How long will it take me to get adjusted to the colostomy bag and using it?
Will I have the colostomy bag on when I return from the operating room? Usually, patients who have had ileostomies will return from surgery with a temporary ostomy bag in place. A patient who has had a colostomy will not have fecal drainage until he begins to eat again a few days or a week after the operation. He will return from surgery with dressings but with no ostomy bag. When fecal matter begins to be expelled, a temporary colostomy bag will be applied. Because this is a temporary appliance, it may not work as well as the permanent one. Furthermore, the process is more complicated because you have so recently had the operation. Don't be dismayed by the whole procedure. It will become a simple, routine matter for you when you return home. Thousands of people from every walk of life have had colostomies and are able to attend to their businesses and their homes, marry, have babies, play golf or tennis, swim, dance, go to the movies in other words, live perfectly normal live...