Gosh , Joy , this is tricky!
I have zero advice , so I’m just going to give you a virtual(( HUG)) ❤️

Chiming in to say how much I appreciate this conversation.

Joy - I have no suggestions, but am sending every good wish for you to find a solution. (Sounds like there could be a business opportunity here!)

And for everyone offering suggestions, thank you. What a great example of the community rallying to support and contribute to find solutions!

Some suspenders as fashion ideas:

https://www.jjsuspenders.com/b.....tyle-guide

Makes me think of this: http://joy.lookfab.com/post/fa.....ge-first-3

Kari, thank you for all the inspiration.
Gretchen and Taylor, Suz and Kari, you are lovely. Thank you, everyone for the good wishes and ideas. You have given me hope.

Sorry to hear that you are having difficulties Joy.Notthe same problem at all but my mother in law has her dialysis port coming out of her abdomen in the same place.She found that cocoon shaped dresses made of sweater material worked well for her but she was lucky enough to be able to get them made up.Whatever you decide to do I hope that you find a solution that works for you.

If you are considering big-in-the-waist jeans with a chunky sweater over a tank or tee and be warm, would repurposing pregnancy jeans possibly work -- with low-cut denim and stretchy fabric that could go over your device?

Joining everyone in wishing you good health and hoping you find some good solutions to this little dilemma!

Joy, FWIW, my fashion-forward New York City art school adult son assures me that elastic waists are chic right now. I understand your feelings about them, however, since I have experienced the same reaction myself ("too easily mis-read after a certain age").

That said, what about a loose flowy tunic over forgiving soft pants, then topped with a more fitted jacket? That might give a little more structure without actually getting near your device.

Based on recent forum suggestions, I have found such tunics on Artful Home. Also check out a place called Blue Fish Clothing -- they love volume.

This sweater coat is on huge sale at Talbot's right now:

https://www.talbots.com/sale/n.....38;start=1

So sorry, this does sound like an issue! I was thinking like notsaf just mentioned, using maternity pants somehow.

I have zero useful advice but I wanted to sympathize as that sounds frustrating and difficult. I hope you find good solutions soon!

Hugs to you Joy! I’m sorry you’re going through this hassle but glad you’re surrounded with helpful YLFers with loads of great suggestions.

Laura, I am so grateful for YLF and all the helpful ideas.
Elizabeth, I do wear dresses some depending on time of day and where I am. If I know I cam excuse myself and find privacy in a restroom stall to lift my dress and access my stomach, I am ok. If we are going to the zoo, I will wear separates to have more subtle access at the waist.
Notsaf and Robin F, I will try pregnancy jeans. Thank you for putting me on to them. Most shirt waist dresses make my legs look like sticks and I am not big enough to fill out the top. The right one could be a workhorse.
April, your son is encouraging and you have good ideas. I have not been in a Talbots in years. It used to be that even small sized tops were cut for women with bigger busts and they had deep armholes. Maybe things have changed. I will look at Artful Home and Bluefish Clothing too.
Cardiff Girl, those dresses sound ideal. I have one sweater dress like that. It does work well except for needing something on my legs. I am thinking maybe sizing way up in stockings and tights or looking for those stockings that have elastic at the thigh to hold them up. I may need to learn to sew.
Janet, you are sweet and kind. Thank you.

Wishing you the best with this challenge. Is your monitoring device attached to your body or does it hang loose? The wire is attached of course.
Because if the monitor is loose could it be placed in a pocket type sling to go over a soft elastic belt not attached to the rest of the clothing? That may make it easier during bathroom breaks while safely holding the monitor.
I hope something of what fabbers suggested works or that you find something that is good for you.

Sweet and wonderful Ruth who chooses joy each day and inspires me to do the same - this situation will be no different. You are beautiful and stylish no matter what. I have every confidence that you will come out on top, and be the same well put together person you always are.

Such great, great advice and ideas already. Maternity bottoms are an especially excellent idea, and I would start there. Know that if anyone can make an elasticated waist look fabulous - it's YOU.

We are here to support and brainstorm with you till the cows come home. Lots of hugs and much love. xo

Joyce, the device is attached to my body and the wire is inside me and is pulled out when I have to change for a new one every 10 days or if it comes off.
Dearest Angie, you give me hope that I can adapt and still be stylish. I will start with the maternity bottoms. Tube skirts seem doable but I may need to size up..

One more recommendation for very soft and stretchy leggings to keep you warm under dresses/tunics. They look small in the stock photo but are genuinely one-size-fits-all, so very accommodating around the waist, which is high. I wear these to sleep every night and they have held up beautifully for more than a year. Read the rave reviews.

Notsaf, those look like a good item for wearing u dear dresses.
Inge, thank you for helping me come up with ideas. I need to Google suspenders for women as I do not remember ever seeing them offered. They would solve the problem of pressure on the device. I hope your sister gets pain relief from hers.
Most sweater dresses are too short but may work with the right leggings. I really like the asymmetrical hems as not looking blocky or stumpy.

Joy, other forum members are much more creative than me with clothing suggestions. I am so sorry that you have this wardrobe challenge. When pregnant I kept warm by wearing a swing coat and tops that had ruching over the mid section.

I hope the adhesive tape is fine for your skin as I have to tape my knees when doing vigorous exercise. Fixomull tape helps create a good barrier between the adhesive tape and my skin.

Bijou, that is good to know. My skin is sensitive to lots of things. It would not surprise me that adhesives are one of them. I am too new to this process to know yet.

You've gotten some great suggestions. One other thought would be to look for foldover waist yoga pants or jazz pants. I'd check out Victoria's Secret, Bare Necessities, Discount Dance, Capezio. You could wear them with a flowy top (zara has a zillion right now). Or a shirt dress worn with cotton leggings (and just fold over the waist).

https://www.barenecessities.co.....gL6ZPD_BwE

https://www.zara.com/us/en/shi.....038;v2=142

https://www.victoriassecret.co.....lsrc=aw.ds

So. I am thinking...there are elastic waists...and elastic waists. They aren't all created equal.

The difference between an elastic inside a casing (which can look and feel yuck on those of us past a certain age, depending on styling factors and how well it is made -- I get it!!) and what I wore today.

What I wore today had a waist like a pair of yoga pants. You can't see it here in the Find because the top goes over it, but maybe it's more visible in the photo. It's a panel. There is less feeling of pinching/ constriction at the waist, and it also looks more finished and, well, less like an elastic waist! You could also wear it over a device and it would all lay more or less flat (I think). You might need to size up, but the whole thing would still stay on you (I think) because this particular skirt is a technical kind of fabric.

This is a skirt from a Canadian company called Comrags. Alas, they are sold out in your size, but maybe other companies make something similar. What's nice is that it could give you a bit of variation in style from the typical tube skirt.

Joy, I wanted to chime in regarding maternity clothes, which would prob be a good place to start since they are easy to access. Motherhood maternity is the brand I bought the most of (all in person- at a maternity store and at a Macy’s near me with a maternity section). Maternity pants are essentially elastic pants, but the way the elastic is done is a bit more creative. I ended up liking the side panel styles bc they fit me the best (didn’t have problems with waist falling). The other two options are “over the belly” and “under the belly”, and the only difference is the amount of elastic-type fabric. Target also had side panel jeans in their maternity section that I really liked too.

You could also search amazon for a maternity belly band to see if that would help and suit your needs (maybe it would help hold your device in place?)

Would you be comfortable in overalls? There are super cute and inexpensive ones from Old Navy, Gap etc if you want to try them without investing...the waist is non binding at all and they are very "in" at the moment.

Also I hate anything binding at the waist and look for leggings with no elastic at the top, just a wide band like Suz describes. Very comfortable.
Good luck!

Joy-I don’t know how far you live from Nordstrom’s or if you would be comfortable doing this but if you made an appointment with one of their in house stylist maybe they could pint you in the right direction. The ideas might be valuable.

I do know this you will be stylish no matter what.

Joy, such a challenge! my first thought was also suspenders, which several have mentioned. But they will be a bit tricky to wear under tops for using the bathroom. Maybe something like this which only has two side clips would work?
https://www.duluthtrading.com/.....N&chn

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas. I knew YLF would help me with this.
It looks like I need to get over my preference for women’s over knits.
I Googled “women’s suspenders”. And there is even a suspender store and some from Gucci for $4000 and from Books Brothers, a sequined version and all sorts of colors and types of fasteners.
Suz that skirt looks great. I have a similar one but it is too tight. Sizing up might do it if it does not move around or roll up at the waist.
Zoey Girl, thank you for the heads up on types of maternity jeans. I plan to try a consignment store for maternity and children’s things first. It helps to know what I am looking for. Maybe Target or Motherhood Maternity would be better to start so I could return if something does not work.
Neelie, overalls are a great possibility as they would be easier access than a jumpsuit and could be worn with a sweater underneath for warmth. I could wear pearls to dress them up.
Debbie, I will try the Nordstrom store at the nearest mall for a stylist. That may be a good source of ideas and how to fit yoga pants and such. I have never bought or owned any. Even leggings are an unknown.

Thank you, Karen13. That looks like a good solution.

Joy, I'm really impressed with this particular skirt. I wore it for the first time yesterday and was wowed by it. A bit more: the waist on this one actually comes up to my natural waist. It might be possible to tug it down and wear it a bit lower if that were preferred. I felt ZERO pressure around the tummy yesterday from this -- the fabric is a kind of Japanese technical fabric, I think -- but because of the gored style, it didn't shift around at all. ( I know exactly what you mean when you mention that and it is the WORST!!) I wish I could show you how the seams work but I can't even find an online image any more. I'm going to keep looking. I keep thinking there must be other makers who create something like this and I feel sure it could work for you. Bonus -- the fabric travels well. And yes, it is a knit, so less structured, but honestly, I felt quite polished (in a casual way) yesterday when I wore it.

Suz, you do look polished in the skirt and I like the drape of the fabric. I would love to try one. I have to keep moving my meter to different spots. So far I have attached it above the navel to keep it away from injection scar tissue, but that may change eventually. My worst experience was having a waist push up and actually roll the adhesive up off my skin and against the meter. Then the whole thing fell off. Since they are one time use, I had to get another to replace it.
Do you think gear places would carry a skirt like this? I know I am going to have to embrace knits because they are stretchy and more likely to fit.