Changes to abdominal shape after J Pouch?

I definately have a change. My belly always used to be flat. Now it bulges out on the left side I'm totally lopsided. I joke with my husband that it looks like an alien is trying to escape. And yes, I too have an extra 7 pounds that i have put on that im trying to lose. I had my surgeries in 2010 too. Oh well, I will take the lopsided belly and the extra pounds any day not to be sick anymore!

Yes... my belly is lopsided and not very pretty to look at after two c-sections and a colectomy. Many days I have the jpouch bloat which is like a very bad case of PMS bloating. My appetite seems to be basically the same and I have actually lost about ten pounds as I was on prednisone for over 6 months prior to the operation and lost about 15 or more after both surgeries.

I do not eat the way I did before surgery. I no longer relish large meals and do a lot more grazing and picking throughout the day versus sitting down for three meals a day. I don't so much have an indent in my belly as I do the little jpouch kangaroo belly my navel down. I will never have that nice svelte waist I had prior to my surgery.

Yes, there is a definite change. Not only do I have the long vertical keloid scar, but the right side of my belly, where the ostomy was, dents in a little and is lopsided. I am probably the only one who actually sees this because I can look at my stomach from the top down, but it is definitely different.

I had open surgeries back in 2002. My belly is all sorts of lopsided and lumpy, with a large valley above the navel. It is lovely

Yeah, I notice it most from the top-down view too. I almost look like I'm pregnant with a baby that hasn't fallen yet. Well, perhaps not that extreme but from my navel downward, my abdomin goes inward. I guess it makes sense since I don't have the colon to fill that space anymore. I do have some puffyness at the site of my osteomyelitis scar as do many of you. Where I've really put on weight though is on my love handles. Maybe that's just a sign of age but I don't remember having them before. Definitely need to watch my diet more.

Actually yes, now that you mention it, my belly does "hollow in" at the sides below the navel, I guess the area where the colon was. My surgeon said it would all fill in with tissue and I'm sure it has in the sense that we're not all walking around with large caverns in our guts, but it was a large organ after all and bound to cause some structural change.

Yes, lopsided belly.

kathy

Glad I'm not alone!

okay i am sure now i am not crazy..i too have a lopsides belly under the belly botton one side kind of sags more than the other..its the side i had my drain in..i watch my eatting and when i have some blot it is more lopsides and saggy but even if i watch and keep belly fat way down it is always there.. it feels like fat if i press it but one side less than other..i hate it!i have tried cool sulpture to tune of 4ooo dollars to reduce it if fat cells but not any different..i had a one step operation and my cut is like a bikini cut so it bulges out more i think because of the cut horizontially across under sag,bulge

what the hell is it anyway that happened anyone know?we all have it so something to do with operation..

because i have pouch issues i am not a candidate for plastic surgery which i think is only way to rid of it..dr. shen says no way do anything invasive there with my pouch issues.but i wish i could..its not like i wear bikinis but i just hate it lumpy like that..its small in cloths no one i think would notice but i do and thats what counts

i asked my surgeon if my flat tummy would be effected after and he said no..but it was there from day one..more swollen but there..

what is it in there?

rebe

I would love to know too, Rebe. And my surgery was done laparoscopically so you would think there wouldn't be much change.

thankfully I had my surgery done laprascopically however I have the indention where my stoma was, looks like I have two belly buttons.

My belly sticks out more on the side my stoma was. I am self conscious of it. My stomach also is larger above my horizontal 6" scar. I feel like I look like I have the beer belly look. I have to wear a belt with jeans now (as long as they hang below the scar). I also tend to suck in my stomach alot in public. Just what I need when I already suffer from chronic pain.

just thinking perhaps it is accumulated fluid that makes the lumpy,uneven look..it sounds logical because i was aware of it when i came home from hospital and showed it to my husband..i was pretty thin at that time too i saw the unevenness moreso on side my drain was on and draining ..like what is it draining?i think fluid ..so maybe thats why it happened..it may not happen to everyone but it cold be outcome of the surgery to us..what do you guys think about my theory?when my stomach is more blotted it appears worse and is the blotted effect with the misplaced fluids maybe?

rebe

no change here, i had laprascopic surgery as well.

I thought I had a hernia, as well. During recent abdominal surgery I had arranged for the surgeon to do hernia repair while he was in there. After the surgery he performed, he told me it wasn't a hernia! Can't remember exactly what he said it is but since I've now gained some weight and "it" is bigger than it was pre-recent surgery, I bet it is a fat deposit! Oh, well!

So glad i just read all these posts! I tend to get a little down whenever I look at my stomach, especially when I look down at it! My husband is always there to cheer me up, so I will tell you all what he tells me...I love your scars, it means you're healthier than you were and alive and here with me

My belly is lopsided, lumpy and bumpy too which is why I'm happy with the swimsuits that are in style this year. I got a suit with a front panel that squishes everything in and has lots of small folds that camouflage the rest. I haven't looked so good in years and I'm 52.
Theresa

gleam what do you mean no change here?..are you saying its the same? if so lucky you ..but whatever it happened to a bunch of us..as with everything all things do not happen to everyone..kind of like scar tissue worse for some than others..point is i would like to know what i am dealing with here..someone should be able to tell us what went wrong...and if correcting it with plastic surgery is too risky for those of us who do have issues already like pouchitis..i wasted money doing cool sculture thinking it was fat pockets..well that was a waste..but it was unevasive..at least i would like to understand what i am dealing with and put it to rest ..have not gotten any real andswers from drs around here except don`t waste money on things like what i did..

rebe

My belly, used to be flat, now it is lopsided, my belly button has move to the right two inches, and I have a crease/valley where the incision was made, but I am alive
Regards
bob

In 2010 I had to have surgery for "Abdominal Wall Replacement" (due to my abdom. wall caving in from so many hernia surgeries following my 3 step). When this was done, I was lucky enough to get approved by my Insurance Company to have a Plastic Surgeon assist and I got a "tummy tuck" too. No more lumps - felt very weird at first.

My belly is, infortunately, pretty lopsided as well. I had alot of adhesions at the stoma site, so it looked like I had a second belly button. And I had a pooch on the left of by belly button, but not the right. I still wear bikinis, and was pretty bummed about it, so I had plastic surgery just to remove the adhesions and fix the stomas scar a little bit. I did not have a tummy tuck. The scar is alot better, but still not normal, and the pooch is still there on the left but tnot he right. I'm thinking I should've just had the tummy tuck, adn I may in the future. I had no problems at all with the surgery.

No change, I've noticed. I've lost a lot of weight but that's it.

Yup, in spite of the 3 esthetic procedures that were done (botched?) I still look somewhat silly with a huge fat roll on the right and a sleek and flat tummy on the left plus the fatty side looks quilted by all of the scars...not pretty at all and rather depressing after the attempts to fix. Will perservere and try to have the last 2 huge scars reduced.
Sharon

Same for me too. My stoma was on my right side so that is the area that is more extended in my belly. Since I had a major staff infection in 1994, 6 months after take down, that area will never be flat. I have one large T-Scar that starts about 6 inches above my belly button and down just below the belly button and then is cross over the belly button as well.

I am also not comfortable having this area exposed out in public so no more Ocean vacations, or going into a pool.

The other problem is how my weight fluctuates. I used to be a size 34 waist as I weigh about 165 lbs. A size 34 does not fit anymore and a size 36 is too big. So consequently I try and look for a size 35 which is very hard to find or and expanded elastic pair of pants. Any tight fitting clothes makes it very uncomfortable.

Rocket