Need advice on protecting my stoma at work

Hi everyone

I had my ileostomy surgery on January 26 and now have returned to work on March 27. I asked my doctor about guards for my stoma and he suggested I talk to my stoma nurse. She has not returned my calls. My job, much like other people's, is very physical. I ordered and received a stoma guard from Stomaplex. We had to adapt another belt over it to make it work and to be somewhat comfortable. My question is, how protective do I have to be of my stoma? Is it the stoma itself that I have to protect, or is it the bag and appliance? Or is it everything together? Thank you for any suggestions and help you are able to pass on to me. Ed

You could always try a neoprene weight lifting belt for extra support. But I work in a warehouse and my ostomy belt's fine for the type of heavy lifting I have to do.

Ash is right on that. Most people tend to worry too much about what can happen. It's no big deal really. I asked my doctor what all could I do afterwards and he told me, "anything you feel like." First thing I did was climb up in my attic and repair the duct work for my air conditioning!

You just have to use common sense.

Good luck!

Happy Easter Foxbody, Skidder here.
I would tell you that 1) Call your GP back and tell him you're not getting call backs from your stoma nurse and express to the nurse/doc your concern because your job entails lifting, etc. 2) I would tell you to be very aware of your stoma as well as your ostomy equipment. The looks, size, color, and if you're experiencing any discomfort or itching will tell you if something is amiss. Protecting your stoma is very important. It's a part of your body now and it too is prone to internal as well as external pain/discomfort. The relationship between you and your enterostomal nurse should be close. If you have been in touch with one before, you know they can help you with 99% of your troubles and/or concerns.
Let me know how it all turns out...really insist on contacting that enterostomal nurse or maybe if a friend with an ostomy can point you in the right direction. I wish you the answers you need to be able to rest assured.

Stomas are tougher than they look, but you will still need to treat it with respect. If you are doing physical work where you could knock the stoma, then a guard is a good idea when at work. As far as protecting the bag, I don't know of any guards large enough to protect the whole area, and if there were, would you want to wear something so cumbersome? To avoid damaging your appliance, you just need to remember it's there and adjust the way you lift, carry, etc.
I'm a time-served stone mason, and my ostomy hasn't stopped me from doing any physical kind of work since my op, and I've never damaged my stoma or an appliance while working in the last 10 years. Just respect it, remember it's there, and you will be fine.
Good luck, DD

Here's what I (ileo Dec 09) learned.

The "anything you want" is a good mental image/attitude. But you have to also add "shit can happen".

My Ostomy Nurse says she's seeing way too many hernias. The reason is that people are getting the 'do whatever you want' line from docs ... and forgetting that their stomach wall/muscle has been compromised.

Hernias can develop around the stoma area (most usual place) -- and just ask the folks here who have them ... they can be the difference between having an ostomy and living a good life and having an ostomy/hernia and being restricted.

I wear an ostomy support belt for things like gardening, heavy housework, hiking, etc. I also remember to engage my abdominal muscles when bending, lifting, and doing the above, etc.

It's way better to be careful and proactive.

I would definitely follow up/complain re the ostomy nurse. It's unacceptable to not have your calls returned.

All the best,
Bea

I've had a colostomy for six plus years, and in my experience, as much as I worried about the stoma, the only problems I had were with the bag/appliance. For the first two years, I was very nervous about the appliance and the bag falling off, so I wore one of those elastic belts that clip onto the bag that you can get from whichever manufacturer makes your bag. I was a cancer survivor, so due to the surgery and chemo, my weight went down and up radically over two years. Part of this nervousness was because of occasional accidents due to poor appliance fit, from the weight changes and stoma changes (my stoma size changed a bit over the first two years.)

I haven't worn one of those belts in years. When I feel the need (when I'm doing something really active like strenuous exercise, and I don't want the bag hanging down or moving around), I use one of the ostomy support belts I found online. I tried a bunch of them over the years, but the two that I have the most confidence in are Stealth Belt and Active Support Belts.

http://activesupportbelts.com/buy-ostomy-support-belts/
http://stores.stealthbelt.com/StoreFront.bok

Both work, the fit is a bit different for each. The Stealth one is a bit more slimline (shorter from top to bottom), the one from Active has a bit more coverage in front.

Thank you for your replies and answers. I am 2 hours away from my surgeon and my stoma nurse. My next appointment with my surgeon is in June. My stoma nurse is quite busy. Even before I left the hospital in January, I had to wait 12 hours to see her. I work for Kal Tire and deal with quite a bit of logging and mining equipment. I am very pleased with my stoma and the freedom I am getting from having it. The stoma guard I received from Stomaplex is helping. It is an adjustment. The stoma guard by itself is uncomfortable. That is why we have adapted a neoprene 6-inch belt to go over it. If I use just the stoma guard, my pants catch the bottom of the guard and pull it in. I was concerned it would pinch off the bag. With the neoprene belt, I can put a little more pressure on the top of the guard and it sits a little more even against my skin.

Thanks, Ed

Hey Foxbody, Skidder here again. I know what you mean when you say you're 2 hours away from your doc/storms nurse. My predicament is the exact same. My GI doc and Stoma Nurse are both at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I have had my ileostomy since 1971, had my one and only hernia in 2008 but was working as a Physical Therapist Assistant. Lifting all the patients, whether they were bariatric or not, got to be too much for me. Before and since the hernia, I have always just worn a control top panty girdle when working at the hospital and all other times I wear light control panties. That is what I've been very comfortable in. As was stated in a prior response to your dilemma, proper body mechanics is crucial. Could you not email for some brochures on the above? I would be more than happy to get some of this info for you and get it to you. Just let me know, we could do the email thing whenever. You take care!

Hi there, I tend to agree with most of what Beatrice has written.
I had a hernia in 2005 and had to have an op for it as it was making my bag leak.
Sadly for me, the surgeon had to put my new stoma on the other side of my stomach but they didn't do a very good job of taking all the fatty skin the hernia had made on the old site, which left me with very uneven skin folds and also a tiny retractable stoma. I had to change to a deep convex and have to apply paste around the stoma or I would leak.
It's all a bit of a hit and miss living with a stoma lark.
I've had mine for over 40 years now and have had various problems with it.
So you do need to take some kind of care, even though the stoma is tough, it still can bleed if knocked really hard. Just normal care should be used, I think.
The worry for me is not to put too much strain on the stomach wall as the stomach muscles do get weaker every time we are operated on. As for worry about the bag, in time you will learn to know what and how you can do things that will not cause any bag problems.
Hope this helps.

Thank you everybody so much for your help and replies.
The coolest thing in the world right now is to not be owned by bathrooms or porta-potties.
Thanks Ed

LOL - I used to know (and visit) every washroom in my city.

Another cool thing ... to not worry that you didn't invest in Imodium shares

Bea.

I don't think you need to worry about protecting your stoma, however I guess a freak accident could happen to any of us. But I do think you need to be concerned about a possible hernia as already mentioned.

You are working with tires that are a lot heavier than the ones that go on my Prius. I'd be doing everything your company says to others working there who haven't had major abdominal surgery, and then maybe double that.

I'm wondering if the Stealth Belt would help?
http://www.stealthbelt.com/index.html

Good luck.

Beatrice, if we only knew then what we know now. Perhaps the newbies would do well to listen to our voices of experience and take out at least one Imodium stock option now. Surely it's not too late for us.

Like your sense of humor!!

Love it!  Although I no longer have a bag, I still have the runs.....constantly.    I am seriously thinking of taking stock in Lomotil and Imodium!    I take 8 Lomotil per day; 9 Metamucil pills, and Tincture of Opium to get my BM's down to 12 per day!    That's what having no large intestine left and having a reversal will do for you!