Reply to Wayoflife23
Hi Wayoflife,
I'm brand new too, I'm just almost 7 weeks post op - I had 2 ops immediately prior to the 3rdcwhere I got an ileostomy. I'm in Ireland. I take paracetamol but because I have lost so much weight I am only allowed to take children's dose of one tablet. The pain will go, I promise. And it is a very lonely feeling. I had those fears that you have too about looking at, never mind touching the stomas!! (I have 2 one is a fistula, -I like to think of it as a vent- the other is for waste or poos 💩 simply put!!) As I got stronger, I was able to tolerate looking at the stomas. I was lucky/unlucky depending on how you look at it that the nurses changed my stoma bags every second day because I was too weak. But gradually I was able to do it myself even though it is lovely if you have someone to help to do it for/with you as you come to terms with it. I have named my stomas Milly and Molly respectively!! Milly is no trouble to change Molly seems to have a spiteful sense of humour though!!!🙄💩💩💩 😂So be gentle with yourself I'm only just in front of you on the road on this journey.
My problem is getting my output to thicken. I seem to have a revolving door relationship with hospital at the moment having been readmitted twice because of high output and dehydration. I am taking 2 immodium and 2 codeine phosphate 4 times a day along with 3 magnesium. I'm just out of hospital a few days having got output to1100ml ish. But because of hospital leaving me short codeine phosphate, - just 3 tablets! until my pharmacy opened next day after discharge - I'm now in the horrors again, with output in the 2,000mls. I am drinking 1 litre St Mark's Solution (oral rehydration solution or ORS for short), and just 4 cups not mugs of decaf tea per day. (I'm not a coffee person!) But my output is still high. I am eating all the foods to thicken stoma output, and the numbers are coming down only very slowly.🙆🏼♀️ I will have these Stomas reversed in time, usually done within 3or4 months but because I am so thin (93lbs and I'm 5ft) and loosing, I have been told it will be way longer than that. My frustration and sort of fear lies in the fact that I may have to go back to hospital again and again. I take my hat off to all the other Ostomates here. Ye're amazing and inspirational.👏 I can't even get dressed in day clothes yet because of tenderness and itch around stoma wounds and, well, I just can't stand day clothes at the moment🤷🏼♀️.
I wake up everyday with a sickening headache that I am told is caused by magnesium depletion. Has anyone else had a similar experience? And if so how long before it settled please? Thanks all. Apologies for long reply. I may post this reply on another topic subject as I realise I have a lot of questions myself. Slán🙋🏼♀️