Hi, I have a huge parastomal hernia, which the docs want me to have sorted - however, it will mean a huge op including a repair to my recto-vaginal fistula and the changing of my loop ileostomy to an end ileostomy. I believe that hernia repairs are only likely to have a 50% success rate (?, please correct me if I am wrong, which I hope I am!), which I assume will be reduced if you already have a hole in the muscle - ie the stoma ?
As to hernia support, non of the ones available from my Stoma Nurse were man enough for the job! In the end I had to have them specially "built" by the Orthotics dept of my local hospital (not sure where in the world you are? I am in England....so it is provided by the NHS) It is not a pretty garment as you can imagine, but it does do the trick - it is similar to the nu-hope garment mentioned previously, but is much bigger and I suspect somewhat stronger!
I have decided that the prospect of all that surgery is too much for me to bear at this moment in time, so hope to postpone it for a year at least unless it needs doing in an emergency. Good luck in whatever you decide, Rachel x