoman53 Member Posts: 735 Member
    #4
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    Your Mom is a fighter
    I'm sorry your Mom is dealing with this, I have no advice but hopefully someone will have something helpful for her.She has been thru so much I'm sure she will get through this hopefully in time to enjoy your brothers wedding.I'm crossing my fingers for her to get this fixed soon !
    Colleen
  • jbeans888
    jbeans888 Member Posts: 313
    #5
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    I understand what you are
    I understand what you are speaking about. I had a temp ileostomy bag and my bag would sometimes leak at night and I had special pads so my mattress wouldn't get all messy. Anyway, my friend is an ostomy and wound care nurse. He said have a recessed stoma is such a pain . It should def be redone if possible. I always told everone that the bag was worse than the cancer. I too am need NED so have her focus on the greatness of that. I always said, well one thing down. One more to go. :-)
  • cfont11
    cfont11 Member Posts: 115
    #6
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    Colostomy
    My first colostomy was awful, not recessed but the bag leaked all the time as the stoma was right above my surgical wound and the wafer would not fit properly. With my second surgery, the dr. reversed the colostomy and now I have an ileostomy. That leaks sometimes too but not as often. I joined discussion board on www.ostomy.org. The people on their have a wealth of knowledge and I think I have seen some info about recessed stoma. Check it out, it is like this board, very helpful and compassionate. I am so glad your Mom is NED and I agree with everyone else, being NED is the main thing to focus on but I understand how you feel. When you have to deal with poop everyday, it is hard to focus on anything else. Best of luck.

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