Excretory Tract Info

Ileostomy surgery, also known as J-pouch surgery, creates an ileostomy—a small opening in the abdomen that allows stool to pass out of the body. This surgery is often required for people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. While it can be difficult and uncomfortable at first, there are many benefits to having an ileostomy, such as the lack of abdominal pain and easier bowel movements.

What is an Ileostomy?

If you’re about to have ileostomy surgery, it’s important to be informed on what an ileostomy is. An ileostomy involves surgical removal of a portion of your small intestine called an ileum. This stoma is then attached to your abdominal wall, creating a new exit for digestive waste to pass through. There are two types of ostomies—loop ileostomies and end-to-end stomas—and knowing how each works can help you prepare for them both. 

A loop ileostomy connects loops of remaining bowel or transplanted tissue to form one long pipe that then attaches externally. End-to-end surgeries connect two lengths of intestine with staples, resulting in an internal barrier between ends that forms separate openings on either side of your abdomen. Although there are benefits to both procedures, loop ostomies are more common because they cause less damage to the intestines during surgery. 

It’s also easier for people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease who had large amounts of intestine removed in previous surgeries to deal with loop ostomies better than end-to-end stomas because there is no blockage present in their systems during healing periods between stoma changes that occurs with some patients when using external drains.

Post-Op Stoma Care

After any surgery, including an ileostomy procedure, it is important to ensure that your wounds heal properly. You must follow your doctor’s instructions precisely for optimal healing and to avoid any setbacks. If you’re having a difficult time with post-op stoma care or other aspects of your ileostomy recovery, talk to other ostomates or friends/family who have gone through similar surgeries; we find we can usually learn from each other’s experiences.

Benefits of Having an Ileostomy

There are many potential benefits to an ileostomy surgery. For example, people with Crohn’s disease who have been experiencing severe abdominal pain, weight loss or bloody stools could benefit from a permanent ileostomy because it can relieve these symptoms. In some cases, people with severe ulcerative colitis can also benefit from an ileostomy because they may not be able to tolerate long-term steroid use without experiencing serious side effects.

Things To Expect After Surgery

After an ileostomy surgery, you may experience some changes in your body. Don’t panic when they happen—these are normal side effects of surgery. But you do need to speak up if something isn’t right. Discuss any new symptoms with your doctor. They could be signs of infection or other complications that require immediate medical attention. Your doctor will also provide you with detailed instructions on how to care for yourself after surgery!

Even though many people are finding it important to stay inside this 2020, I am of a different opinion.  I think that no virus should keep people from being able to be free and enjoy the great outdoors.  Especially, since the virus dies in direct sunlight.  It is important to remember to enjoy life and part of enjoying it is to go outside and also to look good.  Now looking good is your own opinion and super subjective, but that is what makes it great.  It changes and moves and flows like the wind. 

Now one thing that I have noticed is that it can be hard for people who have just had major changes to their life or body to find their own fashion again.  Looking good is important, so if you just had an ostomy, you are now working with a whole new set of rules for clothing.  I think it is important to feel good and look good in your own eyes.  So if you are new to this whole fashion world here are a few tips.

The first thing is to realize that you are beautiful just the way you are.  That means that each of us has our own beauty.  I am no supermodel, but I am still beautiful and I know how to work my own body.  My body is not amazing and now I have an ostomy bag to conceal along with my outfit.  That means that learning how to dress in a new way is a complicated and different task for us all.  We are all different.  My body is different than others and my stoma placement is also different then other people with stomas.  Just know ahead of time that not everything works for everyone as we simply are not the same.  That key piece of information can make life much easier once you accept it.

Now for me my first task on learning how to dress with an ostomy was to hop on my phone.  I went right to social media and found as many people with stomas as I could find.  My career has taught me not to spend your life inventing the wheel that has already been made.  Wasting time is literally stupid when the work is already done.  So take that knowledge and use it.  There are thousands of people who have already done the work and have the look.  Find them and find what works for you.  That is why social media is huge there are tons of pages and people who dedicate their careers to giving us the tips we need to survive and many are free.  Understand the paid parts of the social media world and take the tips with a grain of paid salt. 

Now that you have found some people who look the way you want. Simply start asking questions. I love commenting and getting into great talks with people who want to help.  There are a lot of people who want to help. This is the best part of it all.  Now when it comes to ostomy gear, I like to run things through my doctor first in an email to make sure it will work, but be free to do as you will.  Many companies give free samples and learning about the best things for you that fit your new clothes is a cool thing too.

I have always been greatly interested in everything sports related. Whether it’s watching sports, playing sports, talking about sports, or collecting sports memorabilia, I am all for it. Sports have always offered excitement and competitiveness that you can’t really find anywhere else in my opinion. And since my life was pretty boring growing up in the suburbs of a super small farming community, it made sense that sports was just about the most exciting thing that could happen to me. My favorite sport to play has always been soccer, which to some people is more of a sissy sport than anything. I am aware of many people’s opinions that soccer is a lame sport in comparison to basketball or football, but I just don’t share that sentiment. Soccer is extremely tough on the body and requires a lot of speed, endurance, and skill if you are playing at an actual competitive level. Anyways, my favorite sport to watch is hockey. I’ve never played actual hockey on a real team or anything, but I firmly believe that of all the sports that exist in the world today, ice hockey requires the most skill by far.

The thing that not a lot of people think about very often is that sometimes people with ostomies are interested in playing sports as well. If you are not sure what a stoma is, it is basically a surgically created colon that can act as a means of outputting the body’s waste into a bag called an ostomy pouch. If this sounds very gross to you, then I suggest you get off your high horse and acknowledge how hard it is for people with ostomies to overcome the stigma around having an ostomy pouch on them at all times. Many people are surprised to know that people who have a stoma can actually play sports too. I personally engage in a lot of physical activity, and I have had a stoma for the past 5 years of my life. When it comes down to it, a person with a stoma can do just about anything that a person without a stoma can do, it just might look a little different. For example, I would say that a person with a stoma can play most sports, except for the sports like hockey and football that involve mostly physical contact. 

You might even be able to get by in hockey with an ostomy, because I feel like most hits in hockey are targeted more towards the chest and back area, not really where an ostomy pouch is located. Football, however, I always steer clear of. All it takes is for one wrong tackle to rip off the skin barrier of your ostomy pouch, and you might see all sorts of horrible stuff come out onto the field right from your stoma. Honestly, I’m cringing just from thinking about it.

Beyond that, most sports are just fine for an ostomate to participate in. Most doctors will actually recommend that people who have had an ostomy stay active physically. Not only is it good for your digestive system and overall physical well being, but being active can also increase your mood and be very good for your mental health. So if you have a stoma, make sure you get out there and play some sports!

Living with a stoma is not easy. Let’s face it, if you have had an ostomy before then you know exactly what I mean. My heart goes out to all the people like me that are having to live with such a serious affliction the rest of their lives. I mean, can you imagine wearing an ostomy pouch on your lower abdomen for the rest of your life? What a sad reality that is for a lot of people around the world. Well, I am writing this article because I am hoping I can contribute to the cause and show some support to all my other fellow ostomates. If you have been living with a stoma for a long time, or if you have recently just got a stoma put in and are trying to adjust to your new life, this article will be for you. Hopefully you can learn something new about living with your stoma and that this article can slightly improve your quality of life. I know that a lot of these tips have helped me find some easier ways to exist with my ostomy, and I am hoping they do the same for you. So without further ado, here are some quick tips and tricks for living with an ostomy. 

So the first tip I have to talk about is removing the hair around your stoma. A lot of people have short, fine hair on their abdomen. Granted, this amount of hair can differ greatly depending on the person and the gender, but I think it is true that most people have at least some hair on their stomachs.

If you do have hair on your stomach, you may find that your hair can sometimes impede on your ability to properly secure your skin barrier around your stoma. In addition to this, you may be finding some discomfort in removing the skin barrier when you are in need of a change because it is pulling some of the hairs with it. Well my friend, I have a solution for you. Shaving the hair in the areas around your stoma will greatly improve not only the seal of your skin barrier, but also the overall comfort of changing it out. My suggestion to you is that you shave the hair carefully with an electric razor, and carefully avoid using an open blade or waxing because these things could damage your stoma or something like that.

Another tip I have to tell you about is the benefits of picking the time to change out your ostomy pouch. My best advice here is that you change your ostomy pouch on an empty stomach when at all possible. I have found that early in the morning (basically right when I wake up) works well for me, because then I can get rid of all the output from the course of the night and I also don’t have much output coming out when I am trying to change my pouch. Believe me, there is nothing worse than trying to change your ostomy pouch while you have a whole steak dinner’s worth of output flying out of your stoma. I hope this article was helpful for you and that you can leave here with a few pieces of advice that you didn’t have before.

Diverticulitis can be a very alarming pain to go through. The body’s digestive system absorbs nutrients to spread through the body while digesting food. Sometimes this doesn’t go as planned and can make for serious problems. This is because of weakened area around the colon that are put under pressure. The pressure from this leads to pouches against the colon wall. If these pouches get inflamed or torn it leads to diverticulitis. This can lead to nausea, fever, sever abdominal pain, changes in bowel movements and disruption of daily lifestyle. This can usually be resolved by rest and a few lifestyle changes. Usually when this doesn’t work antibiotics are given for treatment. Severe cases usually end up with surgery. 

Symptoms from this are most commonly pain. This pain can occur on either or both the left or right abdominal side. Other symptoms include: nausea and vomiting, fever, abdominal tenderness, constipation, or even diarrhea. If diverticulitis goes untreated it can lead to abscesses, blockages in bowel movement, abnormal passageways between organs, and peritonitis. 

Diverticulitis is more likely to happen to those that are older, obese smoke, live a nonactive lifestyle, take certain medications, and eat a diet with high animal fat and low fiber. To prevent this one must exercise at least 30 minutes a day, drink plenty of fluids, not smoke and increase fiber intake. 

As stated previously, severe cases lead to surgery. These severe cases can sometimes be life threatening making lifestyle changes and rest not sufficient. Diverticulitis can be damaging to vital organs and lead to further problems. This type of surgery has two different types: bowel resection with primary anastomosis and bowel resection with colostomy. The bowel resection with primary anastomosis surgery is where the surgeon removes parts and pieces from the infected colon in attempt to save the organ. The bowel resection with colostomy is when the surgeon will remove the infected colon then connect the bowel through an opening in the abdomen. Risks from this type of surgery increase if one is obese, over the age of 60, underlying health conditions, poor health or if it is an emergency procedure. There are many complications that can occur including: blood clots, heart attack, sepsis, kidney failure, infection of the incision site and nearby organ damage, hemorrhaging, stroke, respiratory failure, narrowing or blockage of the colon from scar tissue, formation of an abscess near the colon, incontinence and leaking from area of anastomosis. 

To prepare for diverticulitis surgery the doctor will request for a few things to be done so there won’t be as many risks. Before surgery you must stop taking any medications that thin blood, stop smoking at least a few weeks before surgery as well as changing your diet to liquids and laxatives to help clean bowels. Following surgery it can take about two weeks to fully recover. The first week of recovery is usually in the hospital. Once back home you must refrain from exercise, heavy lifting and sex for at least two weeks. Doctors may have shorter or longer recommendations that you should follow through with. During recovery stick with clear fluids and slowly reintroduce solids into your body. If you have a ostomy bag a doctor or nurse will teach you the proper care for it. 

When the worst parts of life hit you it can be hard.  I know that medical issues are not the worst parts of life and that helped me to cope with my own stoma.  Death I think is the hardest part of life and simply adding on a daily routine of an ostomy bag didn’t really hurt me too much.   But life-changing circumstances are never an easy adjustment.  It is not unreasonable for a person to get their first stoma to go through a range of emotions that similarly are regarded as a tragedy. It is in no way an overstatement and anyone who is going through the transition to getting a stoma needs love and understanding. Getting into ostomy care and psychologically coming out on top is a journey.  The change of bodily functions is more than just going through say a broken bone or a sprained ankle.  Granted those are painful and very difficult injuries,  but generally, life gets back to normal after rehabilitation is over. Don’t sell yourself short, you can overcome anything.

This time is going to be hard, but it is not going to be the worst part of your life.  I understand a new ostomy patient will most likely be overwhelmed and in need of emotional support. They need to feel that it’s normal to be overwhelmed because it is! Some have just lost their bladder or bowel and in some cases have been diagnosed with cancer.  Make sure you have a nurse that is certified in this area and has empathy.  If they don’t get a new one and fast. But you will also probably be imporiving your life by having an ostomy so don’t look down on it too much. 

During this time they will be grieving. Rather the patient is showing it or not they are feeling a loss and need to be consoled.  This is best done with knowledge and accurate information.  Be honest, and dispel the false information about ostomy care.  Take the honest route and teach.  Let them know how things work and how to overcome issues and smells by propper care. So if they have made a mistake and the smell is rampant, don’t walk in the room and chide them, or constantly spray odor eliminator before you even talk to them. Take this time as a teaching and learning experience. Find out what went wrong and let them fix it so they are able to keep it from happening when they don’t want it to.  

Calm and honest talk is the answer.  If someone is freaking out tell them about the burn victim down the hall.  Life could always be worse.  But don’t overwhelm the new patient.  If this is their first time. The information can be incredibly overwhelming and complicated.  Take small lessons and teach with grace and understanding.  Remember not everyone learns the same way.  Some need to hear the information before understanding. Some need to visualize it with charts and graphs.  There are also kinesic learners that need to actually do it to learn.  They must be active in the process or they simply don’t get it.  Don’t get frustrated, get smarter, and become a better teacher.  Remember most of all be kind to those who need it.  Some people have never experienced true tragedy so, be willing to be patient with them.  

There are a lot of things that are different looking back on them now.  Growing up, I often heard the phrase “just wait till you get older”. The main context in which I heard this phrase was while playing basketball. Sports are definitely a part of my upbringing. Being from a town that worshipped basketball, we played all the time. There was no off-season (and come to think of it, this definitely was not a good thing because a lot of us got burnt out by the time we reached out high school years). Not always though because there were benefits to being good on the court and fun things that happened after.

A lot of the time, we played against guys that had already graduated. This could be anyone from 19-50 years old. And no matter what, whenever we would be playing against them, they’d always say “just wait till you get older” (no matter their age). The thing was I had no idea what they were talking about then but I certainly do now.
I’m finally at the point in my life where I have figured out exactly what they meant by that phrase. Wait till you get older when your back, kneck, knees, toes, and entire body just aches and hurts for no reason while playing this sport. There actually is a reason, but it never existed for me just 10 short years ago. I never had any real “pain” while playing sport.  It was just a normal day for me and no reason to understand what they meant.  I was loose, limber, and athletic. But the older I get, the tighter, the stiffer, and the less athletic I feel I am getting.

The good thing is, I’m only tighter, stiffer, and less athletic. Things could be much worse.  In fact I am still happy to be able to actually play.  I feel like that is a miracle in itself.

I could be cinched up with supplies following an ostomy care procedure. I could be having my stool exit my abdomen while trying to play the sport I love. People would certainly run away from me then.  Therefore, I try to see the bright side of getting older, because it could always be worse. I can’t imagine what it would be like to feel the pain I feel while playing basketball AND having to tote ostomy supplies like bags and belts around while running, jumping, cutting, and sprinting up and down the basketball court.

So, for now, I will lean into some perspective and appreciate the pain and annoyances of what your body begins to do as you get older because once again it could always be worse. Proper ostomy care doesn’t yield to any of your hobbies or interests. I am actually lucky to be able to have the best gear that allows me to do what I love.

It is true that I suppose someday, it will get worse and worse and eventually, I won’t be able to play at all. This is why it is very important to appreciate the playing years that I have left in me. I want to make the most out of every opportunity I get to play basketball because a life full of golf only awaits me in the near future. But until then, let’s play some hoops.

Often times ostomy is looked at in a bad light, and anyone with it will have a bad life, or that person is disabled. However, that is not the case. An ostomy can be a life-saving procedure for people, and it can happen to anyone. There are many myths surrounding ostomy. In this article, we are going to look at a few myths that come to mind. Before that, I want you to understand that having an ostomy is not a bad thing, and anyone with one is the same as everyone else. Yes, there are some things they can not do, but that is very limited. 

The first myth we are going to talk about is that some people think getting an ostomy is a death sentence. That could not be farther from the truth. An ostomy can be a life-saving procedure in some cases. People who get an ostomy are in dire need of it because all other treatments they have tried did not help or work. This is because there is an issue with their intestines or colon. The problem can be anything from some kind of disease they were born with or developed to traumatic damage to the colon or intestines. Many people who get an ostomy often say it has given them their life back. 

Another myth that surrounds ostomy is that only cancer patients get them. This is not always the case speaking from first hand. Not every cancer patient needs an ostomy, and not just cancer patients have the need for an ostomy. My uncle passed from colon cancer recently, and he did not have to get an ostomy procedure. Patients who suffer from diseases like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis may develop the need for an ostomy procedure so they can have proper bowel movements. Other people who may need this procedure are people born with some kind of defect that will prevent them from having adequate bowel movements. Also, traumatic damage to the intestines and colon may need this. 

The final myth we are going to talk about is that people think that getting an ostomy is permanent. This is also not always the case. An ostomy procedure can be temporary. There are some times that the procedure will be permanent, but that is up to the doctor. Most of the time, they like to keep it temporary if able. If it is a permanent one, it is called an end ostomy. Most of the time, when an ostomy procedure takes place, it is so the affected organs can have some time to heal from infections, diseases, damage, and other reasons like this. Once time has passed and the doctor believes the organs have fully recovered, the procedure can be reverted back to normal. 

There are many other myths surrounding ostomy procedures, and we may discuss those later. It is essential to know that people with ostomy procedures are just like you and me; there is nothing wrong with them. I understand that most of the time the need for an ostomy is not the person’s choice, but when they get it, in the end, they can live a better life, and what is wrong with that? I believe that people need to shift their view of ostomy patients and not look at them in a bad light anymore. 

As a child, I grew up on a farm. I had to help out any time I had free time. As a young kid that was tough as I wanted to spend my free time with my school friends. My father told me that it is important to help out and make sacrifices for the family. Growing up with this instilled into me I think I became a very good man. When I turned eighteen I had many people tell me that I have the presence of a twenty five year old. That felt good to hear as a young adult because most of the time you don’t receive that respect. An accident on the farm the following year changed my life but regardless I am still a farmer all these years later despite my situation. 

The accident that changed my life was not really my fault. It was like any other day on the farm. I woke up and headed to the stables to let the horses out to play. As I got to one of our troubled horses I knew I should not enter his pin without someone there to keep him calm. Unfortunately, no one was on the farm that morning, they were all out running errands. I needed to get him out but he was steadfast on staying in his pin. I did my best to coax him out but he was adamant about staying in there. I did something i knew I should not have done. I stepped in his pin to give him a push. I was petting him to try and keep him calm but he was already mad. He reared up on his hind legs and hit me right in my stomach with his front right hoof and ran out. 

The hit knocked me down and took the wind out of me. I knew something was wrong as my stomach was hurting very badly and I could not get up without massive pain in my abdomen. I immediately called my father and told him what happened and he told me he was on his was but i needed to call an ambulance immediately. I did as he told me. After about seven minutes the ambulance arrived and got to me to help me. They put me on a stretcher and loaded me up in the ambulance. I told them what happened and they told me they think i may have a burst intestine. When we got to the hospital the doctor had the same thought but needed to do anx-rayy. 

Thex-rayy showed that they were right. The doctor told me that i would be needing an ostomy procedure, more specifically a colostomy. This would procedure would take the reaming operating large intestine and pull it out from my abdomen. The hole is called a stoma,it is puffy and has apink-red color. I was told by the doctor that i could keep doing my work so long as i am carful. If i had another incident like that again things could end up worse

Being a farmer with an ostomy is not that difficult. There are some things that i cant do easily like lifting heavy objects. I am still glad that i can still do my work as my father instilled working morals into me. I am thankful that he did that because I’m not sure what i would do with my current situation. Being a hard worker has definitely helped me forget about my situation. I can do just about all the things that need to be done on the farm. I love what i do and i would not change it for anything. 

A colostomy is a kind of procedure that creates an opening in the colon or large intestine and brings it to the front abdomen through a hole. A colostomy can be temporary or permanent. A permanent ostomy procedure is called an end ostomy. This is because the end of the colon is brought to the opening in the abdominal cavity and can not be reversed. A temporary colostomy brings a portion of the colon to the abdominal cavity opening. There are many different kinds of reasons for needing this kind of procedure, like cancer or a birth defect. 

During an end ostomy, the colon is brought to the front of the abdominal cavity, where it is turned under, like a cuff. From there, the edges of the colon are sewn shut to prevent any leakage. The opening of these crates is called a stoma. A stoma is generally pink or red in color, as well as being rather puffy. The stoma is where the waste will exit the body into a bag or pouch that is fixed to the abdomen wall. 

In a temporary colostomy or loop colostomy, a hole is cut in the side of the abdomen wall and attached to the corresponding part of the colon. This surgery will require you to be under general anesthesia as the procedure does take a while, but there is nothing to be worried about. The good news is that because this is a temporary procedure, it can be easily reversed. Surgery will be required again, but this time it will be a faster procedure. The part of the colon that has been attached to the abdomen wall is removed and sewn back up almost as nothing happened. This will allow the flow of stool to go back to how it was meant to be, and the affected patient can have regular bowel movements normally again. 

The reasons for needing an ostomy procedure can vary from patient to patient. A few examples can be cancer, an incurable disease in the colon, and birth defects. The reason for needing this procedure helps the health care provider determine the proper ostomy procedure that needs to take place. The most common is colostomies. A permanent ostomy will be required for the dangerous incurable diseases. A birth defect like an imperforate anus is the kind of situation where a permanent colostomy procedure will take place. This is because the anal cavity was not formed during birth or when it was formed, it was in the wrong spot. This will result in an end ostomy most of the time. 

The need for an ostomy procedure varies as well as the kind of ostomy procedure. This is a life-saving procedure, as strange as it sounds. A colostomy procedure is a significant life-changing event. It will take time for the patient to get used to it, primarily if they are used to using the bathroom typically. Even though patients can feel the pouch against their body, it is not easily visible to anyone unless the patient tells; it is almost undetectable. This being said, ostomy patients do not need to say to people about the procedure they went through as it can be a personal situation. It is up to the patient who they share with and how much they share.