Community Forums

Squeaky's Birthday
 
Notifications
Clear all

Squeaky's Birthday

47 Posts
7 Users
47 Likes
2,987 Views
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

It was one year ago that I had the emergency surgery which saved my life and introduced me to the world of ostomies, and to my Squeaky. He has been particularly noisy today so I think he is excited. I told him he gets a brand new clean appliance today to celebrate.  And after I do that, I will drink some cran-grape juice which is his favorite. 

Have a great day everyone!!

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
VeganOstomy and john68 reacted
Quote
(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

Happy Birthday Squeaky ? I would treat yer little friend to some cake as well 

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
SqueakyandLiza and LK reacted
ReplyQuote
 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

SqueakyandLiza...that sounds like a fine way to celebrate. I know you realized early on that this is a life saving surgery in so many ways. You have a great appreciation for the value of your Squeaky.  I wish you and your little friend safe travels in life where ever you may go and the very best in health. Celebrate to your hearts content!

Linda


   
ReplyQuote
sjlovestosing
(@sjlovestosing)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 651
 

Happy Anniversary, Liza and Happy Birthday, Squeaky! 

Stella


   
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Thanks you guys. Your kind words have really helped on a sort of lousy day. 

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
ReplyQuote
 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

Liza,  why kind of a lousy day? Is it because of how you ended up with  your Squeaky?  It is okay to feel sad, it is a huge change and event in your life.

Linda


   
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Linda,

It is a lot of things. I got a bad performance review at work and they are attributing it to the fact that I am working from home, so now I have to go back to working at the office. I have no idea what I am going to wear to accommodate Squeaky and my open wound. Right now I am just wearing legging that I don't pull up over my appliance but they aren't really work attire. I feel like wearing anything over my appliance would tend to pull at it. And I've gained back almost half the weight I lost but it is all around my middle and I have a big hernia. And I'm afraid it is going to wear me down so much trying to get ready and go to work every day. I just wish my life could go back to how it was before. ?

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
ReplyQuote
LLNorth
(@llholiday)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 530
 

Liza, I am sorry this has been a hard day. I hope things get brighter really soon. Happy birthday to little Squeaky, and may good things happen for you. LLNorth

Colostomy 4/30/18.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning. It smells like .... victory.


   
ReplyQuote
 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

 Liza, no wonder you feel like that. I am so sorry to hear this but thank you for sharing.  This is one reason we reach out to others with ostomies and I am pretty sure this may be what Eric intended this for, aside from the info he vastly shares and investigates. TQ Eric. I dreaded being in public. I had no clue what to wear! My man kindly took me shopping for some clothes in what I called an old ladies store, that made the difference. My incision is from the V in my ribs to on top of my pubic bone.  It was left open due to needing the vac pac, and healed wider then I had been. My belly button was 3 inches farther to the right then it had been. I was sure everyone could tell right thru my clothes. Nothing fit but old leggings. Surprisingly, we found very comfy "elastic" waste band pants from what I called an old ladies store. We bought 2, then four pretty Lacey tops from the maternity section. I tossed panty hose to my daughter, and went to knee & thigh highs. I was impressed with how well they stayed up, but, I bought the more expensive silky ones, and surprisingly, I loved then. I made 2 simple elastic waisted skirts in an afternoon. I wore the tops with them and no one was any wiser. It was so comfy on my tummy I could not believe it. In church when my bag ballooned because filters were not on my radar, I carried a sweater with me to the washroom hiding anything I thought someone might see. I was given a bigger purse so I could carry anything I might need for in the can. A pair of flatter shoes helped me with the lopsided issues I had. Liza, if you can, why not treat yourself and try to find a few new clothes for the occasion. It is important that you feel good about yourself when you return to work. They have no clue what trials you have concurred so you have the benefit of knowing just how "strong" and "courageous" you really are. Let the Bear in you shine and show them just what your capable of. Pickup a good multivitamin to give yourself a boost, bring extra fluid with you.  Make sure you get your rest off work. If you can get a fresh hair trim to help make yourself feel better all around. You can do this. It may be hard at first, but you' ve got the ability in your hands. I will keep you in my prayers. Let us know how it goes. All the best to you and squeaky.

Linda


   
ReplyQuote
(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

Hi Lisa, I know getting back into the work place is scary, but talk to your employer and see if a 50/50 split between home and the office would be acceptable. You can do this ?

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
ReplyQuote
sjlovestosing
(@sjlovestosing)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 651
 

Hi Liza,

I am sorry to hear of your difficulties. I wish I had some advice to offer, but it seems that Linda has been where you are and knows the score better than I do. Having clothes that are comfortable and stylish are half the battle of getting back out in public. For church or for going out to dinner I like to wear fit and flare dresses , which do a marvelous job of covering the obvious. I also like empire waist tops that have flair as well. World Unity is a company that makes those types of tops. They are very stylish, yet practical for women ostomates. I hope this gives you some ideas to draw on. Take care and God bless!

Stella


   
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Thank you all for your support. It means so much to me. 

Stella, I will check out Workd Unity online. Thanks for the tip. If I can find some cute tops that are long enough I might even be able to get away with some of my leggings. 

John, I made Squeaky some chocolate chip cookies instead of a cake because I had chocolate chips but I didn't have a cake mix. And work will let me do 50-50 for 2 weeks, then I have to be full time at the office.

Linda, thanks for the tips on hiding stuff. My belly button was off center too, then my wound pump sucked it open. Then after they opened my wound back up in December, it disappeared all together. So, with your elastic waist pants, do you wear them over your appliance?  I probably need to go back and watch Eric's videos about support bands. I did get my hair trimmed and colored a couple weeks ago. That is another thing--all my hair fell out from the stress my body was under. It is growing back, but at an extremely awkward stage, so I need to figure out what to do with it. When it was falling out, my mom and sister sent me some hats, so I might be wearing those for a while. 

This weekend I need to practice driving my car, which I haven't done in a year, pack an emergency bag and do some shopping. I also should probably get a pedicure so I can wear sandals. ?

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
john68 reacted
ReplyQuote
(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

Hi Lisa, just by reading yer post I can tell you have this sorted. One thing a lot of ostomates are concerned about is the bag being noticed. People won’t notice it as much as ye think in fact not at all. I wear my bag under my clothes and as long as the flow is not restricted and a waist band not too tight the stoma will be fine. Get those toes painted, bag packed and car fired up, Dolly on the radio “Working Nine to five” and the World won’t know what hit it ?

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

John, 

I have been singing "9 to 5" for about an hour now. I won't be able to do that when I'm not working at home. Haha. 

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
john68 reacted
ReplyQuote
 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

Liza...see, you have it in the BAG. Lol. I wear my pouch under my clothing. My waist is not exactly where it used to be, and the stoma placement was higher then my pants and waistline. I measured  from the top of the pouch, to the center of the crotch, this meant I needed a pair of pants with an 18" rise. The elastic waist meant that the pouch had room for fluid and air. If you cant find the height you need you can fold and tape the top part of the pouch down to give a slight less high rise. Read wash labels before you buy.  If it has to be dry cleaned don't buy it,  and allow for shrink in cottons.  Are you using the M9 deaoderant drops?  I find that it does a fab. job on elimanating output odours, but it also seems to minimize  gas odor as well. Also, are you using the Osto EZ Vents? You have to put them on yourself, but they are fantastic for gas release without having to undo the bottom of the pouch to let it out. They cost me 30$ Can. For 10, but you can find them for less.  I know what you mean about the hair! As it grows back, see your hair dresser more often. They can keep it manageable for you. I tend to think leggings at work are acceptable so long as the top is longer, about 3-5 inches, then the crotch. One should not look like they are ready for a workout in the work place. Maternity wear, has a nice variety of pretty tops and no one needs to know where you got it from. John is right, nobody is looking for you pouch and if they do or say something, haul it out and let them see some of your BRAVE! Don't loose the educational moment, teach them.  It's nice you can start at 50/50. Eat like you would normally for work, make sure you drink your fluids, and Squeaky may surprise you with a schedule all her own. Now, turn up dolly and dance!  All the best Liza, your going to do great.

Linda


   
ReplyQuote
sjlovestosing
(@sjlovestosing)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 651
 

Liza,

That's the spirit! You are not letting your ostomy define who you are - a true "warrior"!

God bless,

Stella


   
LK and SqueakyandLiza reacted
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

So, I'm off to a bit of a rocky start. I got up to get ready for work yesterday, and major blowout. And it got into my wound dressing, so a big mess. I had to call my husband to come back home and redo the wound dressing. I put on the new appliance while I was waiting for him to get home. So after all that I was half an hour late for work. I got there to find they had set me up with a. Ew computer, which is great, but nothing was working and it is our month end week (I am an accountant) so I struggled for the morning, trying to get some work done and trying not to be too self conscious about my bag and my hair. So when I went home to work for the afternoon I had twice as much to do because my morning was so unproductive. I worked late, until about 6:30 and was going to sit down and relax and noticed I had another leak starting so had to change my appliance again. 

Then today my husband was changing my wound dressing this morning and when we took off the old one, it looked like there was a bunch of stool in the wound. He cleaned it out really good and redressed it. Then he checked my ostomy and there was another leak--past the wafer but at least still under the extenders so it didn't get all over. So I had to do another change this morning. More computer problems at work so a lot to do now that I am home with my old computer. Called the dr and he didn't believe it is stool but said to keep an eye on it. We'll see what happens when hubby gets home tonight to change it. 

Sort of ironic in a very annoying way that my boss wants me back working in the office because he thinks I'll be more efficient there than at home, when I am getting all my work done when I go home for the afternoon.  

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
LK reacted
ReplyQuote
(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

Hi Lisa, That’s a rough one, and a leak shakes any ostomate. Maybe the change after wasn’t the best leading to another. Please don’t take that as a criticism. Take a deep breath and press the reset button. This ostomy business does get easier. Ok ye may not think that just right now but trust me it does. Your husband is a star!! 

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
SqueakyandLiza and LK reacted
ReplyQuote
 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

Oh my, Liza, Squeaky enjoys a challenge eh? Naugthy girl. You set her straight by taking control and letting her know who's boss. We have probably all had leaks in  the most inconvienient time.  You can only do your best with what situation your in. You have survived another challenge Lady. Pat yourself on the back, wrap your arms around your hero hubby and get yourself a major Hug. You deserve one!  You are my hero just going to work in the first place not to mention with an open wound. They can take time to heal. So, sorry it was a rough start, your confidence will build.  Have a hug from me too.  Thanks for letting us know how it went, hang in there! You've got this. Keep up the good work.

Linda


   
ReplyQuote
(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Ugh. I just spent the last hour cleaning up after another blowout. What a mess!!  Not sure what is going on with me. I've been doing pretty well for a month or so, until this week. It has been really rough on my skin too. What a crappy week!!!

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
ReplyQuote
Page 1 / 3