Purchases that helped you after surgery?

After the first surgery, I just used peri pads for the mucus and whatever Hollister ostomy supplies I was prescribed, which besides bag and flange was Stomahesive paste and skin preps. 

 

After takedown, find a butt cream you like. Everyone's choice varies. I always liked A&D ointment best. And I used peri pads again, until it didn't have seepage again. 

 

Pretty cut and dry, huh?  

I order all my ostomy and wound care supplies from Byram Health Care.  Fast turnaround time.  They have to contact your doctor and once that's done you get an email and usually the next day your supplies are delivered.  My doctor approves right away.  Great customer service at Byram also!!
I hope this helps.

All of our ostomy supplies come from Edgpark.  The hospital should have helped you with the initial order.  Something we did purchase was lots and lots,of wash cloths.  Jeff uses then when he is trying to change the bag or wafer and he is producing.  We also your gauze pads, and lots of gloves.  Also there is special underware that holds your pouch in place.  They have been very helpful.

 

 

The hospital had told me to buy lots of washcloths, but I just use paper towels.  I get a bowl of hot hot water and then wet a paper towel in the hot water and clean the stoma and around it, works great and saves me on laundry. 
Gauze is what I go through the most with the wound. Oh, and the Sensicare adhesive remover wipes!!
I did get some cream from wound care that is a barrier and it's supposed to work really, really great for butt burn.  From what I've read on the forum, that's a big issue for folks with the pouch because of the acid in the waste.
You can also call the hospital and ask them who they recommend you contact for supplies.
Best of luck!!!!!

What's IPAA?

 

IPAA = Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastamosis. It's the medical term that Ii believe encompasses J-pouches, S-pouches, and W-pouches, at least when they get connected more or less directly to the anal canal.

I swore by my ostomy belt to help support the ileostomy bag when it became a bit heavy with effluent.  Just an extra degree of security! I also made a soft "sack" (I used men's undershirt material) to wear pinned inside my underpants which would hold my ileostomy bag. In addition, I used a stomahesive paste to secure the seal around the stoma and the hole in the wafer.  Finally, I used a product (can't remember the name) that I "painted on" the wafer to help it stay secured to my belly.  It really worked for a minimum of seven days.  Consulting with an ET nurse really helps to get the most appropriate set up for each of us.  Take advantage of developing a relationship with one while in the hospital after your surgery.  Once home, see if you can have a visiting ET nurse visit a couple of times.  Mine helped me manage all the procedures necessary to take care of living well with an ostomy appliance.  Best wishes!

One tip I found: change your appliance in the morning when your bowels are the quietest, before breakfast. I could often get the whole thing off, cleaned up, and new appliance on, without much or any output to muss things when I did that.

Thanks everyone for the tips!  Keep them coming if you think of anything else.  Even little things that just made life easier.  For instance, after my first ACL surgery, a suction lock shower handle probably saved me from a cracked skull, and after pec surgery, bendy straws were a life saver since I couldn't lift my arms high enough to tilt a glass.  

 

This is all happening so fast, and I'm usually an OCD boy scout type about preparation; both with equipment and with preparation of the body.  I'm only 9 days out so my options are limited, but I'd like to hear how other people prepared.  Was there anything you did to prep your body for abdominal surgery? I thought I wasn't going to be cut until late July so I had been hoping to add another 10 pounds with lifting/diet and beef up my heart with some interval cardio, but alas, I'm too sick to workout and I'm hooked up to TPN.   

 

Are ET nurses easy to come by?  Did they find you or did you have to hunt one down? 

Rachel, great idea!  Never thought of that.  I'll have to tell Jeff.  Thanks!

A hand held shower head is a must for me!  It helps to clean the incision, the stoma and skin, etc.

 

Viva paper towels are nice and thick, and I use those when I change my wafer (easy to throw out).  I agree- a morning change of the wafer is usually easiest as the stoma is most quiet then.

 

I bought boy shorts for my underwear replacements because they hold the bag in place better (bikinis do not cut it).  I also bought a size up since now I have to put a bag of poop in there, too

 

After surgery I wore mostly elastic waist things as things are swollen and take time to get to normal.  I have a perm.  ileo. and I still prefer waistbands that hit just below my belly button, so no low rise for me.  

 

After surgery, eat a lot of protein as this helps you heal.  Meat or pb or greek yogurt!

 

Best wishes!

Laura

Tighter "granny panties" helped me, too, to hold the bag in place. 

You should get an ET nurse in the hospital. Mine introduced herself pretty quickly and helped me learn how to empty as well as change the bag. She was a godsend when I got a weepy rash under the wafer. It caused the wafer to come off and you- know-what to pour down my side. I desperately drove the 30 miles to the hospital where she calmed me down and taught me to deal with the problem. 

 

The big thing that helped me after takedown was a bidet. I can't imagine how sore life would be without it and I am 11 years out!

I bought flushable wipes for cleaning the end of the bag.  Mylanta for skin irritation as my loop kept trying to go back inside and the eye of the beast would burn my skin. And a work colleague with a j pouch bought me 3 bags of lolly snakes in to the hospital ..