About

When you first find out that you are getting an ostomy lots of words are thrown out.  Phrases like Ostomy care and ostomy supplies and so many other terms that you go nuts.  It really is a lot to learn and it is best to become a professional at it as fast as possible.  So yes, I feel like I am a dermatologist now because I deal with my stoma and keep my skin super healthy.

 But what I really think of when it comes to the phrase ostomy care is more like care for my own well being.  When people get an ostomy some really don’t change their life that much and get back on to doing things normally.  But there are some people that take it really hard and get really afraid of situations.  No its not just introverts. It hits extraverts really hard too, because they think it will cut their personal ties with people or make things weird. So some people clam up and go inside and stop being as social. Really its not even the social aspect some just stop going outside and doing fun things they used to do.

So to me staying healthy is not just a mental situation but a physical one as well.  So if you have a stoma just know that you can be basically just as active as you used to be.  It just takes time to build back up to where you were. You just had surgery and your abdominal muscles are not as strong.  This does make you more prone to a hernia than normal. So if you used to run 5k’s don’t jump directly back in. 

Start slow.  If you have ever had an injury before, like spraining an ankle or pulling a hamstring. You know that it takes time to get back into your old routine. Even getting really sick throws your whole game off.  For me it takes weeks to get my cardio back up to where it was before I got a winter cold or even the flu.  So what makes you think an ostomy is any different? Really that is how you want to think about it. So if you ran 5k’s now walk around your neighborhood first.  Make sure your new ostomy bag is working properly and then walk more the next week.  Then maybe jog to the end of the block and see how it goes.  If it goes really well don’t overdue it.  Start at a quarter of a mile.  Ya, it seems like you don’t need to take it that slow but just due yourself a favor and build back up slowly. No one likes an injury. So stay healthy mentally and physically and get back to being you!