Tag Archive for: incisional hernia

Smoking and Hernias – do you know the connection?

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I know this isn’t a popular thing to say, but I do love smoking. I know how bad it is, I know it’s stinks and is dangerous, expensive, stupid etc etc etc. But I love a good old ciggie! I have smoked since I was about 14. I’ve stopped several times, didn’t touch them whilst pregnant, breastfeeding and after surgeries. But every time I go back to it because I thoroughly enjoy smoking. But learning about the connection between smoking and hernias has shocked me into giving up the fags.

I saw my new surgeon Mr Adam in February. He told me I have a very high risk of complications during the surgery, around 75%! Mr Adam said I could drop that risk by 10% if I stopped smoking, even just changing to the e-cigarettes. Also he told me that there is a very real link between smoking and recurrent hernias. I was devastated to find this out.

On the 6th of February I had my last ever cigarette! I bought an e-cig and that was really useful to get me through the cravings of nicotine. Then I stopped using that in April and now I am officially a non-smoker.

Missing the smoke

I have to say that it’s still not easy. It’s been four months since I had a cigarette and 6 weeks since I used the e-cigarette. I still think about it all the time. I would say around twice a day I really crave a cigarette. If it weren’t for what I have learnt about the connection between smoking and hernias I would have started again.

Sam Cleasby ostomy bag stopping smoking hernia

Smoking and hernias

So smoking and hernias, what is the connection? After getting numerous hernias over the past five years since I started on this surgery journey for the Ulcerative Colitis and having multiple hernia surgeries I am so disappointed that the link between smoking and getting an hernia has never been pointed out.

Smokers develop hernias at a higher rate than nonsmokers. Smoking causes a decreased rate of collagen formation. This is due to the effect of nicotine, which weakens the abdominal wall. Patients who smoke are four times more likely to develop a recurrent hernia as a result of the effect smoking has on wound healing. This information comes from the Hernia Centre.

Cigerette smoking and risk of hernias

I think this is something that should be told to every single smoker who has abdominal surgery. Getting my stoma and ridding myself of the effects of Ulcerative Colitis saved my life. It made it so much better. But then having 6 hernias over the past five and a half years has ruined it all. The hernias have stopped me from doing so much, I’ve had repair after repair. Months of pain, so many tears and honestly, I feel devastated. I could have been doing something that has caused the recurrent hernias.

The cost to the NHS

It’s not even just the personal effects, I have had multiple surgeries to repair these hernias. The past two surgeries have been high risk, long, complicated surgeries. I’ve spent time on the HDU and weeks in hospital. How much does that all cost?

I have had to have so much time off work, my kids have suffered. My whole family has had to struggle through having a mum who is in constant pain and then having operations and then months of recovery. And maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have got these hernias if I had stopped smoking earlier. And I would have done, if I had been told.

I accept my own responsibility in this. Of course I knew smoking was bad for me. But it was in that general way that we all do things that aren’t good for us. Some smoke, some drink alcohol, take recreational drugs, eat too much red meat and sugar etc. If I had been told that skoming has a direct link to the recurrent hernias that have ruined the past five years of my life, I would have stopped.

I am not preaching, I’m not trying to tell anyone what they should do, but I wish someone had told me about this after my first surgery in 2013. So I just want to pass the favour on so everyone has the information and can then make their own educated decisions.

Sam x

Health update

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I thought I would give a bit of a health update as I feel like I am just constantly complaining on social media about how grim I feel.

I have two large hernias (I know, I know, I’m as sick of hearing that word as you are!), one is a parastomal hernia, this means it is sat right behind my stoma and one is an incisional hernia in one of my many surgery sites.  The parastomal one is the most painful, it is quite large and gets bigger throughout the day.  It is a constant feeling of pressure behind it and it feels like all my insides are going to burst out at any minute! The second hernia is not painful all the time, but a few times a day it is an awful stabbing pain, it takes my breath away and so between the two I am really struggling with pain.  I’m on codeine and nefapam for the pain which help but also make me super groggy.

The other issue is I have a large ovarian cyst, at the last CT it had grown and was around 7cm big, I am having weird periods (long gaps and random bleeds) and a feeling like constant bad period pain.  I also apparently have a large, fluid filled fallopian tube (because why not throw another thing at me!!) and so I am waiting for further scans and tests for this.  I think it is due to the huge amount of adhesions in my body, basically everything is stuck together and altogether unhappy in there.

So the plan is for the gynae surgeon to take out the cyst at the same time as they fix my hernias if possible. Mr Brown wants to get another surgeon involved, he specialises in complex abdominal cases and I have an appointment to see him at the beginning of February.

And so I am just still in limbo waiting for a surgery plan and date. On one hand, it just cant come soon enough, I am getting to the point where the pain is getting too much, my nerves are shred and every ounce of patience has been used up.  I am short tempered, pissed off and struggling to not lose my shit.

Talking of losing my shit, the parastomal hernia is making my stomach a very weird shape and so bags are not wanting to stay put, so I am leaking really often which is just making life all the crappier.  This is my parastomal hernia, the pic was taken after a day of rest and so is actually not as big as it usually is.

parastomal hernia

Most days I look about 6 months pregnant and so that’s not much fun at all…

I dropped my work days down to three days a week a couple of months ago as I was finding it so hard to keep up with everything whilst feeling so ill, exhausted and in pain every day.  This has helped a lot, but to be honest, even part time work is a real struggle right now.

Also because I had two surgeries last year and subsequent time off to recover, I am out of paid sick days so I am panicking about how much time I will need off after this next op. If it goes to plan and they do the two surgeries in one go, it will be a big old op and I will need a lot of time off afterwards to allow myself to heal. But I also won’t be paid for this time.  Of course, my health has to come first and I will take as much time as I need and the doctors recommend but adding the financial worry to the mix isn’t helping.

And so I think that is everything up to date health wise. Basically my body is broken and I’m waiting to see if docs can make life a bit less shit!

I know I have been a right whinging bag on facebook and twitter, but honestly I don’t even apologise for it! Life with chronic illness isn’t all positive quotes over images of clouds, it’s not all high fives for celebrating our awesomeness and shiny, happy selfies with puppy noses.  Sometimes it is dark and miserable, lonely and scary and the one thing I promised myself over 5 years ago when I started this blog was that I would be honest about the highs and the lows.

Thank you so much for all the kind, lovely messages I have received over the past few weeks, I try my best to reply to everyone but don’t always have the energy, but I do read them all and each one means the world, so thank you.

Sam xx

Surgery number 5

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Like Mambo number 5 but with more general anaesthetic!

So if you follow me on Facebook, twitter and instagram, you may have seen that I have been under the knife again.  I have had two hernias develop since my last op in January and I was on the waiting list to get them fixed by Mr Brown but last week, out of no where, I had a huge, sharp pain in my stomach and my incisional hernia (that runs through my belly button) had popped out and got stuck.

I was sick with the pain and knew immediately that I needed help, I never go to A&E as I hate the waits and the people in the waiting rooms (I know that’s judgemental, sorry!!) But I called Timm from work and asked him to come home and take me to hospital.

incisional hernia with ostomy

I was vomiting with the pain, sweating, crying and a general mess but was seen quite quickly and taken onto a surgical assessment ward where doctors thought I would need surgery as soon as possible.  I stayed in overnight and had a CT scan as they thought that there were loops of bowel stuck through my hernia and were worried they would be damaged.  The scan showed that the hernia was very large and there was fat and tissue stuck through it but luckily no bowel.  I was very relieved as I don’t have that much left, so I can’t risk losing any more!! The other thing it showed though was that my parastomal hernia was worse than imagined and the two were almost joining up with only a centimetre between them, so surgery was the only option.

It was all such a whirlwind, the next thing I knew I was being prepped for surgery, and then I awoke in recovery!  It was a big surgery, almost 5 hours long and a lot more complicated than the doctors had first thought.  They had to open me up and pull in the muscles from the sides, remove the tissue that had been stuck and fix the two hernias with two types of mesh.  One was made from pig skin, so you can officially call me Miss Piggy!

incisional hernia with ostomy surgery

After a few days in hospital, I asked to be discharged home on Monday and have been recovering at home since then.  It has been really painful, a lot more painful than my last hernia op, than in comparison was extremely simple. I feel like a punchbag, I am pretty much bed ridden and really struggling to do much at all.  I am feeling quite emotional and sad about it all, I think it is just the shock of everything happening so quickly, it is taking a bit of time for my head to catch up with the rest of me.

It’s all a bit sudden to be honest and has thrown things up in the air as I am due to start a new job and also because I am about to fly to India in a couple of weeks and so I was in a real panic going to surgery as I had no idea how it would affect these things.  But after talking with Timm, we are on it.  To be honest, it is good timing for the job, I’m not due to start till after my hols and so it means that it is done and dusted before work starts.

Regarding India, it is a bit scary.  If this were just a holiday, I would cancel.  But we are going to our family’s home town where they are honouring my grandfather who passed away this year in a football match and commemoration where we are scattering his ashes.  It is so important to me to attend and so I am fighting through.  Doctors are backing me on this as they understand how much it means and I am under instruction to wear surgical stockings, have daily blood thinning injections and a whole list of other things to keep me healthy.  We are getting a wheelchair to help me whilst we are away and Timm, my mum and the kids are all going to help support me too.

incisional hernia with ostomy surgery staples

So the next couple of weeks is all about rest and healing.  I am doing nothing other than concentrating on my health and getting fit and ready for what I hope is the start of a new chapter in my life.  The past three years have been so difficult, with surgeries, anxiety, illness, fatigue and depression, but now I feel I am turning a new page (ALLLLLL the cliches are coming out now!) and with a surgery to fix all the hernias done, my ileostomy settling in and a new job, I hope life is going to be brighter.

 

Thank you all so much for all your love, support and care

 

You are awesome

 

Sam xx

Weight Loss – Operation No Operations – Week 1

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So after my news last week that I now have two hernias, I decided to try and lose some weight.  I am adamant that I do not want surgery until it is absolutely necessary and so I spoke to my doctor about the benefits of me losing weight and we agreed that it would really help with the hernias.  Thus begins Operation No Operations!

I looked at groups such as Slimming World and Weight Watchers and though I know that they are great for some people, I thought they weren’t for me for a couple of reasons.  One is that I don’t want to go to classes and two is that my medical history scares the bejesus out of most people and I wasn’t sure as to whether they would understand.  On a side note, if you are interested in Slimming World, take a look at the very lovely Wit Wit Woo and her 5 month weight loss journey.

I bought myself a fitbit that tracks my steps, heart rate, sleep and through the app, I can log my food and track my calories.  I aim for 1400 calories a day, but I don’t freak out if I go over and I am doing 10,000 steps a day.  I am finding that the fitbit and app are keeping me on track, on days where I am well under on my steps, I am forcing myself to get out and get my steps up.  It is a huge boost to my will power to have a watch that is gently reminding me to get moving.  I even filmed one of my dog walks when I had to force myself to get out even though it was raining!

I haven’t been hungry this week at all, I am making sure I eat three meals a day and just avoiding snacks, though last night the desire for a Feast ice cream was just too strong and so I had one and enjoyed every bite! I have been really shocked at how many calories are in things, it has made me realise why I am overweight.  170 calories in a gin and tonic, yo!!!

I am also looking at my portion sizes and weighing out my food, I realised that my average bowl of cereal is twice the recommended portion size! I am finding that I appreciate my food a lot more and I am enjoying eating.  I have always had a thing about clearing my plate and so often would carry on eating even after I felt full just because there was food still on my plate.  Smaller portions mean I eat well and then if I am still hungry, I can always go back for a little more.

The thing that is important to me is not denying myself anything that I really want.  I was so limited with what i could eat when I had my jpouch that now I hate to be told I can’t eat something.  I am very lucky with my current ileostomy that there is nothing so far that I can’t eat.  I just chew everything well and drink plenty.  Even though I am limiting calories, I have found it quite simple to still eat filling and delicious food.

So how has it gone? Well here’s the numbers.

Starting weight – 16th May 2016 – 13 stone 13 lb

Week one – 23rd May 2016 – 13 stone 8 lb

fitbit weight loss blog

I lost 5 lb this week!!! I can’t believe it! I have eaten well and never once felt hungry, an example of my diet this week…

Breakfast – Granola with 0% fat natural yoghurt and sliced mango, strawberry and pineapple

Lunch – Salami, parma ham, mozzarella, feta, humous and fresh bread

Dinner – Baked potato and sausage casserole

Snack – satsuma

I am drinking plenty, either water or no added sugar squash, tea and coffee.  I do like fizzy pop and I am trying to reduce the amount I am drinking, but it is sugar free. (I know, I know, it’s still bad!!)

I don’t feel strong enough to exercise yet, my hernias scare me and so I am walking a lot, I am aiming for at least 10,000 steps a day and also doing some work in the allotment.  I am trying to be active every hour, which is something the fitbit encourages.  I am wearing support garments from Vanilla Blush or just a pair of strong support ‘fat’ pants, you know, that underwear that is supposed to suck you in?

sam cleasby blogger allotment operation no operations

So there we go, that was week one of weight loss.  I wasn’t sure whether to blog about this, I am not an advocate of dieting and think women are pushed into weight loss all the time.  I am a size 16-18 and classed as overweight, my BMI was 28.7 which is on the verge of obese (which I find ridiculous as I do not think I am obese!)  Despite what society tells me, I love my body, I don’t mind that I am bigger than some, I genuinely feel happy in my own skin.

But this weight loss is for my health and so I feel I must go ahead with it.  I am so terrified at the thought of more surgery that I really want to do everything I possibly can to have positive affects on my health.  I don’t think we all need to be the same size and shape but I do think we all need to be responsible for our own health and for me, right now, this means dropping a few pounds and putting less strain on my stomach and hernias.

 

For anyone thinking of losing weight, especially those of us with IBD or other medical needs, do speak to a health professional first and make sure the changes you make are healthy and positive.

 

Sam xx

 

When the struggle feels never ending

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I visited my consultant yesterday (yes, on a Saturday because despite the reports, we DO have an NHS on the weekend!) I’ve been having stomach pains, feeling very tired and more worrying, some weird swellings in my stomach.  I knew what he was going to say, but it didn’t make it any less devastating when he told me I have two hernias. 

Fuck. Two?! 

I have a parastomal hernia, which means it sits right behind my stoma and an incisional hernia in my belly button.  I can’t actually explain just how upset I am.  I know some people may think that a hernia is a minor thing, but it affects you every day and limits what you can and can’t do.  But worse than that for me, is that they can only be fixed through surgery.  I just feel my struggle is never fucking ending. 

Just saying the word ‘surgery’ makes me anxious, I feel hot, my palms sweat and my mouth goes dry.  I feel like crying and running away.  The word takes me back to a dark place of hospital wards, pain, suffering and sadness.  I feel panicky and sick. 

Mr Brown saw my face and asked me what I’d like to do, he said surgery is the treatment for this and I just shook my head. “No. I can’t.  I’m not ready in my body or my mind to face surgery again.”  He smiled and agreed, saying he thought I was right and that we should wait as long as possible to operate. 

I asked about alternate ways to help during this time, I already wear support underwear (see Vanilla Blush for support underwear that doesn’t look like your nan bought it) and I try to not over exert my tummy muscles.  I have spoken to my stoma nurse about getting some other hernia support designed for people with an ostomy. 

The other thing is my weight. There’s too much of it. 

I asked Mr Brown if losing weight would help and he said yes.  It will help with the pressure on my stomach and when I do face surgery it will be better for me to be a bit lighter.  I’m a size 16-18, my BMI is 28, I am classed as overweight and plus size. I genuinely like how I look, I don’t diet because I don’t feel that I need to be thinner.  Now I am being told that losing weight would be really beneficial to my health and so it is time to shed a few pounds. 

I know this will be hard, I’ve been overweight since I started having babies but if this will hold off the surgery then it something I must do. 

Regarding the tummy pains and aches, I was told that I’ve had a lot of surgery, there are a lot of internal scars and unfortunately, it is just part of healing. I’ve had a lot taken away inside so I suppose things are moving around and settling which causes pain.  Regarding the tiredness I had bloods taken to test my vit b12 so Ill wait and see what they say about that. 

I’m trying to be positive and look for the ways I can help myself. But really I want to hide in a duvet and cry. I’m absolutely devastated. Have I not been through enough? Does the struggle never end? After each of the 4 surgeries I’ve had in the past 3 years, I think it will be my last, I think that this is the one that makes everything ok, but it never does. 

There’s always something else around the corner and I’m so tired of being unwell and broken.  When does it all end? When will I be ok? 

I don’t know the answer to this question but I do know that I have no other choice but to plod on and keep going.  I’ll recite my Yorkshire mantra that “it’ll be reight” and keep smiling. 

Sam X