I am new to this site; I just signed up today. I had my colostomy done in March because 6 feet of large bowel was necrotic. I had emergency surgery and am stuck with a colostomy bag and stoma. Before surgery, the surgeon said based on a CAT scan, over half my bowel was dead and I needed a permanent colostomy. The pain was horrible, so I signed the consent form. But before being put under anesthesia, I told him if he didn't need to remove half the bowel and he only needed to remove a few feet, then do an end-to-end anastomosis and give me a functional bowel. I found out post-op he ended up removing about 6 feet of large bowel. I can't explain how upset I was over this. Now I have problems with the bags leaking, so I switched to a convex one-piece bag, which helped a bit, but the surgeon put the stoma so close to my navel the flange can't stick to my skin. So, I got a wide arc flange extender to cover that, but the stoma has sunk into my skin, and the waste sticks to the stoma; it won't drop down. I have put air in the bag, pleated it, and used lubricant in it, but nothing helps. The bowel changes have been dreadful; the stool is thick, mushy, and sticky. I try rinsing the bag, but that leads to skin breakdown, and my insurance only covers 20 bags a month. Any suggestions? I am chronically dehydrated and have reduced meals to once per day. I am in kidney and heart failure, so drinking more fluids isn't possible. Open to all suggestions. Thank you.
