Having Trouble With Your Stoma?

I know from personal experience that living with a stoma is never an easy thing. After my ostomy, it took me a long time to figure out what I was doing with my life. It is easy to feel like your entire life is being turned upside down with the new addition of your stoma. However, I happen to know from my own experience with a stoma that it does in fact get better. If you’re anything like me recently recovering from an ostomy, you may be worried about how you will accommodate back to your normal life and routine. Well lucky for you, I’m here to tell you that it definitely can get better! You can actually do most, if not all, of the things you would find yourself doing before your surgery.

More people have had ostomies than you would think. I think it’s definitely true that there are people walking around all over the place with hidden stomas that you would never think are there. In fact, one statistic that I just now made up is that 1 out of every 6 people you see in any given Walmart likely have had some sort of ostomy and do indeed have a stoma. People with stomas can do all sorts of things that you wouldn’t expect! There are professional athletes with stomas I am sure. In addition, it is totally possible to do things like exercise while you have a stoma, just make sure you are cleared for exercise from your doctors and other medical personnel that you have in your life. I don’t want you to be afraid of living your life with a stoma. In fact, there are support groups for people like you who have had ostomies and are trying to adjust back to a normal lifestyle.

I hate the stigma associated with stomas and I really wish that more people would realize that ostomies are really not that big of a deal. Sure, it is definitely not convenient to have a weird medical pouch full of your own waste attached to you at all times, but there are worse things that could happen to you for sure. My hope for you going forward is that you don’t feel defined by your ostomy and your stoma; rather, I hope you can see that life will continue to improve for you and you will get used to living with your stoma. It was a hard adjustment for me, but things will always get easier.

People also worry about how eating will affect their stoma and whatnot. The good news is that, in most cases, you can usually go back to eating your normal diet after a few weeks of recovering from your ostomy. Obviously you will want to introduce yourself slowly to newer foods to see how it will affect your digestive system with your new stoma. Everyone’s body is different, so it is important to figure out what works best for you. Certain foods may impact your digestive tract worse than others, and it’s essential to figure out what your body is trying to tell you in these situations. I hope this article will help you in your stoma journey, and I hope that life gets easier for you. Ostomies are a weird thing for sure, but I don’t want you to think your life is defined by your stoma.

Enjoy Your Life With a Stoma

I joined the ostomy community about 5 years ago now, due to some unfortunate circumstances that led to a necessity of surgery. While I was at first skeptical about how things would workout, I have noticed there are a ton of people getting stomas who are downright pathetic. It truly makes me sad to see so many people lying down and accepting defeat in their life after getting an ostomy. After all, you just got a whole in your body, it’s not the end of the world. I wanted to make a list of some of the things I love to do whenever I can. This list of my hobbies is proof that you can do anything you want to even after getting an ostomy. My stoma has never held me back and yours shouldn’t hold you back either. Hopefully you can take some of this to heart and realize that there is more to life than sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself about getting an ostomy.

One thing I love to do is exercise. I have always been super into working out, and I haven’t let my ostomy pouch take this part of my life away from me. The biggest thing I had to change was making sure my ostomy pouch was properly taken care of before actually starting my workout. This can easily be done with wraps and belts that are specifically designed for people like me in this exact situation. By properly wrapping up my ostomy pouch and ensuring it is fitting tight to my body, I don’t have to worry about it jostling around under my clothes or getting caught on something in the weight room. I do all the physical activity I used to and more! I will say, I’ve cut back a bit on my weight lifting, because I don’t want to risk getting a hernia or something like that.

I also love the outdoors. I really enjoy hiking around trails back home in west michigan, especially in the fall time. Surprisingly, I also really love hiking in the winter time. There is something really cool about being outdoors in the cold walking through thick pine tree forests and being able to witness the stillness of nature that does well to ease one’s soul. I was definitely not about to let having an ostomy pouch get in the way of hiking with my friends and family, so I still enjoy that to this day! Again, make sure to be prepared in these situations and have plenty of spare ostomy supplies with you in case of emergencies. You’d hate to get caught with your pants down somewhere out in the middle of the woods.

I also really enjoy eating out with my family. This is another thing that you can still enjoy after getting an ostomy. My favorite places to go out are really nice steakhouses; those are a real treat. I hope this article inspires you to get out and do things that maybe you have been afraid to do after getting your ostomy. There is really nothing that you will be stopped from doing with an ostomy, and I am living proof. I mean, it is the year 2021, where technology and medical supplies are so advanced that you will really be okay no matter what you do.