NWgirl wrote:If it's possible, I'd definitely opt for the colostomy. It makes for a thicker output (less liquid); which has two advantages. #1 - much less chance of it leaking onto your skin and burning the area around your stoma. Even if it does get on your skin, it's going to itch a little - but it's nothing like that battery acid feeling when my ileostomy used to get onto my skin. And #2 - less emptying of the pouch. When I had my ileostomy I basically had to empty it every time I peed - which was okay; but with the colostomy I generally only empty 1-2 times a day. It's much easier to deal with.
Make sure you have a good WOCN Nurse mark one if not two possible options for the stoma placement.
Rob in PA wrote:Well, i've had one colostomy and two ileostomies, and I can say with all certainty that I preferred the colostomy over the ileostomy hands down. Like others said, not as much burning from liquid stool with a colostomy as opposed to ileostomy. Easier to maintain, less accidents.
If I had to pick a con for colostomy it would probably be that sometimes bowel movements can be quite large and heavy (not to sound too disgusting, but hey) and if you don't have a place to empty it can certainly pop the seal off. The other thing that i preferred ileo over colo was that the ileo was quick and easy to empty and not much mess to clean up. I used the roll up closuree. The colostomy (if you are reusing the bag via roll up) is a little messier to clean up when you empty it because of the thickness. Some prefer to just use the "one and done" colostomy bags and throw them away. Since you have less bm during the day, this is more feasible than with ileo bags because you have many more bms throughout the day and most times they just need a quick dump for a little bit of bm.
But to me, the burning and maintenance of the ileo was harder and more painful.
Best with whatever decision you make.
Rob
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