About

The safety of your stoma is between you and your medical provider. That is first and foremost the most important connection for your health. But so many people have stated that people who have a stoma shouldn't be active and outside having a normal life. Now luckily with the beauty of technology, those bad roomers don't happen that often anymore but small towns exist and it is sad to see people who believe that they are in a way disabled even though they should be living a full life. I want to spread the word and let people know that unless your medical provider tells you different that you can have a very normal and active life as long as you are planning well and being safe.

There are a lot of things that come into play when you have a stoma. There is a lot to learn especially at the beginning. When you just get out of surgery the learning curve is really vast. There is a massive amount of things to learn about skincare, and ostomy gear. My first thoughts are that it is rather overwhelming. But it all comes together quickly and then you are able to start living your life normally again. For some this means they want to get back to being active.

I am all for being active, but remember that you are now more prone to getting hernias with your stoma. So be careful not to overdue it right off the start. Work your body slowly into building up muscle and healing first before pushing yourself too hard. I think it is wise to slowly move into the active lifestyle. This could mean simply doing 10% of what you used to do. What does this mean well it can mean mowing only part of the yard to start. Then go back the next day and do the next part. It could mean walking trails instead of jogging them for a few weeks or months. This is all a very personal thing and many people go faster or slower than others on recovering and growing.

If you weight lift I highly suggest getting details from your doctor on what you used to lift and what you should do not to start out. I think those limits should be implimented until your body is fully healed up and you work on specific muscle groups to be able to put that much stress on your body again. All of this is done with specialized ostomy gear too. I find that talking with your local pharmacist and gear supplier is a great way to learn what gear may work best for you.

I say may because we are all different and stoma location and body type may play a major roll in what works well for you. But these professionals have seen almost everything and have amazing advice on what could work.

I also suggest following people online who have similar experiences and have overcome them. I think failure is the greatest teacher and there are so many videos online that show real people making mistakes and teaching how to avoid them altogether. This is a great way to learn without failing and also learning to teach when you fail as well. That is how we all grow. I hope this gives you hope and the knowledge that its ok to be outside with your stoma.