Barbie Butt Fashion - Comfortable Clothes & Pool Safety Tips for Permanent Ostomy

What is Barbie butt and can you explain this to me? I am having a permanent bag put on. Also, I have a fistula. Also, any advice on clothes to wear that are comfortable and not visible of the bag? Also, can I lay in the pool safely?

Did you ever own a Barbie Doll? It means there's no hole. Thus, Barbie Butt. If they could fix it so we had her flat belly and boobs, the butt wouldn't be so bad. There are a few forum topics that address the clothes issue - I like to wear sundresses because there is no pressure from waistbands and if the bag blows up, it's not as noticeable if you can't get somewhere fast enough to take care of it. Someone on here mentioned maternity jeans; I am going to look into that. I tend to wear loser tops now. But not much different than what I wore before. It depends on your style, your body and you, really. I haven't done the swimming thing yet because I can't keep the damn thing tight out of water, let alone thinking of the disaster in water.

And dudes have a Ken butt.

I wear looser tops, not loser tops. I like to think my sense of fashion is fairly decent.

Zywie... you are funny. (Just read back a few to see what you were talking about.) Good stuff.

Hope all is well.

Cheers
CG

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

A Barbie butt / Ken butt for the guys refers to when you have had your rectum and anus removed and your backside sewn up. If you look at a doll, they rarely have any genital markings. Thus, those of us who have had this operation jokingly refer to it as having a Barbie butt.

This procedure is quite separate from the procedure that gives you a colostomy or ileostomy. The two can go together, but not always.

Sometimes the total rectal and anal removal is done because the bowel is so damaged that you will need a permanent - irreversible - stoma. If you are having a temporary stoma, no rectal/anal excision will be performed because you'll need it when your stoma is reversed.

However, in my case, I found that I needed a permanent and utterly irreversible colostomy after the temporary colostomy did not solve the health issues I was having. In order to improve my quality of life and get me comparatively pain-free, my surgeon operated on me for a second time and repositioned my stoma in its new permanent position. She also removed my sigmoid colon and over half of my descending colon. For an added bonus, she removed my badly dislocated coccyx in a lovely operation called a coccygectomy... try saying that drunk... LOL

My stoma is my life partner, and he has improved my quality of life considerably. Having the Barbie butt operation was just wonderful. It removed so many health issues and resulted in a much smoother existence. If you are having problems with hemorrhoids, fissures, bleeding, and other such delightfully painful and humiliating symptoms down there, a Barbie butt operation can be a true life and sanity saver. It was for me.

After the operations, I just laid around like a beached whale for a week or so because it was so uncomfortable wearing clothes that had waistbands. After a while, though, I found I was able to wear virtually anything. For laying by the pool, get one of the hernia protection waistbands and slip this over your pouch. It will keep everything in place and be supportive. You can get them in neutral tones, black, white, and beige. No one will be any the wiser that you have a stoma underneath them. Choose a color that teams with your bathing wear - black is good - and no one will notice a thing. They can be tight to pull up and into position, so do this somewhere discreet before you head on out to the beach or pool. Then you're not getting all hot and bothered struggling to get it on. They will roll up to just under the stoma appliance if you pull them down too far, so just make sure that they are positioned under the breastbone and above your hips. Then they won't humiliate you. You can get some that are underwear plus the waistband, but they have the tendency to look like granny knickers, which is not the look I personally am going for! But they are supportive. You can even wear them in water while you bathe; they just absorb the water and need a good wring out when you are finished. Chuck a sarong over your waistband and bathing wear, and you'll be fine.

Funnily enough, the colostomy gave me my confidence back! I've had it since 2010, and I'm wearing closer-fitting clothes now than I ever have. High-waisted pants and skirts and comfortable tops are my favs now. Before the colostomy, I used to wear baggy clothes and ill-fitting outfits because I wanted to disappear. Yay for the stoma. He's changed my life. I hope yours will change your life for the better too.

I am one of the people who have mentioned maternity jeans. They are comfortable, flexible, and you can have them all the way up, fold or roll them down, and they give you the support you might want to have while allowing flow. And you still get to wear jeans!!! In a bathing suit, there are some wonderful suits (one piece) that have ruching along the side which does a super job of hiding any bulge you might think is there. I also switch to a mini bag while at the pool, but you must remember to either eat lightly and/or empty a little more often. Under the bathing suit, I have worn a wrap which gives your bag some support as you put the bag into a pocket to keep it close if you plan to be active around the pool/lake. Ostomy underwear is great under dresses/skirts as they give your bag support particularly after eating/drinking (when all of a sudden there is a huge flow going on) and it gives you time to get to the washroom to empty and doesn't screw up your seal, and then that's a whole new issue as you know. Hope this helps!!!

Having been so scared of both the pain and also the end result, I am delighted that neither have given me any problem. I do, however, find it difficult to find jeans or trousers where the waistline doesn't end at exactly the center of my stoma, which I am told can cause problems if it blocks output. Off to find maternity trousers and look at swimwear.

I have found that Marks and Spencer's men's trousers are cut high and give lots of room. Ladies of a certain age actually look very neat in them.