The ileostomy has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be (especially after the first week when I was regretting the decision to have surgery). If I were to have to return to the ileostomy, I know it would be OK and I would be able to live with it. However, since it is temporary in between surgeries, I am looking forward to getting rid of it! Here are just a few reasons why:
1. The worst thing about my bag is the FART NOISES! My stoma happens to be very noisy, particularly following meals or if I get really hungry. I was gassy before surgery and wasn't sure whether this would remain after my colon was removed. Turns out it didn't matter! The noises are often pretty loud and very embarrassing. I rely on wearing my jacket to help muffle the sound at school... luckily I haven't had any embarrassing moments where my students have heard the noises! There have been times where I am so distracted by the noises that I can't focus on a conversation. This is the biggest thing that I am ready to be done with!
2. My bag blowing up like a balloon: This was way worse at the beginning and has slowly gotten better, but usually at least once or twice a day, my bag will blow up with air. This can be very noticeable, even under my clothing. Typically, I can go "burp" the bag by opening the seal at the top to release the air. However, this usually smells terrible! Occasionally, this happens at night as well. I have had a few nights where my bag was probably as full with air as it could possibly get. There are built in filters on the pouch that I use, but they usually only work on the first day I wear the bag. After that, either stool from the inside or water from the shower do a really nice job of clogging up the filter so that no air can release from the bag.
3. Showering with the pouch causes one problem that I also can't stand! No matter how much I try, I can never get the pouch completely dry after my shower each morning. This leads to a wet spot on my boxers for the rest of the day. Of course, this is not something that is visible, but it really bothers me. A few times, I've mistaken the wet spot for a leak and had a few freakout moments in the bathroom at school.
4. The pouch can be time consuming! On weekdays, when I change the pouch, I typically wake up about 30 minutes early (5:30am) to ensure that I have time to shower and change the pouch. In the grand scheme of things, that 30 minutes is fairly minor, but if you know me, you know that I treasure my sleep time! :) 30 minutes in the morning can have a huge effect on the rest of my day! Maybe I'm just being a baby, but I don't care... This is my "whining" list! :)
5. Other things I don't like about the bag: The bag is made of plastic, so naturally it makes some noise when I move around. In quiet situations, this can be a little embarrassing as it sometimes sounds like I'm wearing a diaper! Also, the bag typically has a very slim profile, but when I wear a single t-shirt, it is much easier to see. Now that temperatures are getting warmer, I plan on wearing t-shirts more often (on the weekends and such). This will be one thing I'm glad to get rid of as the weather gets nicer! Finally, since surgery, I have had to wear my pants much lower on my waist than before surgery (even after having lost about 10lbs!) in order to avoid squishing the stoma. I am looking forward to tightening my belt back to normal and wearing my pants/shorts how I used to!
I want to reiterate that this list does not mean that I hate my stoma! It has truly been very good to me and I have had very few issues. I still have never had a leak and other than a few blockage scares, things have been very good and I can usually eat just about anything I want. As I've said before, if I ever have to go back to the ileostomy, I know things will be fine. That being said, I am still ready to get rid of it next week!
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