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.