Because there are innies and outies??? How do you spell innies and outies anyways

I thought everyone had a stoma like mine. It sticks out an inch or so and goes about its business all the time. It is also above my waistline, on a flat part of my stomache about an inch below my belly button.
Why are some done differantly? Is it surgeon preferance? Is it due to the amount of small intestine involved? Do UC people have the ileo in a differant part of the small intestine than people with Crohns? Mine is very high up and close to the stomache - stuff passes very quickly (and quite colorful too )for me.
Do people with perm ileos have longer wait time to pass stuff because the poop has a longer travel time? Are theirs lower on the body?
Just wondering...
David
TD is in 24 days

Mine is about even with my bellybutton on my right side. It takes about 2-3 hrs from mouth to bag. It’s about half an inch tall. Since we had the same surgeon, I figure patient shape and size may be involved in the choice.

Wee Willie (my perminent end ileo) is about 1.5" to 2" long except when he's doing his disappearing act (he likes to retract and telescope) and is 4" below and 1" across from my belly button.

My transit time is quite slow even though a good portion of my terminal ileum is missing. The average transit time for me is between 4-6 hours, but my evening meal won't reappear until the next morning. There are exceptions though depending on what food I've eaten and of course if I have a tummy upset things will whizz through.

We Willie is nearly 4 years old now and well matured so we have got used to each other's quirky little ways.

Things were very different with my first loop ileo though. That one was about 1" higher than Wee Willie and my transit time could be anywhere between10 minutes and 2 hours. He was most definately and "innie" and a real thorn in my side. He gave me no end of problems with leaking and even now 12 years later the old scar is still tinged a brown colour where the skin was so badly burned during my 9 months with him.

Shell

Hi David, Yes i think that most people's stomas are probably different. Perhaps you could start some sort of photo catalog. Lol. My little friend, aka Stoma Sam, is located about 2 inches beside and 2 inches below my bellybutton. My transit time is about 2 hrs depending on what I eat. A lot of times when I eat something the previous meal comes out about 5 minutes later, I guess there isn't enough room in there for two things at once. I think that end ileos usually have longer transit time because the waste travels through the whole intestine instead of exiting wherever the loop site is. I'm not sure if surgeons really think too much about where they place the stoma, unless maybe the patient has had a lot of previous problems or something. My site was marked by my ET nurse who spent a lot of time looking and getting me to stand up, sit down, and lean forward so she could find a place where the flange would sit the best. My uncle had an emergency colectomy and the surgeon just placed the stoma at a random spot which turned out to a big pain in the neck so they went back in and moved it to a better location. So i think placement has a lot to do with where on the body it will be condusive to wearing the wafer/bag. I'd say that Sam is an outie, although he has shrunk quite a bit from his original size, he's about 7/8 of an inch, but has a strange oval-ish shape which is almost flat on top. I also have to wear a convex wafter because it doesn't stick out very far from my body. I think stomas have different shapes, sizes and habits, just like the people they belong to.

Pixie,
Funny you should mention ET nurses. The one who marked me had no clue about my waistline....she thought she did. My little friend is above my waistline so I end up wearing the bag outside my clothes and use a belt to keep it sideways so it doesn't hang out the bottom of my shirt. I tried to raise my pants up and over the bag but it looks pretty stupid with my pants up so high...
I guess I got lucky with my stoma - he is only 1 inch round and sticks out an inch and half, never hiding inside. He does shrink a little after getting out of the hot shower and the cold air hits him...reminds me of an old Sienfeld episode when George was swimming in a pool
David
TD in 23 days!!!!

Dave,
When I went from my loop to my end it was great... I got to correct the things I didnt like with my loop. Since I was going to the end, I actually made the adjustments I didnt like... It had to go to my left side (loop was on right) but I actually brought my gun belt in from work, put it on and made sure when I dress for my shift the gunbelt and my end worked well together. It was nice to be able and say Hey i didnt like this and that with first one here is what I would like changed.. Even better - THEY LISTENED!

I always wondered about this subject. Dave raises an interesting question. I did the same thing as Jason, went into the doc with the type of waistband most common on my pants and skirts and the surgeon made sure my stoma was below that line.

My stoma is to the left and below my belly button about 1-1/2 inches to the side of belly button and maybe 2 inches below. Now that I read everyone's posts, I guess Mr. Stoma is not as low as I thought, or else I have a low belly button. Is that possible?

The thing I hate is the way my belly has hills and valleys from the surgery scars. I think it likes to change on me too because sometimes the hills are higher than previous days.

Wonder if having an outie belly button makes an ileo different? I have an inie, which is seriously misshapen now after all my various surgeries. I wonder all sorts of things about how the body even can adapt to this whole get up. Pretty amazing.

Cat

Dave,

Dannys is very high in my opinion also. I was not there when the nurse marked him and of course I would have had no idea where they normally put it. He has not been able to wear jeans or any pants without elastic waistband since his first surgery in April. THe pants would go right across the wafer.

By the way..good luck on the 31st. Hope all is good and it is a go for you. We of course will be there on the 2nd and hopefully again on the 5th for the surgery.

Heather

ps....he yanks his sweat pants way up too..but has his tshirt out so no one but me can tell..haha

Heather,
Tell Dan that my surgery is around 7:30 AM on the 8th. If you guys are still around on Thursday afternoon I should be up walking around the halls...maybe we will run into each other at IU
David

Well we look forward to meeting you if we are still there.