New Ostomate Seeking Support

Hi everyone, I just joined. I am a pretty new ostomate. I had my surgery in Jan. of this year.

Welcome! This forum is wonderful with lots of helpful people!

Thank you for the warm welcome... and that is great to know.

Welcome - you've come to the right place!

Hi Beth! I'm a newbie as well, I had my op March of this year. Well, technically I'm both a newbie and not a newbie because I had a stoma in 2013, had it reversed, then this year had the reversal reversed (that probably doesn't make sense, basically I had an ileo, then had the ileo reversed into a j pouch in 2015, and now I've had the j pouch turned back into an ileo, this time it's permanent because I had the infamous barbie butt surgery). But I'm definitely a newbie to the MaO site.

Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Welcome Beth! We are a friendly group and there is lots of knowledge and support here. Don't be shy about asking for advice, and remember, there aren't any stupid questions!

Terry

Welcome to the site. No matter the question, someone here will likely have a good answer for you. So, like everyone else has said, don't be shy, ask anything you need to. Good luck.

Hi Meadow,

Thank you for the welcome. That sounds like quite a journey.. Are you happy now that it's permanent?

Welcome, Beth! There is lots of information here. There's also great friendships, and good old-fashioned fun.

Welcome aboard again. Feel free to jump in any time. I have learned a lot from this site.

Hi Beth, and yes, I'm definitely happy that it's permanent, no more messing about with the UC flaring up and all that s*** (literally!). It's been quite an adjustment to say the least, not only physically but mentally as well. Getting myself to a point mentally so that I can accept it and be happy took quite a long time. I'd known that I would eventually have to have the Barbie Butt surgery given that my pouchitis was chronic, so I knew that I needed to work on that aspect of my mental health. Coz the thing is, I really resented the first stoma due to my UC flare-up coming out of the blue, never had UC before, and it was a very severe one. My first stoma "the volcano" represented my whole life irreversibly changing, so it's no wonder I jumped at the chance to have it reversed. But now, with this new stoma "Michael," short for "Michael Kors," it's a new chapter in my life. No more flaring up, and I don't have to be as mindful about shielding, which I was doing during the lockdowns in the pandemic (because of the pouchitis I was immunosuppressed). And that's just the TLDR!

Welcome to the group, Beth. We are all here for you.

Hi Beth, welcome to the site. I've had my ileo for 30 some years and still learning new things here.

When I slowed down and read that again, yep, it made sense. The first time I read it, I was thinking she must have just drank a Red Bull or something. Are you gonna get the famous Barbie Trademark tattoo?
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Welcome, Beth. Ask anything you want, ostomy related or not. We know everything.

Alex T, hello... Thank you for the welcome... I give props to Snow. It must not have been a very comfortable recovery. The Barbie tattoo is actually something I would do if I had gotten a Barbie, but...

Thank you Ritz. I truly appreciate it.

I am really glad you are happy and sounds like you can relax a lot more.. That's great. Thank you for sharing your story.. I am glad everything has worked out for you .. How has it been having the Barbie Butt? Curious in case I have to end up down the road having to have one.

Would the tattoo be wrong for a guy that got the surgery, asking for a friend?

Welcome to the site. Lots of advice, support, and help. Feel free to ask.

The Barbie butt has been good so far, my surgeon actually closed up the wound and I've been making sure to take good care of it so that it won't open. I'm finding that the muscles that used to get their workout by pushing poo out stage a mild protest every time I go for a wee, nothing uncomfortable or painful, but rather a "phantom poo feeling". And when I clench those muscles now, I sometimes think I can sense a void where my rectum used to be, it's rather odd! I've also been making sure to not sit straight upright when I'm sitting on either the sofa or my armchair, I lean to the side, to make sure my weight isn't on my bum scar. And before the surgery, I bought a bright blue air cushion off Amazon, you just pump it up and you can let air out if you want it softer, I sit on it at the dining table to eat my meals. My next big milestone will be working again - it's now been over a year! And every day that passes, I feel closer to being ready for that.

In all seriousness, I do actually want to get a tattoo at some point, I'm just not 100% sure on what. Or where it would go. Both of which are kinda important, especially for the first tattoo. I think a quote of some sort, I just haven't completely decided yet.

Meadow, you will know which one to get. It will just click one day, and you will have the one you want... You go girl, get a tat!! Beware, once you get one, you will want more. Lol, I started with a small one, and now I have 7 in total. They all have meaning.

Meadow, snow sounds like you got a good handle on it. Good for you, that's great! And when it comes to working again, I think you will be just fine. You will be so used to it, it will be second nature to you.

Ya know what I find crazy? They don't warn you about any booty phantom pains before surgery... I had read before surgery you would have mucus still from the rectum. So, literally right before I was wheeled, I asked my doc what in the world is this about. And since my pelvic floor isn't working, I couldn't push out a bowel movement, let alone mucus. So, he did mine in a loop to try and help avoid the issue. It is permanent, but I couldn't have done it without it being a loop.

Hi Beth, your comments have me a little confused. I have a 'loop' ileostomy, and I still do get mucus from my rectum from time to time. It's not a big deal to me, just a little that comes out sometimes when I'm peeing. I'm not sure why you wouldn't have a mucus issue because you have a loop?

Terry

Welcome Beth,

My ostomy was also this past January. The 26th to be exact. This is a great site in my opinion, the support is unmatched!

Abe

Aka

Paul

That's crazy, mine was the 18th of January.

Hi Terry... My doctor did a loop so the mucus would go in the bag versus sitting in the rectum.. Since I cannot at all get anything out of my rectum .. which so far it is working...

Alex, are you really asking for a friend or yourself? I say, if you're a guy and got the surgery, why not? We all have to have a sense of humor going through what we go through. As a tattoo, it shares part of your story in ink on your skin and shows you're bold and proud to have a Barbie butt and also a sense of humor.

Hiya Meadow,

It's just over a year since I had my surgery, so I'm just reporting in that sitting down does get a lot easier with time, at least in my experience! I'm back to work, in what is quite a physical job and, now my new little pal Stig and I have had a serious conversation about not bloody leaking at work, having the stoma hasn't presented me with any major problems (well OK, maybe a couple of disasters, but I'll gloss over those as I was still a relative noob at the time).

Things I wished I done sooner - wearing a good support belt.

Good luck!