JUST A SUGGESTION

I have spent endless amounts of time trying to accurately measure my crazy loop ileostomy stoma’s shape realizing this one measurement is crucial to my comfort level.  So crucial in fact that I swear it will directly result in a smile on my face and a happy day ahead !!! 

The final successful DIY (thx Bill) tool measurement for me came in the form of clear plastic wrap with a piece of clear wide packing tape placed on top of the wrap. 

At the calmest point of my stoma’s attitude, which is early a.m. I laid flat out, placed plastic wrap (with the tape on top of the wrap) on my belly.  My husband then drew the shape with a magic marker on the wrap.  Then I cut the shape, placed it on a hard plastic cover, outlined it and cut it out.    I was able to get a good stencil of my stoma. jb

 

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G-Day JB, Another way you could try is using a pipe cleaner (if you can still buy them) or a piece of soft copper wire. Get Hubby to wrap it around the stoma, gently bending it to the shape. You can reuse it if the little bugger shapeshifts on you. Regards, IGGIE

I used plaster of Paris because I wanted/needed to know the shape of my abdomen in relation to the circumference of my stoma. 

Sometime in the future someone will find that plaster of paris model of your stoma on the shelf in an antique store.........and wonder what the heck it is!  It might even be considered a piece of 'lost art' from Salvador Dalí!  

;O)

Hello bob.

Thanks, you have inadvertently given me an idea.
My wife is always looking for 'odd' objects to take to her stroke group to guess what they are.
I don't know what happened to the plaster mould, because the purpose of it was to make a model  of the stoma and its surround so that i did not have to keep guessing at the dimensions of the real thing. when experimenting it's often good to work on a life-size model rather than wrestling with the fickle movements of the real thing.
Best wishes

Bill  

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Uh, thanks, but no thanks... Hubby works with saws, hammers, etc. We've been married just over 60 years... I'm hoping he still likes me... Saran wrap and a magic marker are the only two weapons I would suggest he use to measure my “at risk” stoma!!! It gives me chills just to think of him with that metal tape measure in his hands... 😬🤣 Follow the dots... ➡️.................................NO WAY!!! jb

Ya... tape a banana to it with some furnace tape and it might sell for millions... then again, the visual may be misinterpreted... never mind... jb

Seems you're doing alright, jb.  You might remember that, and I believe it was in the 1950s, that housewives got the  advice from someone like a Dear Abby or such, to greet your husband at the door wrapped in Saran wrap.  You have downsized a bit, but, still, it's Saran wrap. (smile)

I foresee a future episode of Pawn Stars. Rick and Chumley would be baffled when presented with Bill's creation. Rick would call in an expert... The "Beard of Knowledge." And for once, he would be perplexed. Next stop: Unsolved Mysteries TV show. Who knew a stoma could be so entertaining?

OMG!!! Thanks for the morning laugh - and yes, I do remember that. I'm quite sure if I greeted him at the door in Saran Wrap, he would take off running and I'd never see him again! jb

You are welcome.  Maybe if I practice a little more on these pages, I will rediscover my funny bone.  I did have one once.