Hernia Complications with a Stoma - Seeking Advice

I have had a sizable hernia on top of my stoma just six months after getting my colostomy.

I am now investigating having my colostomy reversed to the opposite side.

I just cannot deal with the hernia any longer. My colostomy is a breeze to handle...but not with the hernia.

Hi, I have had my hernia for 15 years. It came about 2 years after receiving my stoma. I first had it stitched, but it didn't last very long. Then I had a mesh, and after a short time, it came back. I tried belly bands, and that didn't help. They say don't lift anything heavy, but when you have a 2-year-old daughter crying to be picked up, what can you do? After it came back, I asked the surgeon what he could do, and he suggested moving it to the other side. I asked if that would fix the problem with hernias, and he said probably not. I asked if he could do it and mesh it straight up, and he said no. And it's likely the hernia would return eventually, so I wasn't going through the pain to do that, so I have just lived with the hernia. It sucks as I hate it! The other thing I had to consider was that each time the large bowel was going to be shortened, which was also a concern. Maybe things may be different for you, especially since you're unlikely to lift heavy weights constantly like I do, being a male. May I ask what difficulties are you having?

Cheers, Dennis

I was close to having the surgery, but then I opted out and am dealing with it by strength training. I finally did some troubleshooting to find an appliance that works, as the leaks were a major concern. I opted out of surgery as the recurrence rate of it coming back was high, and why subject myself to yet another surgery with no promise of success?

Yes, I have had my hernia for around 5 years, maybe longer. Now it's about the size of a football, but due to tumors on my small bowel, surgery is to be avoided in almost every case as I'm not expected to survive surgery.