Managing Ostomy with Parastomal Hernia - Seeking Advice and Support

Ok, I talked about this before... It was confirmed last week that I do have one... It's small but to me of course feels big.

I need to hear feedback on how one deals with this?

I was doing my Monday shower and pouch change this morning and my hernia was out and about. After I showered and prepped my Ostomy, which was kind of hard today due to my hernia... I massaged the area and when I put in my pouch, when sealing it, I pushed into my bump... It must have pushed my hernia back in... It hurt some, and it was such a weird sensation! I put in my NuForm belt after and my tummy has been flat ever since. I am afraid to move now though.... I am depressed and having trouble dealing with this. I need some help. How do I accept this another new thing in my life? Look forward to your experiences!

Sounds bad, just remember it could be worse!

Jb

Sorry, I'm kinda straightforward. First, having an ostomy is a hernia in itself. Second, technically, after getting an ostomy, you shouldn't lift anything more than a gallon of milk. Even with sticking to that, you can still get a parastomal hernia. I have had an ostomy for 26 years, and I am a plumber with 7 kids and 10 grandkids. I have had a hernia off and on for 24 years! I have to work, and I have to hold my kids and grandkids!!!! With that, I wear my Nuform hernia belt 18 hours a day. Hernias aren't good, but they can be lived with; just wear your belt and don't eat excessive amounts of hard-to-digest foods (and that is debatable). For me, I can eat raw broccoli but have to be careful with cooked broccoli. I have had 6 surgeries, and only 1 may have been due to a hernia. #justsaying

Good luck.

I will be praying for you.

cplumber

Hello Mikamouse.

Thank you for your post and I would like to write something helpful in reply. However, I'm with Cplumber in that all I can say is that I can empathise with your position as I have been living with a parastomal hernia for many years (mine was with me from the beginning!)

What I would say is that there have been many similar posts and even more replies in the past and these have been of some help to me in understanding some of the problems.  You can find these 86 topics in 'Collections'->stoma problems-> hernias and stomas.

Perhaps this information might make up for the fact that i have little useful to say on my own behalf.

Best wishes

Bill  

Just so you don't feel lonely, I'm just getting to experience my first one too. So far it's more of an oddity than an issue. No pain at all. Just a weird, queasy kind of feeling when I try to push it back in.

I hope yours isn't a problem.

Hi Mikamouse, I am also a survivor of bladder cancer. I had urostomy in 2010, two months after my wife of 50 years passed away from metastatic breast cancer; her third fight with breast cancer. I also remove my appliance in the shower and reapply standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I never mastered reapplying on my back; I can't see a thing. It's a two-handed process. I will tell you of a product I found that will keep your pouch empty all night long. The BD Purewick is a small suction pump developed for women experiencing incontinence. So as an ostomate, we do not need the 'wick' part of the system. I added additional tubing to that already part of the unit and a female quick connect adapter that hooks up to my pouch drain. This unit keeps my pouch empty all night. With my previous night drainage system, the pouch sometimes emptied by 'gravity flow' and sometimes it did not. Roll over on your tummy and boom, a blowout occurs. Wet bed and a middle of the night appliance change is needed. If you have any questions, just give a 'shout back'. I'm Texas Ag.