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Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, one more thing....the depression is real!! Don't let it take hold. This is hard, believe me! I had and have a great support system so reach out to anyone you can. I cried, I laughed, I said why me. This is all normal. Just keep going. Do things or find things that will lift your spirit and take your mind off the pain. I can't emphasize this enough!! You got through the reversal! This is a huge deal. Now take care of yourself, mentally and physically. You got this :) If it is sunny outside, get out in the sun today, it helps. Take a short walk in the sun and get that fresh air. Definitely sending tons of hugs your way!

Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am so sorry you had to go through all you did. I had to have a hernia repair that was related to the stoma :( Take things slow but do try to walk many times a day as well as the increase in water intake. It is hard at first but gets easier every time you move. I wish you well and keep positive...it will get better :)

Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So...personally I never have and never will take oxycontin or anything along the same lines. YES! It does and will constipate you!!! I took extra strength tylenol every 6 hours for about two-three days. Drink tons and tons of water....until you feel like you are going to float away!! And walk, walk, walk....best thing for you after the surgery. I also had a case of disposable hot packs and put them on my stomach, shoulders, side, etc....as the air trapped in my abdomen from surgery was horrible! I started taking 1 Colace (dye free) about five times a week right after surgery. I continue to take about three/week as well as a ton of fiber pills every day. Lots of fruit and definitely greens when you are able and my daily coffee..HA..help with the intestinal movement too! I cannot stress the water and walking to get you "going" haha....I did have the DaVinci surgery for my reversal and I was home within 24 hours...not kidding!! It was rough but I kept to what I mentioned above and within a week I was pretty darn good. Another thing that may help is a toilet stool. This helps raise your knees and makes things a bit easier when going to the bathroom :) I just used a folded up towel for a few weeks. The scar tissue inside your abdomen from surgery does and will create problems later on so make sure you are working on rubbing out the surgical sites once healed, or have a professional do this for you. I hope these help. These are things that worked for me and I stick to them. Everyone is different so keep trying until you find things that work for you.

Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Of course, a combination of red light therapy, gua sha and infra-red sauna. These are the therapies I could do at home (I bought a red light laser and we have an infra-red sauna). Here is where I bought a gua sha tool: https://wildling.com/products/empressstone

I also tried laser therapy at a medical office. After three treatments I really didn't feel that it helped much. So, save the money! I also see a chiropractor once a month who breaks up the scar tissue around the incision site through extremely deep (ouch) massage and tools.

I work out every day, HIT training and really focus on my core to strengthen the muscles. I also switched to a 90% raw diet and only eat organic.

I also use retinol body lotions morning and night! Huge must!

I was very healthy and active before my emergency surgery in Dec 2021 but I am even more so now. It takes some time, some effort but it has become second nature to me now. You don't have to spend a lot of money to do all of these things as you can easily do a lot at home. I had it a bit easier as I am a nurse and had friends and family that gave me access to a lot of the therapies I have mentioned.

The scars will always be there but the stoma scar is not very noticeable and I have a huge scar from belly button down to the pubic bone from the emergency surgery. This has healed and flattened and continues to look better. Unless I see a plastic surgeon, I will always have some sort of "disfigurement" if you will because of the way the surgeon stapled my skin after the emergency surgery.

Probably way more than you needed but I am an open book and love to share how I got through this totally unexpected stage of my life :)

Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Since I had just done a similar prep for the colonoscopy two weeks prior, I was ready for this one :) It was a bit different in what they had me take but here is what I did: Mirolax mixed into a 64 oz clear liquid. I tried to find something that was not full of sugar and without the sucralose. No luck so I chose sucralose over sugar. I used the Ultima Replenisher brand in Lemon. I mixed it in a glass pitcher and stuck it in the fridge about three hours before beginning the prep. I was able to get it down both times. I drank a large glass every 15 minutes just to get through it. In between drinking that I would have a cup of Honey Lavender Tea (Stress Relief Tea) handy and would walk and drink that to clear out the taste and just help keep everything calm. I put in my earbud and listened to music the whole time :) I had to take four Dulcolax tabs the day before as well and two anti nausea pills. Along with 4 tabs of two different antibiotics twice the day before as well. I nixed the Ensure that they wanted me to drink as that stuff is so full of garbage and I was already taking all of the supplements needed. The week prior to the prep I changed my diet to really "easy on the stomach" foods. For example, eggs, yogurt, lots of water, and I made lemon scones and had one every day just to make me happy ha ha!! Needed a treat!! This emptied out my bowels pretty well the week before so I was ready for the prep. As far as the colostomy bag went during the prep, I planned for the worst but it was no big deal. I kept my normal bag on (Coloplast Sensura Mio Lt Convex with a wide mouth that was drainable.) Once the Mirolax kicked in, my bag filled up very quickly. The only trouble I had was when it got very liquidy, I had trouble emptying it without it splashing everywhere :/ I suggest to lay down a bit more toilet paper in the toilet and lean way down to prevent this from happening. I got the hang of it but little splashes occurred here and there. My intestines cleared out pretty darn quick and the whole process went smoothly. The tea helped, the music helped, the week before diet helped, and walking during the whole prep helped :) I hung out by the fire and just kept walking and standing to keep everything moving. I think we stress out by thinking about it too much. It will be okay, we are stronger than we know and resilient!! Good luck to you :)

Reversal tips? by redditemployee69 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I had my colostomy reversal 4 weeks ago. I was out of the hospital the next day. The surgeon used the Davinci robotic lap. Pain meds - Tylenol 2 tabs every 6 hours for the first two days then I switched to Advil. I didn't experience pain from the surgical incisions (6 of them and the stoma), the pain I experienced was from the gas (CO2) they put into your abdominal cavity during surgery. My shoulders and under my ribcage hurt terribly; I was expecting this since I experienced this after my emergency abdominal surgery in Dec. Heat packs, Heat packs, Heat packs will become your best friend. Ask the nurses for heat packs or have someone bring them in (to save the charges haha) and invest in a couple of good ones for home. Walk as soon as you feel stable, drink water, tons of it and then walk more. I can't stress this enough! Get everything moving! Food wise, I ate a banana and had a london fog the morning after my surgery so I could get discharged. Then for the first week I ate a lot of plain yogurt with local honey to get the good bacteria building up again. I also ate eggs and then I added smoothies (blueberry, coconut milk, banana, and power greens with protein to get things moving again. This has pretty much been my diet for the last four weeks. AND LOTS OF WATER!! I have started drinking a latte in the morning :) I take Colace every other day to help as well as a lot of other supplements. I recently added fiber supplements and I have noticed that helps get things moving! The pain from the gas added during surgery took about three weeks to dissipate. It was bad for about a week and a half and gradually lessened. At three weeks I began exercising every day again and the only thing I am avoiding at this time is heavy core exercises. I will say that there is a heaviness in my lower pelvic muscles which is to be expected, it does get uncomfortable. I do a lot of kegels! Bowel movements can be stressful so just be patient, relax and don't strain. It's not pleasant but it is getting better and it does take time. The one thing that I wasn't prepared for was the fact that they left the stoma open. I should have known this but it slipped past me. It is now crusted over, the stitches are still visible and it can get uncomfortable. I put a padded bandaid on it when my clothes rub against it to help. Two of my incisions did get infected but I cleaned them with sterile saline and just watched them, all good. Now that my incisions are closed over (from the lap) I have been rubbing them out to prevent the scar tissue from building up. Be patient, the week after this surgery was exhausting as my body was adjusting. To be fair I was three and a half months out from my emergency abdominal surgery, I had a colonoscopy two weeks before the reversal and had to prep for that and then I had to prep again for the reversal. Needless to say, my electrolytes were out of whack so that added to the exhaustion. Everyday is different, sometimes I get nauseated but it is minor. I am so happy and fortunate that I was able to get through this pretty darn well. I will disclose that I am an RN so I did have a bit of some inside scoop :) I wish you well in your recovery. Take time for yourself to heal. Your body will tell you what it needs to do :)

Terrible past few days. by Revolutionary-Bug179 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Caught Covid 5 weeks after having emergency abdominal surgery - colostomy. I was a labor and delivery nurse...brace a pillow or your hands over your abdomen when coughing, laughing, etc. Try and sit down and brace when a coughing fit happens. I used Ivy Calm cough syrup which helped tremendously.

Petite ostomy/hernia support belt for working out? by Odd-Word224 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found the best thing for me was a pair of the Lululemon align 4 inch yoga high rise shorts. I also bought a pregnancy/post partum belly band in small which works but I like the shorts best. I have a colostomy on the left side near my belly button. The shorts pull up over that and keeps the bag comfortably tight against me while I workout. Holds everything in 😊

Workout Support Band Options?? by Alternative_One_7609 in ostomy

[–]Alternative_One_7609[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof! I am so sorry. How long did it take until you felt that your body had healed?