Can anyone tell me if its okay to wear a girdle when you have a stoma. My hernia is getting quite big and causing discomfort :( I am having reversal surgery on August 8, 2017 but until then I was wondering if wearing a girdle will cause problems to my stoma :( When I have a girdle on the hernia feels better however I don't want to cause injury to the stoma. I've tried a belt but it doesn't offer much support. Any suggestions would be appreicated :)
Kooky Ukey
Jul 08, 2017 7:14 pm
Bill
Jul 09, 2017 8:50 am
Hello Kooky Ukey.
All these replies to people's posts should come with a warning that our opinions are not necessarily the best advice on the subject that we are commenting on and -- if in doubt, consult a professional.
However, that has never stopped us from making comments before and I don't see why it should change now. I cannot see any reason why a girdle should cause damage to a stoma any more than normal clothing. I have tried all sorts of things to help the hernia problem, including the most effective gadget so far, which was a back brace made from neoprene. Unfortunately, it makes me sweat too much so I don't wear it all the time.
None of these things have done any lasting damage to the stoma, although one or two of the gadgets I made myself did move out of position, across the stoma and onto my belly because the mucus made it all too slippery.
I would always recommend experimentation to see what works for you and if it doesn't work first time, sometimes a little tweak here and there can make things work much better.
Best wishes
Bill
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Posted by: freedancer
In both of my cases, I had no choice. It was surgery or be put 6 feet under! I thank God that He has been with me all these times. Without Him, I never would have known what to do and might not have gone to the hospital when I did. I don't know if you have had your surgery or not yet but I hope you will hang out on this website when you are done. I have learned a great deal through the people here and it is so great having others who have had the same thing done and been through what you are about to or have gone through. The only thing I have turned down is a reversal of the ileostomy. When the doctors did the emergency rebuilding of my original ileostomy this last February, I told them I did not want to go through this again. My doctor told me at that time that I was no longer a candidate for the reversal. In a way, I was very relieved. The last three years of my life have been a nightmare for me. I do not want to go through any of it again. If you wish to be rehooked up and they say you are a good choice for that, research it carefully. Every surgery I have ever had except for Old and New Maxine and the emergency surgery on my broken foot, I have spent weeks researching. I recently had my C5 C6 disk in my neck replaced with an artificial one. I went to my pre-op with 2 pages of questions for the doctor. I knew everything that they were going to do and could talk intelligently with them. I always try to research my adversaries! Don't cancel your surgery. It is nice not to have to suffer any longer with horrible pain. We all had to change a few things around when we had our surgeries but in the long run, most of us are glad we did it. I know I am. Good luck to you!