Most doctors will give you a lifting restriction of 10 pounds to avoid hernias around your ostomy. If you participate in a contact sport such as football, wresting, or karate let your Page 2 ostomy nurse or your doctor know. You may require a support binder with a cover for your stoma.
With a colostomy or ileostomy, you will not be able to control when stool and gas move into the pouch. Amounts of stool and gas that go into the pouch will vary based on the type of ostomy and your diet. Avoid foods that commonly cause gas. These include beans, cabbage, onions, and spicy foods.
An ostomy should not keep you from exercising and playing sports. In fact, people with ostomies are distance runners, weight lifters, skiers, swimmers, and take part in most sports.
Too much physical activity can increase the risk for hernias. Muscles around the stoma that support it are a bit weaker after surgery. Avoid lifting more than 8lbs., especially for the first six weeks after surgery. Ostomy support belts are highly recommended when lifting or using abdominal muscles.
The first 6 weeks post-surgery is a very important period in the healing process. It is therefore vital to give your body the time to heal before beginning a colostomy, urostomy or ileostomy exercise program. This means avoiding any heavy lifting (no heavier than a half-full kettle) within the first 6 weeks.
Whether or not you feel disabled or class yourself as disabled, in the eyes of the law living with a stoma does class you as having a disability. You are therefore covered under the disability provisions of the Equality Act 2010.
Once you have received the go ahead from your surgeon, at around 12 weeks following surgery, you can begin more intensive forms of exercise training if you so wish.
Wait until you've recovered from the operation to drive again, usually at least 6 weeks. After that, having an ileostomy will not affect your driving.
Your doctor will probably tell you to avoid lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds, at least for the first couple of months or so after surgery. That helps you avoid a hernia. If you feel good and your doctor approves, some of the activities you can go back to include: Swimming.
You can eat whatever you want if you have an ostomy
If you've been given the OK from your doctor to resume your regular diet, eat what you like.
Bending. It's near enough in possible to do gardening without having to bend down. This is fine, but you can bend down in a way that reduces the risk of injuring your stomach muscles and stoma area. For example, rather than bending over at your waist, try bending down slowly at your knees.
The BBC Radio 1 presenter had a stoma bag, which she refers to as Audrey, fitted last October after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. The operation diverts one end of the colon, which is part of the bowel, through an opening in the abdomen called a stoma.
Complications of ileostomy and colostomy may include stoma or skin complications, dehydration, problems absorbing nutrients, and intestinal obstruction.
A colostomy is an operation to create an opening (stoma) of the large bowel (colon) onto the surface of the tummy (abdomen). Your poo no longer passes out of your body through your back passage. Instead, it passes out through the stoma. You wear a bag that sticks onto the skin over the stoma to collect your poo.
Common early complications include leakage and skin irritations, high output resulting in fluid and electrolyte imbalances, or stoma necrosis; late complications include parastomal hernia, stoma prolapse, and stoma stenosis [7].
The colostomy does not have any nerve endings therefore you should not feel pain from the stoma itself. However you can get discomfort from things such as trapped wind or if the skin surrounding the colostomy becomes sore.
Air from the stoma causes the bag to expand and detach from the skin (ballooning) Ballooning occurs when air from the stoma inflates the bag and cannot escape through the filter. The resulting air pressure can cause the adhesive to detach from the skin.
It won't fall off in the water if you choose to keep it on and if you bathe with the stoma bag off, soap rinsing over the stoma isn't a problem. You can normally start bathing or showering two to three days after your operation, but your Stoma Care Nurse or ward staff will give you more specific advice.
Look for jeans made with 1 or 2 % spandex.
A little bit of stretch helps accommodate your pouch as it fills without restriction. Patterned bottoms (pants, skirts or dresses) can trick the eye and camouflage any potential visible pouch outlines.