About

An Ostomy is an opening in the abdominal wall that is created surgically and it enables your waste or urine to exit your body. It takes a lot of effort and time to be at ease with an Ostomy.

Before leaving the hospital or following your surgery, there may be many questions howling in your mind. Can you get back to work following a colostomy? Can you ride on a bike after the ileostomy? Will everyone around notice your Ostomy bag and would know that you had an ostomy?

Don’t panic, you can continue the same activities but with some precautions, following the colostomy and other ostomy surgeries.

You are allowed to eat everything following an ostomy:

Want to enjoy your favorite food? If your doctor has allowed you to start your normal diet, you can eat what you want. But in the case of ileostomy or colostomy, some foods may act on your digestive system differently.

There are some foods that can cause gas before the surgery just like that there are chances that some specific foods may cause gas following the ostomy. In case of strong cravings, you can have these foods in a small quantity or you can have them when you are not in public or at the workplace. It’s nothing like that you can’t eat them ever in your life.

If you have no idea if a certain food will cause gas or not you can try it home, before trying it in public. By using this trick you will waste less time worrying about the gas issues and enjoy yourself more with your family and friends.

It is advised to chew food properly and drink a lot of water for the proper functioning of the bowel system.

Gas	Asparagus, beans, beer, broccoli, capsicum, onions, peas, cauliflower
Incomplete digestion	Apple peels, cabbage, nuts, coconut, seeds ,skin of veggies, pineapple, dried fruits, mushrooms.
Thickened feces	Applesauce, bananas, cheese, pasta, rice, peanut butter, potato
Thinned feces	Fried foods, grape juice, prune juice, spicy food items.
Increased odor	Alcohol, broccoli, dried beans, egg, fish, garlic onions
Reduced odor	Can berry juice, buttermilk, parsley, yoghurt.

 

 

In the case of a urostomy, you may be concerned about the odor of the urine. Food can increase the odor but it can be reduced by drinking a whole lot of water.

You will able to continue your sports following an ostomy:

You are allowed to enjoy your sport and other physical activities. But the activities should not have any chances for injuries and contact with the ostomy. If there are any chances for the injury you may develop the chances of opening or bleeding of your stoma.

Consult your doctor before you start lifting heavy loads. It's advised to wait until the proper healing and recovery of your stoma. Following the recovery, you may be given a device that will aid your abdomen while lifting the load.

In case if you are worried that activities like running and swimming will let your ostomy bag move and will cause damage to the stoma you can use ostomy belts or wrap to keep your pouching system in place.

 You are allowed to get back to work:

It would take some time in healing and recovering from your ostomy, but you would be able to join your work eventually. You can ask your boss for some time to relax.

In case you are a laborer, and have to do a lot of lifting, the doctor will give you many advices for the protection of the stoma.

Don’t panic or don’t get nervous. If you will continue your job it will divert your mind and will help you to restart a normal life ignoring the bad experiences in your life.

You can decide who you should tell about your ostomy:

It’s totally your choice to tell you about your ostomy. Obviously, you would tell the people in your family and close friends. These people may get disturbed after listening about your ostomy. Talking with your favorite person is a kind of therapy and it helps you to heal speedily.

Your colleagues may become curious about where you have been for a long time or why you have been in hospital. Be prepared for these kinds of questions. Think about a reasonable answer if you don’t want to share your ostomy with them.

In order to manage your ostomy supplies. Especially when you don’t have a personal drawer or locker you might need to tell any one person around in order to have some arrangements.

Some people prefer to keep it secret. It's up to you with whom you want to share this. But with the passage of time when you will be at ease with an ostomy, you will not hesitate to share about it.

You can hide your ostomy:

Every time you look in the mirror you will see your ostomy pouch and you will imagine how it will look in public and what If everyone can hear the sound of your bowel movement.

Don’t be afraid of this. Many people won’t notice it. With the passing years you will get easy with your ostomy and can manage it in such a way that nobody can know that you are wearing an ostomy bag.

Some tips for hiding the ostomy are:

• Get your bag drained when it is almost 1/3rd filled. This will avoid any kind of bulge or folds under your clothing.

• Consult with your ostomy nurse to choose the best pouching system

• Use ostomy deodorants in case of avoiding odor.

You can ask any of your trustworthy friends if they could feel the ostomy bag under your dress or if there is any noise. Despite these issues don’t lose confidence and let yourself down.

You can wear clothes without any limitations

Want to wear your lucky outfit? There is no problem with it. You can wear whatever you want. But some clothes may reveal the point of stoma due to any bulging or uneven skin so it is advised to wear tight clothes. But don’t worry there are some products in the market that conceal your bag completely not giving a hint about the ostomy appliances

You can go wherever you want:

You need to make a plan before a trip. But in case if you are traveling by air you should carry additional ostomy supplies with you in the bag that you will be carrying all the time.

Try to consult your doctor before your trip. Take a written note from him about your ostomy. You can show this to the security at the airport and they will respect your privacy.

You can engage in sexual activity:

You can engage in sexual activity following surgery. It may take some time to continue it due to the ostomy. Discuss things with your partner. Clean your pouch. Seal the pouch properly. You can use ostomy belts or cummerbunds in order to hold your pouch in place.

The most worrying part for people is to share their ostomy with the person whom they are dating. Some people immediately tell everything to their mates. Do what you feel is right for your relationship.

Talk with other people with ostomy:

Try to collaborate with people who have undergone ostomies. They can help you by sharing their experiences with different products and tricks. You can also get help to cope with your emotions. Also, there are many support groups that you may join. You can find many people like you in these groups and you will feel comfortable sharing your problems.