Hi everyone

tesslee

i'm back. i know i just popped in and popped right back out. there were quite a few reasons. last time i was here i was not able to eat, i was sick and dehydrated. well i'm happy to say i've been able to eat for 5 weeks now and i can eat anything it seems.

i lived with my brother and his wife for 2 1/2 months, and didn't have the access i wanted to use my computer plus still being in fear mode (i guess) i didn't have the desire or will to read this board. anyway i'm doing much better. i've just today completed my 5th chemo and wearing the dreaded fu-5 now.

i wanted to mention to two folks, (sorry i don't remember names) but one who's primary site is appendix - i really didn't understand what you were saying at the time, but now i do and realize my colon cancer is different than most. but my primary site is the colon, they say, even tho both ovaries and fallopian tubes were stage 4 as well. and ovaries the size of grapefruite.

to the other person who said not to get dehydrated, well i believe that was the problem. why i was sick. i could not stay hydrated. now i drink 3 - 4 1 liter bottles of water with quite a bit of lemon juice in it. i remember when i was young my mom used to save our pickle juice. she used it for upset stomachs. so it makes me wonder about the lemon juice. acid against acid, i don't know.

wanted to tell yall a funny (not really) story today. i have a colostomy bag from my initial surgery Mar 26 (stage iv cancer). anyways i changed the applicance today, went to my doctor's appt. he's always kinda rough and doesn't remember i have the ostomy until he's right on it. usually i can catch him before he is rough in that area. but he got there fist and may have upset the seal. then i went to chemo.

i was on my first bag and i started soaking thru my pants. i called Cathy, the onc nurse, to come help me. we went to restroom and poop was all over me. started taking all my clothes off. the bag came off the seal. i can only figure the doctor loosened it, and then i realized i had forgotten to put the belt on my appliance.

anyways back to the soiled body and clothes. i had a new change of appliance (but no belt, which i now will carry). but i had no new clothes. my nurse took my clothes home to wash (i had no one i could contact) and gave me hospital gowns to finish my chemo in. it was a bad experience, but not horrible cause i was around people who cared, i've gotten to know them. so this is my first out of home total breakdown (not leak) of my poop being spilled and it wasn't a big deal. only because of where i was. if it had been anywhere else i would have been flying home in my car with a lead foot. when i left i gave Cathy a big hug. they are becoming special people to me. i remember my first chemo she said i would be getting to know her well and i just sat there like a scared little kid.

i've been reading some posts and getting to know more of you. i hope to be on board here more often.

thanks.

abrub

Appendix cancer here!
Glad things are moving forward for you, and wishing you all the best throughout your treatment and beyond!

AnneCan

I am glad to see you back +
I am glad to see you back + it sounds like things are getting a lot better. You handled the "incident" very well!

msccolon

what a great post!
I would have my hands over the appliance every time my onc got anywhere CLOSE if he was that much of a clod! Your nurse sounds like an angel, as all of them are! Glad to see you are doing better. #5!!! WOO HOOO!!!!! You are doing GREAT! Hope to hear more from you now that you're getting the hang of things!
mary

tootsie1

Hello again
Good to hear from you again, and I'm glad you're doing better.

*hugs*
Gail

HollyID

I'm glad you're here...
Like Mary said, I think I'd have my hand over my appliance if he was that rough... Or I'd tell him to be more gentle.

Number 5 is a great number! You're gonna do well! I love my onc nurses, too. I think any one of them would take my clothes home and wash them -- except, I've seen a washer/dryer in my oncs office building. I'm sure they wash their own blankets and pillowcases. Maybe they bring their own laundry.... Who knows. )

Mathtutor234

I had a colostomy spill the other day
Hi,
Don't feel bad. I've found that about once every six months or so, for varied reasons, I'll have a colostomy bag spill. I had a bad one a couple of days ago. I won't go into the gross details, but it was bad (and reminiscent of a South Park cartoon episode, there was actually some fecal matter smeared on a wall before I got things under control. If you're new to colostomy bag usage please allow me to share a little advice. I try to eat a bannanna every now and again, I think it helps lighten the weight of my bowell movements (I don't know why). And the less weight in the bag, the less chance the clip will give way. I also try to have wafers and bags that are specifically designed for each other, these give a tight fit and are much less likely to slip off (and I put the bag on the wafer before I stick the wafer onto my stoma, as this way I'm more comfortable mashing the bag and wafer together to make sure it's a snug fit.). Best of luck and please try not to get discouraged.

khl8

Mathtutor234 said:

I had a colostomy spill the other day
Hi,
Don't feel bad. I've found that about once every six months or so, for varied reasons, I'll have a colostomy bag spill. I had a bad one a couple of days ago. I won't go into the gross details, but it was bad (and reminiscent of a South Park cartoon episode, there was actually some fecal matter smeared on a wall before I got things under control. If you're new to colostomy bag usage please allow me to share a little advice. I try to eat a bannanna every now and again, I think it helps lighten the weight of my bowell movements (I don't know why). And the less weight in the bag, the less chance the clip will give way. I also try to have wafers and bags that are specifically designed for each other, these give a tight fit and are much less likely to slip off (and I put the bag on the wafer before I stick the wafer onto my stoma, as this way I'm more comfortable mashing the bag and wafer together to make sure it's a snug fit.). Best of luck and please try not to get discouraged.

I carried a small back pack,
I carried a small back pack, everywhere i went, with a complete change of clothes and appliances. I could just put it on my back and off i went. Lucklily I only needed it once, but having a pair of sweats, underwear, tshirt and yes socks available anywhere was a godsend, Think about packing a bag and taking it with you everywhere!

tesslee

abrub said:

Appendix cancer here!
Glad things are moving forward for you, and wishing you all the best throughout your treatment and beyond!

yes now i remember. thank
yes now i remember. thank you for your well wishes. i wanted to say that the path report stated because of stain findings that the primary was gastrointestinal. i hope you're doing well.

tesslee

msccolon said:

what a great post!
I would have my hands over the appliance every time my onc got anywhere CLOSE if he was that much of a clod! Your nurse sounds like an angel, as all of them are! Glad to see you are doing better. #5!!! WOO HOOO!!!!! You are doing GREAT! Hope to hear more from you now that you're getting the hang of things!
mary

thank you, yes quite a
thank you, yes quite a difference from when i originally posted. i've realized you can only do this one day at a time. but i'm sure that if i was still vomiting and unable to eat i would not have that outlook.

i always put my hand over the ostomy. he thru me off this time. he usually waits for me to untie my elastic waist band so he can pull down to my belly. but as i was untying he immediately started the exam over my pants. he's unpredictable, now i know and my hand will be over the ostomy every time now.

yes getting the hang of things is much nicer. woo hoo.

hope you're doing well. thanks

tesslee

khl8 said:

I carried a small back pack,
I carried a small back pack, everywhere i went, with a complete change of clothes and appliances. I could just put it on my back and off i went. Lucklily I only needed it once, but having a pair of sweats, underwear, tshirt and yes socks available anywhere was a godsend, Think about packing a bag and taking it with you everywhere!

that's a very good
that's a very good suggestion. i will do that. sweats and t shirt is an easy peasy dress to get out of a bad situation. well worth it.

thank you everyone for welcoming me back. i hope to become part of this community. slowly but surely. i feel a strong connection to anyone going thru this. my mind set has definitely changed about how i feel about cancer. love to you all.

today i'm tired, tired, tired. so i'm logging of for the day. will try to read posts and reply to other's threads tomorrow.

much hope and blessings to all.

tess

tesslee

Mathtutor234 said:

I had a colostomy spill the other day
Hi,
Don't feel bad. I've found that about once every six months or so, for varied reasons, I'll have a colostomy bag spill. I had a bad one a couple of days ago. I won't go into the gross details, but it was bad (and reminiscent of a South Park cartoon episode, there was actually some fecal matter smeared on a wall before I got things under control. If you're new to colostomy bag usage please allow me to share a little advice. I try to eat a bannanna every now and again, I think it helps lighten the weight of my bowell movements (I don't know why). And the less weight in the bag, the less chance the clip will give way. I also try to have wafers and bags that are specifically designed for each other, these give a tight fit and are much less likely to slip off (and I put the bag on the wafer before I stick the wafer onto my stoma, as this way I'm more comfortable mashing the bag and wafer together to make sure it's a snug fit.). Best of luck and please try not to get discouraged.

thank you for your advice
i guess we have to learn to laugh at these things. what else can we do, well i'm gonna pack a bag now on. i like the idea of putting the bag on before applying the wafer but my last order i ordered the beige bags and can't see thru to make sure i'm getting it placed correctly. and now i love those bags cause i don't feel like i have to clean them thoroughly each time i empty. i'm still learning about my output patterns. i know they sell clothing that will hold the bag secure, i might look into that in the future. i know that if my bag is mostly liquid it is still heavy and pulls down.

anyway it is nice to talk about these things to people who understand. thanks for the well wishes.

Shayenne

tesslee said:

thank you for your advice
i guess we have to learn to laugh at these things. what else can we do, well i'm gonna pack a bag now on. i like the idea of putting the bag on before applying the wafer but my last order i ordered the beige bags and can't see thru to make sure i'm getting it placed correctly. and now i love those bags cause i don't feel like i have to clean them thoroughly each time i empty. i'm still learning about my output patterns. i know they sell clothing that will hold the bag secure, i might look into that in the future. i know that if my bag is mostly liquid it is still heavy and pulls down.

anyway it is nice to talk about these things to people who understand. thanks for the well wishes.

Hi Tess!!!
And welcome to the forum! It's very nice to meet you!

I am a Stage 4 Colon Cancer survivor, diagnosed on Jan 16, 2009...and joined this forum right when I was diagnosed, I had just gotten a new job a few months prior, after graduating from Gallipolis Career College, 2 years it took me to graduate, got an Associates Degree, and was working a week later for a Physical Therapy office, they had 11 Phyical Therapists, a couple of nurses, me and another girl was their Physical Therapist Secretaries. We also did a lot of Theater for the neighborhood, and had a blast. My kids do alot of activities, life was good, then after all that hard work of school and going back to the working force, after staying home for 10 years + from being a stay at home mom, I was knocked down with this force! Something that I would haver thought would ever happen to me and my family down with a crushing blow. I was so scared, 43 years out, turning 44 that next month...what a nightmare.

I came to this board, and then felt this need to post something, not expecting a thing. But people actually friendly to me right away! They were ALL Lovely here, and still there to this day which is wonderful! I try to get on when on, and though cavemen


Phil...If you see this, you should think of posting a motherload post jokes!!! Just a "JOKE OF THE DAY" Sort of post, and give us more of your warped humor! Who is in for some of Phil's jokes, no holds barred, uncensored, no races blames, since alot may be in alot of other different languages.

Tess, I hope you make alot of nice jokes, if you have a great sense of humor, you will love this place, we hope to see you alot on here as well

Hugsss!
~Donna

khl8

tesslee said:

thank you for your advice
i guess we have to learn to laugh at these things. what else can we do, well i'm gonna pack a bag now on. i like the idea of putting the bag on before applying the wafer but my last order i ordered the beige bags and can't see thru to make sure i'm getting it placed correctly. and now i love those bags cause i don't feel like i have to clean them thoroughly each time i empty. i'm still learning about my output patterns. i know they sell clothing that will hold the bag secure, i might look into that in the future. i know that if my bag is mostly liquid it is still heavy and pulls down.

anyway it is nice to talk about these things to people who understand. thanks for the well wishes.

Oh and another trick to help
Oh and another trick to help you feel clean allthe time, I bought ultra ultra thin pany liners and lined my underwear where the bag was so that if there was any tiny amount of leakage, i just had to change the liners. I was buying them by the case as i used about 4 each time, but it made all the differnce in the world. And I bought the underwear that is called hi leg briefs as they covered the bag and I bought a little smaller than i usually wore so that they were a bit snugger.
Kathy