Hi everyone! I finally have some good news to share on my open perineal wound from where my Barbie Butt is! (Which if you don’t know what this is; it’s where my boozum used to be!)
Ever since the rectal stump removal, I had been having recurrent infections in the open wound, making the healing process next to none. For a while now it’s been really sore and bleeding often however these last few times it’s been without any puss. I thought it was due to another infection brewing however after examination, the wound is no longer a firey red and seems to be coming closer together to a nice fine line! Obviously it’s extremely slow but to me the littlest of progress is a HUGE stepping stone for me, it actually kind of feels like an achievement as I have a constant battle war with my body.
I also wonder due to the amount of antibiotics I have been on this year for numerous infections such as tonsillitis (8 times so far, and with the condition is have that is Chronic Sinusitis I get constant sinus infections) that they have enabled to keep infection away which is handy!
I still have a number of sinuses in there (little channels or openings that grow due to pockets of fluid needing to escape the body or crohns disease) which still leak and that can be quite painful when that happens. These sinuses make the healing process 100 times slower than what it should be due to that leakage.
I know many IBD sufferers receive the operation to make their stoma’s permanent and find not only the operation it’s self terrifying but also the life long journey of no long having a rectum hard to come to terms with. Many of my followers and members of the IBD community know that having my rectal stump removal was due to having sepsis for the second time that year, due to severe Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Therefore it wasn’t really a choice as such. BUT.. and a big BUT… I wouldn’t change it!
The thought of having a reversal after what I went through with active disease in the stump is a straight up no chance! I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever go through that ever again. Many people suffer the pain of active disease in their rectal stump due to fear of the operation and never having the chance of a reversal. I can tell you that from my experience, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me, along side my ileostomy. I no longer have to run to the toilet or spend hours being forced to push out blood and mucous by my body and sit with a sick bowl spewing at the same time as the horrid fluids passed into the toilet.
Life with a Barbie Butt does have it’s down’s but certainly more up’s! You will spend most of your money on sanitary towels as you go through the healing process and multiple shopping trips throughout the years for new underwear but isn’t that a good excuse to buy new underwear?! (Usually I always end up in the pyjamas section afterwards..🤫)
My tips on recovery;
- Buy lots of sanitary pads.
- Have an ice pack available to wrap up and place on the wound.
- Have a hot water bottle at hand to help ease the pain (donot put onto the wound under clothing!)
- Make sure to take pain relief.
- Have dioralyte to keep hydrated.
- Rest plenty and don’t lift anything heavier than a kettle (recommended by the surgical team.)
- Don’t use ANY products of any sort on your open perineal wound unless it has been prescribed by your surgeon or stoma nurse.
- Have baths every few weeks or months with salt.
- Only rinse the wound with water in the shower once a day (a saline rinse with a cannula works just as good.)
- Do not, I repeat, DONOT use a piles donut cushion on your toilet or at all!
- If you are in full or part time job, take atleast 3 months to recover before going back.
I hope my tips can help you or someone you know. Please remember that the healing process really is different for everyone and many heal really quickly, others can take years to heal. Pace yourself and rest!
Any questions about the surgery or life with a Barbie Butt please leave a comment and I will get back to you!
alannahjaynesblog.com 
Hi … I’m facing this awful operation ( I’ve already got my ileostomy after large bowel removed) I wasn’t frightened with the thought of my previous ops as I had no life at all before .. had to stay near my toilet for 2years before anyone took it seriously … the urgency was so bad I couldn’t hold anything in so I had to be able to get to my loo quickly. I’m still incontinent but into my bag so have a little more control and a lot of other symptoms gone. I recently suffered a huge abscess right beside my rectum and sepsis . However, there is a separate problem with my rectum as I keep having a very painful urge to push and when I did – what came out was nothing to do with abscess as they checked me for a fistula , whilst under . Back on antibiotics again as the same happening and the leakage is definitely not nice . I have a structure also which makes passing anything so painful and almost impossible – it only relaxes when I’m put to sleep. I’ve been told that I’m now facing rectum removal – my surgeon has been contacted and I have an appointment in a couple weeks. I’m terrified as the healing for the abscess was bad enough ( still healing) . From someone who’s gone through it – what’s your outlook on it all …. by the way you sound so brave x
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Hey Leanne! I’m so sorry you haven’t had a easy time, chronic illness is super tough. I hope your surgeon gets back to you pronto as that really doesn’t sound good at all and you must be so fed up now! My outlook on barbie butt surgery is more positive than anything and to put it simply it’s due to the fact of not having to sit on the toilet all the time, pass lots of mucous and blood and my pain from the surgery was far easier than the pain I was enduring whilst still having my rectum in place! Has the recovery been easy? Not at all, but there are things I have learnt to do to ease my discomfort and infections and whilst I’ll be 6 years this year having had both my ileostomy and then my barbie butt done and it hasn’t healed, I would still have this unhealing wound than have my bum back, EVER! Believe me, I’ve had really bad mental health and break downs, I’ve cried myself to sleep or whilst on the toilet or in a hospital bed. After I was able to start having pink salt baths, I noticed it drew out A LOT of the yucky stuff. I currently keep getting fluid collections where my bum used to be which is the bodies normal response to having something removed so if it ever happens please know its part of this however not long term and they can cause infection if left so always be on the look out for changes in leakage etc always – months and years into recovery! Any other questions, please feel free to contact me on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/glitterygutsx/ x
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