Need Stoma Care Advice & Info: Seeking Help for Healing, Self-care, and Hernia Concerns

I was wondering, does everyone just get a stoma and a bag and go home and heal and take care of all our own? I wish there was a stoma nurse or someone I could ask a question. Also, I want to know if I have a little hernia. Where do you get your info?

When I got out of the hospital with my "new stoma," I had visiting nurses come and teach me how to take care of it: emptying and changing the bag. It took several visits from the nurses to finally get the hang of it.

They should certainly have stoma nurses that you can make an appointment with at the hospital where you had your surgery. I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions that will need answering and I would think the hospital would have nurses you can make an appointment with in the surgery department. I don't believe any hospital would just discharge you and leave you on your own to deal with a stoma. Please call your surgery department and find out what they offer. I can't believe they wouldn't offer any kind of follow-up care. It's necessary.

Your surgeon or other physician caring for you can refer you to an ostomy nurse or other ostomy professional for guidance and advice.

Ideally, you should have been set up with ongoing teaching/assistance after your surgery and prior to your being discharged from the hospital.

I wasn't sure if they had stoma professionals/nurses. A call to the surgery department can't hurt! Thanks for the replies.

I had a stoma nurse visit me in the hospital before I was discharged. She set up the first order with the ostomy supply company that Kaiser Insurance uses. She showed me how to change bags and how to care for the stoma. She also set up a follow-up appointment to check on how it was healing. I would imagine it will be the same in your case. I would suggest doing a search on YouTube on ostomy care. Many videos were very helpful to me. I pretty much knew how to do much of the things she went over.

Ideally, if it's a planned surgery, you would meet the stoma or ET nurse well before the surgery to give you an idea of what to expect. Then after the surgery, he/she would assist you while in the hospital recovering and after you are discharged. At least that was my experience.

Bain

I live in California and have had wonderful Ostomy Nurses. The hospital has one or some of my doctor's clinics. Or it may be a whole business devoted to Ostomy Care. Also, Byram is a wonderful company. They have given me wonderful instruction! I had a wonderful nurse in the hospital. Then an independent instructor. Also, we had an awesome support group through my local hospital. You could always start one too. I have done my care since the second one of being one with "Minzy". (Silly me thought if I gave her a pretty name it would be nice since she does such a shitty job! Wrong!!! She has proven me wrong so many times.

I had a stoma nurse come out to my home and teach me how to deal with my bag and whatnot until she felt confident I was able to do it all by myself.

Yup, Newstom.  What they all said!  You'll become proficient fairly quickly.  You'll improvise and, before you know it, you'll be advising others.  But a stoma nurse or WOCN is invaluable in the early stages because we're all different and an experienced practitioner can eliminate  or answer so many questions specific to you and your stoma.

These folks here have given you good advice.

Respectfully,

Mike

I was hooked up with the ostomy/wound nurse a week before the surgery and have had continued interaction with both her and her part-time colleague. This is a travesty if you've truly been left on your own. My best to you and hope this situation will improve.

I can empathize, since I had my ileostomy surgery at age 21. It took awhile for me to heal psychologically. But, let me tell you, I'm now 76, I've had a full life, and you can do the same. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to try and answer them for you. HenryM