Hello ostomy reddit. I just had my colostomy surgery today and it went well. I was so nervous, but I would've been very anxious if it wasn't for this community. This community gave me so much hope and prepared me for this surgery.

The surgery only took 45 minutes. They did it laparoscopically, so I'm glad it wasn't more invasive. Pain wise it's manageable now, but they did give me quite a few medications for pain. Everyone told me that my muscles would be tight and they're more tight then I expected. Right now I'm glad I dropped the in person class so I have to thank everyone for advising me not to take that class.

I don't have output yet, but from my understanding that's normal considering it's only the first day. Today I did my last lactulose enema and I couldn't be more happy about that. Even before my pelvic floor dysfunction got to this point my constipation was so bad that I was spending about 2-3 hours in the bathroom multiple times a day. Never having to deal with that again gives me so much joy. They didn't give me a Foley catheter and I have urinary incontinence and urinary retention, so unfortunately I have to keep calling the nurses to change me and their diapers are horrible quality m

My aunt had crohn's disease and during her colostomy surgery she wouldn't stop bleeding. They found out she had cancer and my aunt didn't make it. That was my only experience with ostomies for a long time. I thought that was a common outcome. I was so scared by the thought of getting an ostomy for a while until I started reading posts in this community.

They put me on a normal diet which surprised me, but I'm okay with it. If they don't think I need a different diet then I'm sure it'll be fine. My mom was also scared about me getting an ostomy, but when I shared the information I learned here it calmed her anxiety a lot. She was probably more worried than I was.

I feel tired and loopy from the pain medications, but overall I'm doing alright and I'm excited yet nervous for the new journey in the world of ostomies. I named my stoma little shit. If I'm in a place that it's not appropriate I'll just call her Tobias. Y'all have been a lifesaver for my family and I. I really can't thank y'all enough.