At last....

It is a long time since the last update. I have had a lot of problems getting an appliance or bag to fit and stay on more that a few hours. The problem is the hernia sticking out and causing a crease that the bags are having a hard time sticking to. I am now using a convex shaped flange, (you gotta love that word 'flange' not sure what it is but it has always made me smile), that sort of pushes back against my skin so the sticky bit of the flange stays on better. Even this has been fraught with problems though, I have been through 3 different types of these! Now using one made by a company called Salts and hopefully this one will do. I seem to be able to get days out of a bag, even managed 3 once but that was pushing it though.

On a more positive note, I am now getting out with the family again, that is a real big thing for me, having spent so long stuck at home while everyone else tried to live a normal life around me. One thing that is helping this is the fact I am now off the dreaded prednisilone, the steroid I have been on since last November. This has a couple of side effects, stomach ulcers, osteoporosis and the the thing that got to everyone was the mood swings and short temper. I always have had a short temper but on the prednisilone it has got an awful lot shorter, making the kids life hell. Not to mention some of my oldest friends and my wife! Still, that is in the past, assuming everything settles down again.

So I now need to get fit, lose some more weight, I have lost around 16 pounds so far, and get fishing again! I bought my eldest son a new fishing rod so he is looking forward to going fishing as soon as I get the OK from the surgeon, I see him on the 29th June.

Things are on the up then, the bags I have to use at the moment are not the best or most comfortable but they allow me some kind of life again. I have been suffering from dizziness but this is probably due to a mixture of lack of liquids, (I have to drink a lot more water than before the operation), and my haemoglobin being low. I saw the GP and she said to eat more red meat! I love instructions like that!!