UOAA Discussion Board

Hi all. I'm 21 years old and on July 21st had a full colectomy after having ulcerative colitis for two years. I was unresponsive to baseline meds, as well as Remicade and Entyvio, but have been attending college since 2013 and have been able to manage my symptoms and disease. I currently have an ileostomy and jpouch that, if all goes as planned, should be reversed in December (fingers crossed for no surprises!) In the meantime, I was wondering if anyone has any insight or what their experience was regarding swelling after surgery. My abdomen is still very swollen and tender...curious about how long this lasts. Also, I'm having a lot of skin irritation around my stoma...overall feeling that my skin is being pulled on, rash, stool leaking underneath the wafer, etc. I nearly pass out every time I try to change my bag because the discomfort is so overwhelming. Any advice?

It's totally normal to have pain and swelling just two weeks out from major abdominal surgery. Give yourself a break! You will feel 1000x better in a couple more weeks. Make sure you are measuring your stoma and carefully cutting or molding your wafer every time you change. This will help prevent leaks that will help your skin heal. Change the wafer as soon as you feel your skin getting exposed (itchy feeling). If your skin is weepy try some stoma powder (karaya powder) under the wafer. It's not baby powder. You will have to order it where you get your bags. Hang in there! You'll feel better soon.