Hello all:
I went to my first support group meeting on saturday. I must say I was a bit aprehensive, I have never really been good at being comfortable around strangers. Plus the fact that I really felt out of my demographic - I was the youngest person in the room. The only people there below retirement age were the 2 Ostimate nurses, the product rep doing the presentation and myself.
But I found that after we had broken up into groups and I started talking to others who also had Iliostomies, It became easier to talk about things. The other members of the group were a bit supprised though when as part of the intro they asked me how long I had had my Iliostomy and I replied "Oh, 58 days now."
After hearing about what others have gone through over the long term, I saw how much easier I had it then some. I related how I had problems at the biggining w/ splashing and mess while emptieing and their responses was something along the way of "well, what other way is there to do it?" That is when I discoverd how fortunate I was in that the position of my stoma allowed me to empty the bag between my legs. Is it usual to have stomas as high up as These people had?
All in all, after my first ambivilance, the group was very frendly and sympathetic and I found the whole experiance to be very helpfull and informative. If any other newbees read this, I do recomend that you find a support group in your area and attend.
thx
Bob
