Liza, best of luck. I hope everything works out perfectly for you. I will be thinking of you.

Laurie

Hey Liza... i saw this & waited for today to respond.  So glad there has been no cancelation posted . Yay! 

I hope you are doing as well as can be.  I have been  praying for you  & so hoping results are what your hoping for & deserve!! All the Best!!! 

Hi everyone,

I had my surgery almost 3 weeks ago. It was at a surgery center and due to Covid protocol, my husband couldn’t come in with me. So he dropped me off and they took me back pretty quickly. I got changed and they started the IV. The doctor came and talked to me briefly. His nurse practitioner, who was in my other surgeries and who all our follow ups have been with wasn’t there. We have a great rapport with him, and he is the one my pre-op was with, and I trusted him to make sure everything went okay. So I was a little anxious to start with. They rolled me into the surgery room and had me scoot over onto the operating table. That is the last thing I remember. I’ve never had someone put me under without telling me what they were doing. 

So I woke up in the recovery area. I sort of remember them calling my husband and helping me get dressed and wheeling me out to the drive thru pick up spot where Tom was waiting with the car. We dropped off my pain med rx and went home. I was in a ton of pain and once again had a drain tube stitched to my tummy below my ostomy. 

I had a leak that evening and had to remove the bag they put on after surgery. My stoma was discolored but it was very cute. It was a lot littler because it was round and the opening was pointing out instead of to the side. I thought things had gone pretty well. 

A couple days later I had major leaking again and went to change my appliance, and things looked awful. There was a gap forming to the right side of the stoma where I could see the stitches. So I wasn’t sure what to do with my wafer so I cut it wider so it wouldn’t  be over the stitches. I did this over the weekend, changing every day due to leaks. Then a week after the surgery, things looked terrible. The stitches were exposed on 3 sides of the stoma, I was bruised all over, especially my stomach where the drain tube was. My cute little stoma was such a mess and I was completely regretting the surgery. I called the dr office and they asked me to take pictures and send them in for the doctor to see. So they next time I had to change my bag (a couple hours later) I took some pictures and sent them in. I got a message from the nurse that the doctor said it was normal, but if I wanted the nurse to take a look at it, she could see me. I told her if the dr thought it was fine, I would wait for my post op with Tim, the one we like and trust. The next day (mar 31) the nurse called and said the dr wanted me to come in after all. 

So that afternoon we went in to his office. The nurse had me take off the bag and get cleaned up and then went to get the dr. This was the first chance we had to find out what had happened with the surgery. Since Tim hadn’t been there, when they called Tom, they just told him everything went well. When we were asking him questions, it almost was like he didn’t remember exactly what had been done. I had had a fistula on the side of my stoma that had stool coming out of it, and it is gone now. When I asked him how he had fixed it, it was like he didn’t even know what I was talking about. That was why I wanted Tim in the surgery. So it turned out the dr had cut out the loop ostomy all together and given me an end ileostomy, so that took care of the fistula. 

As far as the stitches pulling away, they packed the area all around the stoma with aquacel and then covered it with an eakin ring and then out the bag over it all. They give us a few boxes of aquacel and sent a referral to the ostomy nurse for me. So I have been trying to dress it the same way since then. But the biggest problem is that my new stoma is even more recessed than the old one. And having to pack the area around the stoma, it is really hard to get the wafer even down to stoma level. 

I had my post-op appt Thursday, the 7th with Tim and they took the drain tube out which was such a huge relief because I kept accidentally tugging on it. That area still hurts quite a bit. I think it may be a little infected. The area around the stoma is still very sore too. I’m changing my bag every day, at least once a day. 

I think I made a mistake going back to work too soon. Surgery was Tuesday the 22nd and I was back Monday the 28th. But I’m still pretty new to the job. 

I have my appt with the ostomy nurse tomorrow. I’m not totally sure how I feel about everything. I was so sure this would be the solution to my problems, and so far it isn’t. But I’ve been telling myself to give it time to heal and see what happens. 

This might sound weird, but if anyone can understand, it will be you guys. Driving home from the appt where the dr told us he had just cut off the old stoma, it made me so sad for Squeaky. I gave him a pep talk the day before and told him everything would be okay. So I have to tell myself he is still Squeaky, just with a facelift. 😕

Thanks to those who stuck with this long email. And to those who checked in with me.  You guys are my tribe!!

Liza, we are happy to hear from you!

Sometime maybe I will talk about my stupid, messed-up (bureaucratically) surgery that I don’t think about very often. But in the meantime -

Once things heal, my wish for you is a healthy, cute stoma, and if it is recessed you will use one of those convex wafers that so many people on here do. I hope that you are taking things as easy as you can - at work and at home. And that Squeaky loves his makeover.

❤️

@squeakyandliza Liza, it’s good to hear from you again. Squeaky with a facelift - that’s a good one. Couldn’t we all do with a facelift? Well, I’m just speaking for myself. 🙂

I remember how sore my drainage tube site was. It hurt more than my new stoma. It seemed to take forever before I could laugh without it hurting. Now it’s just a tiny divot.

Liza, you have been through so much - I know you want this to be a turning point. It’s early yet, so give it some time. Take good care of yourself and get lots of rest. Your body needs to heal and adjust to everything it’s been through. We are here whenever you need us. Yes, we are your tribe.

Laurie

Hi Liza, I wish you could get a break from leaks and be pain free. I know it’s disappointing that this wasn’t a new start. Every problem always had a solution and you will get there. I have to say you have done really well coping with this. Best wishes 👍

But I’ve been telling myself to give it time to heal and see what happens. 

I had stitches open up on me with my second surgery, and it was worrisome. Time did heal it, and things did get better after that, but the uncertainty is the worst part. 

Take things slow, and be gentle on yourself. I think your next update will be a more positive one 😉💪