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Stoma Tips

Travelling with an ostomy for the first time for any journey can be daunting, to say the least. It could be months since you've had your surgery or years, but it's safe to say that whenever it is, it's perfectly understandable to have many questions & worries.

When we discuss ostomies in this post, we will be referring to either an ileostomy, colostomy or urostomy. It is important to note that every individual who needs ostomy surgery is different, so every story and need for surgery is very personal to that individual. No two stories are the same.

It's been 2 years since my second stoma following age 2 1/2 when I had my first reversed as a baby. I went 30 years without one living with a J Pouch to find myself needing a second during the second lockdown. I count myself extremely lucky that I was given that surgery during the times we were living in.

Let's start this post by saying that drinking alcohol with an ostomy is not the same for everybody, as is the case with a lot of things in ostomy life. It is also different depending on which ostomy you have - ileostomy, colostomy or urostomy.

The person who is most aware of your ostomy's smell is you.  Also, it is normal to smell your ostomy output and gas when you are changing your ostomy bag. As you would if you went to the toilet the standard way to poo, it's natural for it to have a smell... After all, it is waste from your digestive system!

There is a lot of criteria based on each individual in question going into ostomy surgery, such as your condition/reason for needing surgery. Other factors will play a part in this such as likely quality of life outcomes of surgery, age, chances of complications in surgery and/or recovery, whether the body may just need a rest to heal such as with some Inflammatory Bowel Disease cases where an ostomy may be reversed and whether other health problems may not make a patient a good candidate for future surgery. Every case is different, just as each illness and/or need for surgery is very personal and unique to that patient.

Unless you have had an operation to form a urostomy (where a stoma is formed to divert urine out of the body via the abdomen), you will pee as normal with an ileostomy & the same goes with a colostomy.  Both surgeries to form an ileostomy or colostomy divert bowel waste from the body, not urine. It is also possible for people to have stomas for both urine (urostomy) and bowel waste (ileostomy or colostomy) at once. 

Stoma support wear is a range of garments, designed to support your abdomen post bowel surgery and provide both support & security to your stoma and stoma bag. Stoma support wear can be used as both hernia support and also as a preventative measure during physical activity. At Comfizz, we understand that stoma support wear isn't just limited to the above description. It can have many advantages and empowers many of our customers to have a higher quality of stoma life with added confidence and peace of mind.  

Through all the adaptions to life you will have to make during your recovery from ostomy surgery, learning how to get a good nights sleep is arguably one of the most important and difficult. Your body needs sleep to heal and mentally you need it to process the trauma of surgery. It may be difficult to start with if you are in some discomfort as things settle down. You have to learn to accept your body in its new state, this alone takes great courage and strength which in turn may be affecting your ability to shut off and get a good nights sleep. 

What we eat before and after can change dramatically however for some people that just isn’t the case and they are most definitely the lucky ones! Over the past six years of having my ileostomy my diet has had to change a few times due to either intolerances or learning that certain foods I could eat now give me blockages or are more prone to allowing my stoma bag to leak. There sadly isn’t a one diet fits all which I often think is a particular shame because it would certainly make my life a heck of a lot easier.  Some people have the added issues of being diabetic, celiac or have a lactose intolerance then there are those who are...