Ol Man report post surgery day #5

Thanks for the update. Yep, surgery hurts...any kind does but especially abdominal surgeries. It will get better with each passing day. Sounds like you're doing well despite the pain. I took my pain meds for a whole month....it may have been longer even. I did a refill I know that! Hang in there!

I tried to do everything myself as soon as I could get up. I needed some help, but not so much with emptying after the first few days. I had an ostomy nurse who came to see me, she was the only one who really knew the ostomy supplies and how to fully manage the bag. The other nurses could empty it, but that's all. They weren't able to change the wafer or treat the skin. I remember when my ostomy nurse came to change mine, this was after a few days when I was well enough that I was emptying into the toilet on my own, one of the other nurses, who was very interested asked if she could watch and learn. I let her stay of course. Ostomy nurses are a specialty nurse, they get paid more and require more training... It's kind of a cool specialty that you would never appreciate unless you went through this. The ostomy nurses were very interested and positive, the others tended to be less helpful and shy away. It's kind of scary going home because you have this bag, and you've probably only changed it once - or the nurse changed it for you, and then you're all alone and you aren't sure how to do things. The home health nurse will be very helpful. The first change she did for me. I took notes so I remembered the steps. The 2nd time she came, we did it together. The third time she watched me. That was it! I was fine on my own from then on. I recommend you start ordering supply samples from the various vendors. I tried everything. My stoma was tiny and short, I used convex. Some of the manufacturers have phone nurses who can help you find the perfect items for you. They should give you a kit at the hospital but it's likely to only contain a few changes. The home health nurse will probably have some samples for you to try but no guarantee there. I ordered from edgepark, they are really quick and easy. I got supplies nearly overnight. It was all free with my insurance. You don't want to wait too long to order. They contact your doctor for a prescription for the products and it can take some time to get approval. I actually waited LONG to order because I was getting so many samples, but I cut it close and I don't recommend doing that. Pick something and have it on hand.

The most important thing, remember that it's temporary. Things will be hard, but the pain will get better each day. The pouch will get easier... before you know it, it will be gone. I had a much easier time with steps 2 and 3. Some people say step 2 is the hardest to recover from, but for me, step 1 was the hardest.