Can we please talk about colostomies/ileostomies?
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 9:22 pm
Hello, everyone. I'm reading about these things in a lot of peoples' signatures. Can you please tell me, if you had one, whether it was temporary or permanent, and if it had to be permanent, then why? I'm so sorry for asking personal questions; I'm just scared and want to be prepared in case I need the procedure.
What's it like living with it? I've seen photos on the internet, but I think that it could make life so difficult.
#1 - sexual activity. How can you do that self-confidently without worrying that the bag is going to become full during sex, or worse, that it will get squished and leak its contents?
#2 - What if you're just one of those people who is a restless sleeper, like I am, and you have to worry about rolling into your side/stomach in the middle of the night? Again, my concern would be that the bag's contents would leak.
#3 - Do you have any control whatsoever as far as when the waste goes into the bag? I mean, do you have the ability to "hold it" for any length of time, or does it just go into the bag whenever it wants to?
#4 - If you do have some control like I mentioned in #3, then instead of wearing the bag 24/7, do you have the option of putting some type of tape over the hole for a little bit of time, just to cover it up and hide it so that you could have sex more confidently, wear a stomach-bearing bathing suit at the beach/pool, etc?
#5 - I know that the bag has some kind of adhesive that sticks to the skin. I can't imagine how a person's skin wouldn't become irritated and itchy if that adhesive is on the skin 24/7. If I wear a band-aid for a few hours, my skin itches. Also, any sort of medical tape that doesn't allow my skin to breathe causes perspiration under the medical tape, and that not only ruins the adhesion, but it causes really bad itchiness.
I guess what I really want to know is... do you EVER get a break from wearing the bag? If so, for how long?
Thank you so much. Please don't be offended by the highly personal questions. If anyone is offended, I apologize in advance.
What's it like living with it? I've seen photos on the internet, but I think that it could make life so difficult.
#1 - sexual activity. How can you do that self-confidently without worrying that the bag is going to become full during sex, or worse, that it will get squished and leak its contents?
#2 - What if you're just one of those people who is a restless sleeper, like I am, and you have to worry about rolling into your side/stomach in the middle of the night? Again, my concern would be that the bag's contents would leak.
#3 - Do you have any control whatsoever as far as when the waste goes into the bag? I mean, do you have the ability to "hold it" for any length of time, or does it just go into the bag whenever it wants to?
#4 - If you do have some control like I mentioned in #3, then instead of wearing the bag 24/7, do you have the option of putting some type of tape over the hole for a little bit of time, just to cover it up and hide it so that you could have sex more confidently, wear a stomach-bearing bathing suit at the beach/pool, etc?
#5 - I know that the bag has some kind of adhesive that sticks to the skin. I can't imagine how a person's skin wouldn't become irritated and itchy if that adhesive is on the skin 24/7. If I wear a band-aid for a few hours, my skin itches. Also, any sort of medical tape that doesn't allow my skin to breathe causes perspiration under the medical tape, and that not only ruins the adhesion, but it causes really bad itchiness.
I guess what I really want to know is... do you EVER get a break from wearing the bag? If so, for how long?
Thank you so much. Please don't be offended by the highly personal questions. If anyone is offended, I apologize in advance.