What Type Of Ostomy Pouch Is Right For You

Recently, as I have been spending countless hours scouring the internet through various articles and blog posts about ostomy, I have been seeing a lot of questions about what the difference is between various types of ostomy pouches. I am well aware that there are a lot of people out there who have no idea what the difference is between some ostomy pouches, or that there are different types at all. If you don’t wear an ostomy yourself, then I do not blame you for not really knowing much about ostomy pouches. I did not actually know much about ostomies myself either until I started writing these articles online. Either way, I wanted to take some time today to talk about the difference between different types of ostomy pouches and talk about which one may be right for you. Now, when you are reading this, I want you to keep in mind that everybody’s body is different in it’s own way; this means that not everyone will like the same ostomy pouch, and some types of pouches may work for one person while they do not work for others. The good news is that there are lots of different options out there, meaning that you can definitely find one that works for you. So let’s spend some time today and talk about ostomy pouches, shall we?

The first thing to know about ostomy pouches is that they are basically two different types of pouches, followed by other customization options that are more specific to a given situation. The biggest thing to keep in mind about ostomy pouches is the difference between a one-piece ostomy pouch and a two-piece ostomy pouch. A one-piece pouch, as the name suggest, is an ostomy pouch that is all together in one piece. What this means is that the skin barrier does not attach from the actual ostomy bag. So these types of pouches have their own pros and cons, and I am going to go ahead and talk about those now.

The main pros that are associated with the one-piece ostomy pouch is that they are much slimmer and more low-profile compared to other types of pouches. This means that if you are insecure about wearing an ostomy pouch and do not want it to be noticed underneath your clothes, you will have an easier time hiding that lumpy bag with a one-piece pouch. These pouches are also useful for when you are engaging in any sort of physical activities and other things like that, because as I said earlier, they are much more low profile. The cons of this pouch is that you have to remove the entire skin barrier in order to change the ostomy pouch, which can be a bit of a hassle at times. It is also worth mentioning that frequent removals of the skin barrier can cause some irritation or inflammation on the skin area around your stoma, so keep that in mind.

Two-piece ostomy pouches are nice because you do not actually need to remove the skin barrier in order to change the pouch. Instead, since it is a two piece system, you can just remove the bag to change and leave the skin barrier on. This is much more convenient if you are lounging around at home or going about your normal day, since you don’t have to worry about removing the skin barrier and risking any irritation or something like that.

Where Are You Guys Getting Your Stoma Supplies?

So I had an ostomy about 8 months ago. Now this is a weird amount of time, because it is long enough for me to kind of know what I’m doing in this strange new stoma world, but also short enough that I am still a novice at this. I remember back to several months ago when I was coming off of recovering from surgery, I had a really hard time finding ostomy supplies around town. Now I am from a small, rural, farming community type of town where not much really happens. In fact, my town is so boring that it was voted one of the top 10 most boring towns by the Youtube channel WatchMojo. Anyways, I could not find proper ostomy supplies in my town and I was becoming increasingly frustrated. There is only one pharmacy in my town, and they would always give me weird looks whenever I asked about ostomy supplies. Like, I have a stoma, I’m not an alien! I was at a loss on what to do, because the doctors were very specific about which ostomy supplies I needed to be buying for my stoma and I wanted to make sure I was doing what the doctors told me to avoid any complications with my stoma.

After a while of not finding stuff in any brick and mortar stores, I turned to the wonderful world of the internet. I have a love-hate relationship with the internet in some ways, because I can usually find what I want on there but it takes me a while to be able to properly research things and convince myself to order them. Something about looking at product pictures online just does not do it for me. I searched the internet far and wide for ostomy supplies with great reviews that would not come at a price that was too outrageous. I’m willing to spend a decent amount of money on ostomy supplies, but I’m also not what you would call a super wealthy guy, so I have to pick my battles. The great thing about shopping for ostomy supplies online is that the options are almost endless. You can truly find just about any product or brand that you might need and it can be shipped anywhere in the world right to your door. 

With the occurrence of the global pandemic, online shopping became pretty much the only form of shopping I was doing. This was a great opportunity for me to really poke around the internet and see if there were some better options for ostomy supplies than what I was currently using. There are lots of reviews from people who have ostomies and they go in great detail about how a product was really helpful for their stoma or not. This makes it much easier to feel good about purchasing ostomy supplies when I know that other people like me have used and enjoyed that product.

If you are having trouble finding ostomy supplies in your local pharmacies or super markets, I highly suggest you turn to the world of online shopping. You’ll be surprised how much of a game changer this is. It is imperative that you be using the best ostomy supplies available (within reason) to take the best care of your stoma possible.

Working Out With a Stoma

Many people take on the mindset that once you have an ostomy, your life becomes very limited in the sense that you are not able to do a lot of the things that you used to. Well , I am here to set the record straight as best as I can. One might say that I am greatly experienced and knowledgeable in the world of ostomy, and that would be because I actually have one myself. That’s right - get all the laughing out of your system now. I have been living with a stoma for the past 2 years, and I can honestly say that I have learned a lot about myself from living with this sort of procedure. One thing for sure, I have definitely seen more parts of myself than I would like to! (That was just a joke about having a stoma, if you didn’t get it).

Anyways, I would like people to know that it is totally possible to live a somewhat normal life after you have a stoma put in. One thing that I have always enjoyed is working out. Believe it or not, you can still workout even after you have had a stoma! I must admit that  I was a bit worried about whether or not I would be able to workout after having my procedure done, but the doctors reassured me that I totally could. In fact, it is actually recommended that people who undergo an ostomy are getting regular exercise on a daily basis if at all possible. 

There are several different types of working out that I used to enjoy most often back before I had an ostomy. My favorite form of exercise was lifting weights, since I am a smaller guy and could use some muscle put onto my bones. In addition to lifting weights, which was what I primarily focused on, I also liked to do different types of cardio when I felt up to it. As most people who work out are familiar with, cardio is a lot harder to convince yourself to do than lifting weights. Most of the time, cardio workouts are simply not a good time and are not super enjoyable. However, there is no denying that it is important to keep up good cardio, so I would usually run or swim when I was looking to do a cardio workout. After I had an ostomy, and once I had recovered from surgery enough, I started to look into getting back into the gym when at all possible. One of the things I was worried about was lifting weights again. After all, it is true that people with stomas are more likely to experience a hernia while lifting heavy weights, and this is something that I wanted to avoid if at all possible. 

The method of weight lifting I do now mostly revolves around higher reps and lower weights. If you are unfamiliar with weight lifting, this basically means that instead of doing 10 reps of 150 pounds on the bench press, I might do 20 reps of 100 pounds. This still builds muscle, but is better for avoiding any sort of serious injury. In addition to being more careful about lifting, you also have to be careful to properly wrap your ostomy pouch when you go to work out.

Working Out With a Stoma

I have always been a huge fan of working out. Here’s the thing that people don’t tell you about exercising: Not only is it good for your physical health, but it is also super good for your mental health and can actually help you to feel happier and healthier all around. Why isn’t this simple fact advertised more by health experts and officials? I don’t know. Anyways, I am super reliant on sticking to my routine in order to keep my mental health in check, and working out has always been a huge part of my routine. I suppose that working out looks different to a lot of different people, and there are huge discernible differences between what is considered a good workout. Of course, this is all depending on who you ask.

If you were to ask me personally, anything that is regularly getting your heart rate up and involves physical activity is a workout. I am a huge fan of lifting weights and running, and I feel like doing those two things yields the best workout at the end of the day. That’s another thing, I really enjoy working out at the end of the day rather than at the beginning, because I have a hard time waking up in the morning to workout before work. Some people swear by waking up at 6am to go workout at the gym, but that’s just not my style. I much prefer to end the day by working out at 7pm or late, because the gym is not usually busy around that time as well.

Ever since I had an ostomy and came out of surgery with a stoma, working out has changed for me a bit. The thing that a lot of people assume about stomas is that you are pretty much bed-ridden after you’ve had one. Well, I am living proof that that is simply not the case. In fact, I would venture to say that a stoma has only mildly changed my workout habits, but not in any significant way that will impact my overall health. Obviously, my physical health is not the greatest (otherwise why would I have a stoma?), but I like to think that staying active in the gym will help me out in the long run. The biggest thing to keep in mind when working out with a stoma is that you need to be careful. The last thing you want to do is cause a hernia, which can happen more often if you already have a stoma. So I still lift weights, but I do it a bit more carefully and never try to max out on squatting or dead-lifting, as that just seems like a recipe for stoma disaster. 

Running is also not off the table at all, even if you have a stoma put in. Running is a great form of exercise because it is so natural and just about anyone can do it. You don’t have to have any fancy equipment or clothing (though running shoes do help a lot), and you don’t need an expensive gym membership. Rather, you can just hop on any road or trail and just go for it. Running with an ostomy pouch is not bad at all, especially if you wear tight compression shorts or wraps that will keep the ostomy pouch from bouncing around while you run.

Ostomy Products That Everyone Needs

Whether you are a new or novice ostomate looking for beginner tips and tricks, a veteran ostomy patient looking for someone to prove wrong, or someone who knows nothing about ostomy and just wants to learn something new, then this article is for you. I know that not all people will share the same views as me on some of these ostomy supplies, but I have a lot of personal knowledge on ostomies since having a stoma put in back in 2005. For your information, I happen to be a part of the National Ostomy Association and in charge of over 10 support groups in the greater Indianapolis area. That’s right, I know a thing or two about what I’m talking about. So my one request of you is this - sit back, relax, and learn from me about ostomy supplies that you should be using if you are not already. Remember, you don’t need to feel sad if you are not using these supplies already; rather, this is a perfect time to turn from your sins and enter a whole new world of ostomy supplies and stoma related products. 

So as you can probably imagine, there is a whole plethora of ostomy supplies and stoma related gear that you can buy all over the internet. To keep things simple, we are mainly going to be focusing on the ostomy products and accessories that are not talked about as much but are critically important to the health and well being of your stoma. So, for example, I will not be spending too much time talking about ostomy pouches and that sort of thing. I talk about those in my other articles and simply do not have the time or energy to address that issue here.

Also, I am currently just rambling about things for as long as I can so I can write more words and create longer, sustained, nearly grammatically incorrect sentences. On that note, let’s talk about ostomy! So the first accessory you are going to need is ostomy paste. What is ostomy paste you might ask? What a stupid question. Just kidding, I’ll tell you what ostomy paste is. Ostomy paste is basically used to seal the skin around the skin barrier of your ostomy pouch. Similar to how you would caulk the edges of your bathtub or shower to keep liquid from going in or out, skin barrier paste helps to prevent leakage from occurring. It might be important to note that skin barrier paste is not an adhesive or a glue, and too much of the paste can interfere with your skin barrier seal.

Another accessory that I want to talk about are called barrier rings. Barrier rings are used to fill the gap between the skin barrier and your ostomy bag. Tired of your bag flapping around under the slack of where it is positioned with the skin barrier? Then try some barrier rings! These rings will make sure that your whole ostomy package and system is functioning properly and not doing anything it shouldn’t be doing. Stoma powder is also another good accessory, and I will give you 10 seconds to think about what it is before I tell you and to write more words. Stoma powder is powder you put on your stoma to help it do something.

Keeping Your Stoma Clean

If you have had an ostomy ever in your life, then this article is for you. And I’m not just talking about all my new ostomates out there who are still in their beginner stoma period; I’m even talking to the veterans - the old dogs if you will - who have long since had surgery and have lived long and fruitful lives with the addition of a stoma. If you fall into any of these categories, then I have some news for you. It is very important that you are cleaning your stoma in the right ways. Yes, believe it or not, there are wrong ways to clean your stoma. I know from personal experience that neglecting to clean your stoma in the right ways (or at all) will result in further complications with your ostomy. This could lead to you having to start additional medications, taking unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office, or even having to go to the emergency room for a repeat of surgery. This is the last thing that you would want to happen, and I definitely do not want to see any of my fellow ostomates have to go through this. That is why I put together a quick article that entails a few tips and tricks to help you clean your stoma the next time you change your ostomy bag.

The first thing you need to get right about cleaning your stoma is that you should not be using any sort of soap or cleaning products to clean out your stoma. That’s the inside of your body, after all! Would you drink soap to clean out your throat? No, you wouldn’t. If you did that, you may find yourself taking a rapid trip to the hospital and getting your stomach pumped. Keep this simple fact in mind as you are cleaning out your stoma and avoid all types of soaps or cleaners.

Instead, it is best to just use warm water, because that’s the natural way that God has intended for your body to be cleaned. While you are rinsing with water, make sure you are not rubbing or scrubbing your stoma or the area around it. Ostomies aren’t super fragile or anything, but it is never a good idea to start getting rough with your stoma. The last thing you need is to tear something down there and get yourself in a whole mess of problems. 

In addition to warm water, it is really important that you dry any and all of your stoma that was being washed. You don’t want a lot of water sitting in your stoma because that can lead to all sorts of problems when you go to attach your ostomy pouch or try to treat the skin barrier. While you’re at it, it is also important to keep your ostomy pouch and related supplies as clean as possible. Make sure to properly drain and empty out all the contents of your pouch when you are cleaning it, as long as it is not a disposable one. If you do use a disposable ostomy pouch, then just make sure that you are properly taking care of it when it is time to throw it out. Don’t leave your ostomy pouch just sitting around somewhere in the house! I hope this was helpful, good luck out there.

You Can Still Enjoy Your Life With A Stoma!

So many people fall for the trap that life after an ostomy has to be boring. In fact, from the outside looking in, one might think that life after an ostomy is one of complete isolation, abandonment, and destitution. I am here to tell you that that is simply not the case! As someone who has had an ostomy in the past few years and has lived life with a stoma ever since, I can tell you from firsthand experience that living with a stoma does not have to be boring. In fact, living life after an ostomy is pretty much similar to how life was before it. If you are worried about getting your ostomy and not being able to get your life back, I hope this article is comforting to you. You can totally live your normal life after an ostomy, a stoma will not stop you!

One thing that was worrying me before getting my ostomy was that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my favorite foods. I talked to a lot of people, doctors, and other experts about their opinions on eating after an ostomy. To my relief, it is true that eating after an ostomy is a little bit different than beforehand, but not life changing by any means. I personally enjoy going out to eat a lot at nice restaurants with my friends, family, coworkers, and sometimes even with complete strangers! I especially enjoy fine dining that involves a lot of wine, cocktails, steak, and seafood. One of my favorite meals ever was at a nice steak house where I enjoyed a 300 dollar steak. Honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. I can tell you with great certainty that my stoma never stopped me from enjoying things like this. So if you enjoy eating all your favorite foods right now, you can definitely enjoy those same foods after your ostomy as well! Just make sure to take things slowly at first and listen to what your body is saying to you while you are eating.

Another part of life I enjoy is being outdoors. I love going up to northern Michigan to my cottage on Hamlin lake in the summers, and I was originally worried that my stoma would impact the way I spend my time outdoors. I can also tell you that your stoma does not limit your ability to enjoy being outside and doing various activities! I love to spend time in the water and at the sand dunes, and they have specially made ostomy pouches that can take on the day with you in any outdoor activity. I love hiking as well, and making long trips with a stoma is truly no problem as well. I just keep lots of ostomy gear on hand in the case that I have an emergency related to my stoma pouch or something like that. Traveling is also completely in your ballpark after an ostomy too! No worries about long car rides, plane traveling, and even walking around! You can really do anything after your ostomy, you are basically a superhero with a little bag attached to your abdomen.

 

I hope this article was helpful for you in your weird time of getting an ostomy. The surgery can be scary and overwhelming, but the doctors will take good care of you and your stoma.