When you first wake up from stomal surgery you will generally wake up to a clear bag with a swollen red bud (your stoma). If you're anything like me this vision scared and even disgusted me, the anxiety of having the bag was bad enough let alone one that hung what felt like half way down my thigh and was transparent for the world to see. Some ostomates have had a pre op appointment with the stoma nurse and are hopefully aware that there are many types and options available.
I recently spent some time with local business owner and chiropractor Dr Gareth from Hilton Chiropractor discussing potential projects we could liaise on to help people who have recently had abdominal surgery, the most common question I get asked is can I do core workouts and if so where did I start. So this seems the obvious place to start. Note this is a two piece series.
Training your core while on your back. This is helpful post-surgical recovery and before you do more challenging exercise.
Training the spinal muscles while on your tummy or while 4 point kneeling…. Yes, you can do exercises on your tummy with an ostomy!
I recently spent some time with local business owner and chiropractor Dr Gareth from Hilton Chiropractor discussing potential projects we could liaise on to help people who have recently had abdominal surgery, the most common question I get asked is can I do core workouts and if so where did I start. So this seems the obvious place to start. Note this is a two piece series.
Training your core while on your back. This is helpful post-surgical recovery and before you do more challenging exercise.
Training the spinal muscles while on your tummy or while 4 point kneeling…. Yes, you can do exercises on your tummy with an ostomy!
To be honest I am not sure if this even entered my mind pre-op but post-op after that first bag empty it sure did and I despondently concluded that I was going to smell like the Labyrinth’s bog of eternal stench for the rest of my life. This was not helped by the fact that my senses were on high alert and I had a flat stoma and skin issues that had resulted in a number of leaks. This combination had me convinced that every offending odour I smelt radiating from my ostomy bag, even though this is improbable if not impossible. In all seriousness though, what person with an ileostomy wouldn’t come to the same conclusion this after the myriad of smells that areis experienced while visiting the throne room. Some could no joke kill the best Strongman while others smell like they just came out of the oven or off the stove. However, my paranoia of the smell along with the itch of burning skin led me to develop an unnerving habit of continually checking and adjusting my ostomy appliances to see if they had sprung a leak. Sadly, what happens when you fidget with something you draw attention to it, which in turn triggered my anxiety and the cycle would start again.
When you’re not fidgeting you’re very beautiful. and very tall. Pretty Woman
This luckily didn’t last for ever, I found products that worked for me which in turn stopped the leaks and over time reduced the paranoia. Now to find out all things smell and the bigger question of solutions the best source of information I found was talking to other like-minded people that have been through it all before. So here is what I have compiled over my ostomy life. First off there are food products that are going to affect the output smell more than others, please note that this list is not exhaustive and every ostomate is different and therefore products will affect you differently so it’s a trial and error process. I kept a food diary for about 3-6 months after I first became an ostomate, to monitor the effects foods were having on my output.
Recently I was lucky enough to get some extra time with Sally Reynolds, an experienced personal trainer and owner of Phoenix Fitness Broome when she was down in Perth to run the HBF Run for a Reason. Sally is not only a successful business owner she has endured years of ulcerative colitis later diagnosed as crohns before receiving an ileostomy a couple of days before new years 2000. Please take the time to read her full story HERE. Together we made this short post-op core basics exercise video, running through some basic to hard exercises that strengthen your core over time.
For Instructional Video on Core Basics Click HERE.
I became a Fitness Leader in 1990 when I realised that my goal of becoming a famous actress was not as likely as I’d first thought. I have worked continuously in the fitness industry since then sometimes as my full-time job and at others as a sideline. I’ve worked as a gym instructor, centre manager, personal trainer, group fitness instructor, course lecturer, anatomy tutor and gym owner.
After posting on Insta and a few groups about a trick I use to seal my bag I was inundated with questions about that and various other points of my bag. So I was excited and a little nervous as I woke my husband to aid me in filming this video. Someone had asked me to do a video to explain the photograph, at first I thought that is a great idea and then my second thought was am I ready to show strangers squish? I had started this out aiming to help others by being a positive image and breaking the stigmas associated with having a stoma while educating those who are interested in knowing more. But when I began I had never thought I would be brave enough to share Squish but in the aid of personal growth and helping others I sucked it up and tada we made this video. It’s not perfect by a long shot but who is, it’s also not viewing for everyone as you will be exposed to my stoma (he’s actually not that bad-looking), so if you’re not yet ready to watch save it for later or if it’s not your thing just skip this post. Before you do though I must say you may be pleasantly surprised if you do watch, it’s not that scary after all.
I know I have discussed this topic before but believe it belongs in my “Things I Wish I Knew Back Then…” series, as its high on my list of things I would have loved back when my journey began. If you didn’t see it check it out HERE. I also, however, wanted to take some time to briefly introduce you to the ones who influenced my life and some up and coming ones that are inspiring me to do wonderful things. They are all amazing bloggers and ostomy awareness advocates, so if you do get the time check them out. Well worth your time. We all write differently and focus on slightly different issues with the same main aim, to raise awareness and help others along with ourselves through this ostomy life.
Who knew that with a simple twist of the bag you can remove another little irritation of daily bag life. If you were anything like me you were taught in the hospital how to attach your appliances and once returning home followed the same process. It’s only when things go wrong do you really deviate from the norm. Now while stomal therapy nurses are amazing at what they do and they provide a wealth of knowledge, nothing can account for what you learn actually wearing the bag day in and day out. It’s kind of like what you learn at university or college versus what you learn on the job.
To name or not to name your stoma, now that is a question. There are two schools of thoughts on this topic. I am of the first one and named it within a couple of days of first becoming an ostomate and not only did I name it but I changed it to the opposite sex. While some believe that naming anatomy parts is ridiculous. I am of the opinion that if you want to name it, name it. If you don't want to, don't, that is your choice. I will, however, tell you why I named mine as I believe there could be some good mental health practices behind it.