Embedded Files
There is a certain stigma when it comes to what you can and cannot do with a stoma. It always blows my mind to think that one should limit themselves when they don't have to. But we all can limit ourselves depending on how we feel or what we believe. That fact is that it is our perception that many times actually create our own reality. I hate to see good athletic people give up on their dreams because they just got out of surgery and believe that their new stoma will stop them from doing what they normally within reason. What brought me to this was simply the fact that I was worried about my capabilities when I got out of surgery as well. I am a pretty active person and didn't want to lose my ability to be healthy, and look good, and be comfortable in my own body. What I found was that with lots of hard work I was able to really improve on my own abilities and even my overall body as well.
But I was not able to simply overnight go from surgery to working out super hard and getting ripped. Well, rather the opposite. I lost a lot of weight after my surgery and was rather timid about getting back into the gym. The fact was that I was afraid of my own ostomy gear and didn't want to embarrass myself on the gym floor and make a huge mess. So it took me more than a few months to look myself in the eye and finally take the plunge to head into the gym with an ostomy bag. I was hiding it all the way in the locker room and decided I would no longer shower or change. I would simply walk in and out and that would be it. I wanted to be a ghost. I simply didn't want to be there, but I worked as hard as I could to just get hte courage up to get in there.
Once I finally got into the gym I started very slow. I didn't want to overdo anything and hurt myself. I was a bit afraid of hernias and being more prone to them. So I started slow with easy cardio and worked my way up from there. I found that smaller ostomy bags and some cool bags with belt loops that fit elastic belts were what worked well with my stoma. I found a flange that fit perfectly and by the next month of taking it easy, I finally went to the weights. I started slowly yet again because I wanted my abs to be fully healed and grow slowly and it was a great journey.
I was so afraid at first that I didn't have the right gear and I would say that everyone should talk to professionals about it. I went to my pharmacist and learned a lot from him and he ended up saying that I should call the major manufacturers and that is what I did. I learned a ton from them and even got some new gear at no cost to myself to try out. With their help, I gained a lot of confidence and they even sent me a cool letter cheering me on. So work hard and look good!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse