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Stoma Tips

This for me is most important. Connecting with other ostomates is what got me through the first few months of ostomy life. I already had a son who’s ostomy I had been managing for 5 years. Despite this, I found having one myself completely different. When I woke from surgery I was almost repulsed by my stoma. That may sound extreme and believe me when I say I am not averse to stomas, they save lives and I asked for stoma surgery. Yet my initial reaction was to be horrified.

Many ostomates, including Amy here at Comfizz, worry about eating fruit or vegetables, mainly down to its fibre contents. The same can be said for foods such as lentils, beans, tough skins. The idea of having a vegan diet often feels like swearing to ostomates, but there are ostomates out there who are vegan. A vegan diet isn't impossible with an ostomy, but it may take more time and energy to get it right and involve trial and error.

The good news is that there isn't really any gym exercise that you need to avoid in the long term and it is important to note that although you don't need to avoid things, some exercises are to be built up to, such as anything very core-orientated.

Welcome to our Day 7 of our "10 days of self-care" & thank you for putting you first & joining us. Today, we are going to be exploring nutrition and finding out the importance of nutrition with an ostomy, as well as sharing some links to existing blog posts we have on food & drink.

With 2022 coming increasingly to a close (where has that year gone?!), we wanted to take the time to thank you as one of our readers for your continued support for another year! We have blogged (with the help of Rachel) and vlogged (with the help of Ant) about many things such as all about stoma supportwear, friendship, ostomy fashion, food & drink, ostomy education, dating & relationships, travel, exercise & more over on our blog

Christmas time can feel overwhelming for a lot of people at the best of times, then there's adding an ostomy into the mix! It's fair to say that you are not alone if you are worried about navigating Christmas, but thankfully, there are some top tips in this post from fellow ostomates...

Whether you're new to ostomy life or whether you've had an ostomy for a few years, several years or more, it's normal to come across things that you may find a little more difficult to navigate. It's also normal to also find some things challenge. Not everyone experiences the same challenges but at the same time, no ostomy is the same from person to person. Everyone experiences ostomy life differently.

A stoma is considered to be prolapsed when the bowel protrudes to a larger extent than anticipated. This can vary for the individual, anything from a few centimetres to more than ten. Experiencing a stoma prolapse can be distressing and hard to come to terms with, however, it is usually not said to be serious. An ostomy prolapse must be looked at by a medical professional such as a stoma nurse. A larger bag or larger ostomy bag hole may be needed, for example, to account for the prolapse.

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?