I'm a ball of nerves

Hi there. I had my rectum
Hi there. I had my rectum removed and an iliostomy performed. You will be fine, what you will come to realize, is just how many folks are living happy, productive lives with their colostomys and iliostomys for all kinds of reasons...even children! It's a whole world out there you don't even realize exsisted! Wayyyy better than the alternative I say. It takes time to adjust to an ostomy, there is a learning curve but jump right in and take care of it yourself, utilize your wound ostomy nurses. ( regular nurses try...but don't know all the tricks) so make sure you have appointments with a wound ostomy nurse to get oriented and with any on going questions and concerns. The surgery.....hmm. I don't remember any out and out pain because of the drugs. I am not big on meds...but i took em then! make sure to get a perscription for valium. I am pretty high strung and valium helps relax your muscles which is important while you heal. One mistake I made was holding tension in my butt muscles after surgery. Valium helped relax me more...although to tell you the truth, i barely noticed a difference...everyone's different but make sure you have some sort of muscle relaxer to help. Ok, will be thinking of you!

I had my rectum removed a year ago this month on the 15. I started with the DaVinci robotic but due to scar tissue from previous c-sections I ended up having the cut down my stomach. I also ended up having a hysterectomy done at the same time. Surgery went well for me. I had them remove the pain pump two days after surgery. I stopped using it the day after so it was unnecessary. My surgeon recommended Tylonal after we removed the pump and when I left the hospital. I had a temp ileostomy loop for 11 months and adjusted well. Having an ostomy became normal quickly and I learned I could change it anywhere. Could change it in a public bathroom stall if needed. I always carried an extra bag just in case. For me it was a quick easy change process but I know people who make it a long process and lay something on the floor etc. You will find the right routine for you. I learned that an ostomy is not as bad as I thought it would be. I was approved to go back to work in three to four weeks after my rectum removal / hysterectomy but decided to take 6 weeks since Christmas was coming and my job takes 10 days off over Christmas. I decided to enjoy the holidays not working. My biggest issue is that I had no appetite so I had to force myself to eat. My surgeon recommended eating my protein first so I got enough protein. It took me awhile to be actually hungry. At first with my ostomy I wore clothes that were a size to big but learned I could wear my right size. I live in jeans when not working and wore them normally. The past year since my surgery has gone quickly. There have been some interesting times with the chemo and a few hospital stays but I am currently in remission and things are going well. Right now my life is back to normal. Just remember our bodies are all different so make sure you run all questions by your doctors who know your case the best. Good luck with your surgery.

Hope all went well
Just wanted to say I was thinking of you and hoped all went well today.