Colostomy: Improving Quality of Life?

Is having a colostomy a better quality of life?

Compared to what, my friend?

I agree with BEG,

I was offered a colostomy 25 years ago because of my feacal incontinence, prolapses and pain.  MY quality of life was crap and deteriorating at a steady pace. I only opted for the colostomy after all other options had been tried.  I still don't 'want' a colostomy. ( who would want this!)

However, now I can walk again without sh**ting myself; I can eat and drink more or less what I like during the day without fear of having to clean up and change my clothes; I can catch it in a bag or irrigate; I have 'freedom' and peace of mind. (relative to a lack of these before)

So, 'ON BALANCE' my quality of life is incomparably better than it was before.



When asked whether I thought I should have had the colostomy sooner, my reply is - that I was not 'ready' for it sooner.  I needed time to pre-adjust.   My heart goes out to those people who have to do their adjusting after the operation as that must be much harder.

Very best wishes

Bill

Hello wiser

Thank you very much for this question as it has prompted me to pen another verse.

See 'My Bags' in the blogs section.

Best wishes

Bill

I had no choice, I had to have a colostomy due to rectal cancer. They told me if they didn't do it I would have to wear a diaper because I would have no control of my bowels. And my cancer would probably come back. So I am grateful to have my colostomy. It took a while to get used to. But then it became routine. My quality of life hasn't changed. You could still do all the activities that you've done before. Your diet may change a little. But everyone is different as to what they can tolerate. Well, good luck!

I had rectal cancer and my choices were
1) Live with cancer.
2) Live.

Sinful - Don't know if you're on Facebook, but as soon as I saw your reply, I found myself looking for the Like button. For your specific situation, you couldn't have said it any clearer than that.

I had advanced bowel cancer, three tumors, and my options were:

a) Die
b) Live with a bag

As I am posting here, you figure out which option I went with!

Lobster -

I don't know how quick anyone else is here, but I need to sit down with a pencil and paper to figure it out. Maybe I can find a calculator.

My sharp detective-like instincts say you made the right choice. Glad you did.

I have a colostomy 8 years now because I had colon cancer. I didn't even think about the choice. Unfortunately, a friend of mine in the same situation said no goddamn way I'll wear a bag. Sadly, he's not here anymore.
My quality of life, living with a bag, went way up! This past summer when Karen introduced me to "irrigating" (correction not introduced, but convinced me on the benefits of it), I walk around all the time with a clean bag, no more worries about it.
Hope this might help you somewhat.
Cheers, Bob.

Is it hard to adjust with a colostomy?

Thank everybody for the info. I'll be asking for more later and as the time gets near.

Hi Wiser ~ I had an aunt end up with one when I was around 15 years old. It was never discussed, and I remember thinking it must be one of the worst things that could ever happen to someone.    At that time, I resolved to always take good care of my health so something like that would never happen to me . . .

And then, in 2005, my 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with FAP and ended up with a permanent ileostomy after a failed J-pouch operation.    She said she would never leave the house again . . . and now she is never at home!

And then, a few years ago, I ended up with a colostomy after emergency life-or-death surgery. What I once thought about my aunt's condition is no longer valid because after several years of living with this peculiar apparatus stuck to me, I now think of it as my new "normal".

You're going to surprise yourself at just how adaptable you really are!    There may be glitches and roller coaster moments (I've had my share) as you learn the ways of the stoma, but then again, many years ago, none of us even knew how to walk or talk or write or ...

I am not on Facebook, but thanks for trying to like my post.

I think Lobster has me beat. At least cancer-wise.

Hey, thanks a lot.

What counts is beating cancer - sounds like you're thankfully both winners there.

Well, I had bladder cancer 4 years ago, and here I am - I chose the ostomy. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't. Definitely, if you enjoy living. After 4 years, I won't lie, it's not a picnic having a bag hanging on you all the time, but you live with it - you make some small life changes, but it's all worth it to be here. So, you change your bags every few days when you shower - just one more step when you shower. I can't take baths anymore, which I miss, but no biggie. The biggest pain is that I have more weight around my waist from the operation, so it creates a bump on my right side, which means shopping is a little more work trying to find the right things to fit, but you will - it just takes time - believe me when I first had it, I thought I should not have done this, but after you heal, get back into normal clothes, you'll be so happy you made the decision to have the surgery. Just ask all the thousands on these sites - we're all here because we chose the surgery. You can do it, just be positive and know that better things will come! You take care, don't question yourself anymore - just do it! We're all pulling for you.

Wiser -

Just read through your previous posts. It looks like you never said why you're thinking about it. Sounds like if it's for something like cancer, it becomes a question of do you prefer to live? I knew someone with UC who had a colostomy because she had enough pain and was pleased with her decision. I have Crohn's and most likely would have chosen to keep the pain to avoid the bag. Now thinking about reversal, it's a tougher decision because of some of the horror stories I've heard and I hate to admit that I've almost gotten used to it. Do you have a choice?

I may be one of the few people on here who was actually dying of Crohn's Disease. I wish I'd had the surgery 3 years ago instead of this past spring. I was so weak I could hardly get out of a chair. Depends had become my best friend, and I basically lived in the bathroom. I had no life. Compare that to now. From dying to living thanks to the surgery.
KBD