Support Belt Day :-)

So excited, as today I was measured for my support belt. It will take about two weeks to come, but once it does I can move forward and onto my next steps!

I’ve been increasingly anxious to get more exercise in. Since coming out of hospital I’ve gained almost two stone, not a bad thing as I was terribly skinny and unwell then. However, that doesn’t mean that I want to gain anymore. With an increased appetite, and limited movement when it comes to exercise, it’s hard to balance. I’m not doing a bad job, as I’ve sustained this weight for the past two weeks now. Nevertheless I’m being mindful around food, rather than comfortable, so I’d like that to change. Also with the sun peaking through I just want to be out and doing the garden again. Both of which require additional support for my abdomen.

Stomas of any kind can put the person at risk of parastomal hernias. These can be caused by anything really, but the key is to try and negate the risk as much as possible. For example, holding your abdomen if you need to sneeze or cough. Easier said than done in some situations, for example imagine driving; You’re driving the car and feel the sneeze coming, you then have to continue to drive the car, hold your abdomen, and cover you mouth to prevent spraying the windscreen and any potential passengers. What do you do? Lets face it, unless you’re really lucky and have three or four hands, most of us mere mortals are only blessed with two. So I warn you now, if you ever travel in a car with me, and I need to sneeze, then I’m stopping that hernia, and you’re getting sprayed with snot!

Don’t say I didn’t warn you 😉

Other strenuous activities that increase your risk are things such as exercise, particularly anything to do with the core, heavy lifting and gardening. This is where a support belt comes in useful, because again, I don’t have three hands, and want my garden looking nice again. The support belt fits snuggly around the waist and basically acts as the third hand we don’t have. It holds everything in, so you don’t have to. Now the important thing to remember is that a support belt won’t completely negate your risk of hernias, so you still need to be mindful. It’s a good way to tap people up on all the help they offer. “Is there anything I can do”? Well actually yes, you see that massive pile of soil over there, it needs to be taken in the wheelbarrow to the top of that hill, and then spread over the garden 🙂

On a more serious note though, although my risk is lower (1.8% – 28.3%) with an end ileostomy, than other types of stoma, it’s still a risk that concerns me. In ‘The Story So Far‘ section of the site, I talk briefly about loosing my Dad due to sepsis back in 2010. What I didn’t mention was what caused that sepsis to develop.

*** TRIGGER WARNING ***

*** The next section discusses death as a result of surgery. If you do not want to read this please skip the next paragraph ***

My Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer in his early forties, he had the same surgery as me and did really well as a result. He ended up being cancer free for ten years. He did however develop a parastomal hernia. I’m unsure how far along those ten years it was. But, I do know the risks are higher in the first two years, and he was also overweight, which increases risk again. None-the-less it needed to be operated on and he was admitted to hospital for keyhole surgery to repair it. Sadly during the surgery they perforated (made a hole in) his remaining intestines. He became unwell rapidly after the surgery, and passed away four days later. The contents of the intestines had leaked out and poisoned his body, causing sepsis and subsequent organ failure. Now, please understand that I don’t write this to scare people. If you are reading this and are due hernia repair surgery, or know somebody that is, please don’t worry. It was a very rare situation, and the surgeon delayed looking more deeply into my Dads symptoms, when he should have been on it from day one. If he had acted more quickly then my Dad would have been saved. The surgeon responsible no longer works as a surgeon in the UK, and the teams that I have personally come across on my journey have been nothing far from miracle workers. So please don’t be put off. I’m only explaining this, because I hope it helps people understand why, to me personally, developing a hernia is something I will do anything to avoid.

Back to the fun stuff…

The belt is coming, I’m excited to be doing more, oh and I’ve also spent the day baking today too. Anyone for a cheese scone?

If you are interested in learning more about Parastomal Hernias, this is a wonderfully informative document I found on the Colostomy UK website, that lays it all out;

https://www.colostomyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CA017-04v01r00-Parastomal-Hernias-1.pdf