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Ostomy Life

Having ostomy surgery can understandably be a daunting prospect and it's perfectly normal to feel scared & unsure.  Today, we would like to be myth-busters (move aside, Ghostbusters) and take you through some of the below myths to reassure you.

You are sore and perhaps bloated from surgery, not feeling quite like yourself. You may be relying on medication, and testing your food tolerances with your new accessory to see what you can and can’t tolerate. With all this in mind, what seemed as simple as going out to catch up with a friend over coffee can bring up many questions: What toilet facilities are there? Do I need a radar key if I need disabled toilet facilities? Will I need to empty my bag there? (You may not have done this in public yet) What happens if my bag leaks and needs changing? Can I have caffeine?

Now the weather is getting colder, it can be handy to be aware of ways in which the colder weather can affect ostomy life.  See it as your self-efficient hot water bottle, if you like! Providing it isn't a leak and output stays in the bag, see it as your little winter warmer!

It is easy to assume when an ostomy is concerned that it is a messy, dirty situation for those involved! Unless you are not getting on with your ostomy appliance, that simply shouldn’t be the case at all (apart from a leak of course). Keeping your ostomy clean is not only best for you practically whilst you carry on with your day to day life, but as important as your daily hygiene. Your ostomy should be kept clean just as the rest of your body. Put simply, your ostomy is your anus that’s had a visit from Phil and Kirsty and relocated up north!

As with most things in ostomy life, exercise is something that needs to be taken on board with the individual in mind. Everybody is different when it comes to how soon they feel comfy to exercise after ostomy surgery, what exercise they want to incorporate into their lives and for how long they want to exercise in their daily lives as they move forward with their recovery. Disclaimer: As always, this post is from our Social Media & Marketing Specialist, Amy's, experience of living with a permanent ileostomy, Crohn's Disease and from what she has researched. Nothing in our blog posts should be taken as medical advice. It's always best to consult a medical professional if you have queries or...

Accessibility is something that those with an invisible illness can find challenging. Whether it be accessing a building, funding, benefits or services online, for me it can feel exhausting that you have to prove it constantly. All too many times in the ostomy community, we see stories about ostomates who have been denied access to leisure facilities, or questioned for their use of disabled toilets. 

One of the most common questions as you start to adapt to life with a stoma is "what is the best way to sleep with a stoma?" Especially if you were a stomach sleeper before your surgery, even doing something so natural as sleeping can seem quite the challenge! Add hospital nights with beeping machines and being woken up what seemed like a zillion times to get your blood pressure checked and even getting back into some sort of sleeping routine can often take a good while. 

This month I was lucky enough to win a spa day competition! You know when you get tagged in a million competitions by certain friends, well I can tell you its totally worth it! Its something as an ostomate that can feel quite daunting going to a spa. You may have worries about what swimwear to use, what treatments you would feel comfortable having, and how much you need to disclose.

September's products of the month are the Comfishield set, shield and replacement pad, with 30% off for this month only. In order to understand this product properly, let's look into what the products do and how they can help you feel more confident, secure and protected in ostomy life.

It is a comforting feeling when your ostomy supplies delivery arrives on your doorstep. After your door shuts, how do you go about organising your ostomy supplies? Do you store them all in one place or have some in different rooms? Are you super organised and label where everything is or do you put them in a drawer and hope for the best? However your organisation style may be, we are going to give you 5 ways to store your ostomy supplies below.