Sorry for the delay in my update. The first few weeks were hell for me. I got to a really dark place emotionally because I felt "abandoned" by the medical side because of the virus.
When I was in the hospital I was shown how to empty the bag but never really shown how to measure the stoma. I was out of it at the time and only remembered part of what was said.
The appliances they sent me home with were fine in the hospital but often leaked when I got home, which added to my despair. I had an ostomy nurse come for the first time it had to changed but my insurance changed and the new insurance didn't cover ostomy nurses so I had to get another company who only had a regular nurse who didn't know really anything about it. She even told me once that I knew more than she did. Great. Another thing to worry about.
I asked for another nurse and they sent one that has experience and knows more than the others but still not enough. She contacted the ostomy outpatient nurse from the surgeon's office and we sent up a video call so I can learn how to measure and take care of the skin breakdown that had developed and they also sent new appliances, which I used for the first time last Friday. That one never leaked and lasted until the next change date. I just replaced it on Tuesday and so far so good. THAT helped me tremendously with my angst.
After the new bag not leaking and the second one still looking good, I've turned a corner and I am very much relieved. The only problems I have now are my coccyx hurts but seems to be getting better and I am not sleeping all that much at night. Sometimes I sleep an hour and I'm up for several hours, fall back to sleep only to wake again. I seem to average 4 hours a night sometimes in a row, sometimes broken up. Taking melatonin to help and I try to sleeping during the day.....hopefully soon that too will end and I can get more rest.
Oh, by the way.....during my first week home....found out my next-door neighbor (duplex house) was diagnosed with Covid 19, adding to my anxiety that most prevalent, to begin with.....Thank God we didn't have any contact with her for several weeks before then.
How much sugar-free Gatorade can I drink without causing any problems with my blood numbers? In the hospital I was drinking so much water because I couldn't form my own saliva for 3 days, sent my sodium level way down....