Gastrointestinal Health

If the doctor says that you need to get an ostomy, you might feel overwhelmed. This surgery is done usually for those with Chron’s disease or other conditions such as ulcerative colitis, and it can give you new freedom in life, with less pain and hospitalizations. The surgery involves you having an opening made in your body called a stoma and the bodily waste leaves through there. It pokes out in your abdominal area, and the waste goes out, collecting the waste in an ostomy bag or pouch attached to the body.The two most common types are an ileostomy which is an opening near your small intestine and a colostomy which is an opening of your colon. 

The Care Team 

Before surgery, the team will teach you how to take care of the ostomy that you have. It includes the surgeon, the doctors, and the gastroenterologist will help you with this. It also might include the management team that’ll help with this, including management of the wounds, the ostomy itself, and continence nurses that help you with the treatment of your ostomy. They can answer the questions that you have and train you on how an ostomy works and the supplies that are required.

Tips after operation 

After the operation, you need to meet with the healthcare team about what you will have after surgery, and of course, what you need to do. It also is important to understand that you can experience an output of almost 2 liters a day. As time goes on, this will decrease due to the ileum picking up the fluid and the absorption changes based on what was done before with the colon.

But you need to stay hydrated before this, since readmission is a big risk with this, and that’s caused by dehydration, so if you drink fluids that hydrate you, such as those containing glucose, sodium, and amino acids will help you. If you notice a decrease in output, or there are obstruction concerns, or you experience pain or a protrusion, contact your doctor to help you. With an ostomy, recovery happens slowly but surely, so you need to take your time and be patient and track your progress.  You definitely want to be mindful of changes too. 

Caring for the ostomy

You will learn how to care for your ostomy from your understanding of this.  You will need to change the appliance out there frequently, sometimes every few days. With skincare, you want to be mindful of the area. It is sensitive skin, but you do need to clean it. However you want to make sure that you don’t use anything with scents and try to avoid using powder, lotion, wipes, creams, alcohol, or ointments around there unless the doctor tells you too.

You should only use soap and water, or an adhesive remover around where your skin barrier, but don’t use the remover around where the stoma is. If you do deal with a problem, you can always talk to your doctor or nurse. If you notice that you’re outputting more, you can always control the meals that you have throughout the day and eat smaller meals. Make sure you control your sugar intake, but eat whole carbs, and have fluids after meals, and not alone. You should also be mindful of the rehydration fluids that you have, such as those that have electrolytes in it, including amino acids and glucose. Remember with any ostomy problems, you can still talk to your doctor, and they should be able to help you with anything that occurs. 

There is a company called Kindred Box. This is a company that is dedicated to helping out people with ostomy procedures. It is great to have a company that is around like this that is focused on helping people with their ostomy supplies. Speaking of ostomy supplies, they are quite expensive, which is why I say it is good to have a company like this. There are many people who get ostomy procedures and then can not easily afford to pay out of pocket for the supplies they are in need of. 

Kindred Box is a non for profit organization that is dedicated to providing people with the help they need for ostomy supplies. They have been collecting donations since twenty seventeen. These donations help this organization give the families ostomy supplies who are in need of it. They offer low-cost ostomy supplies for families who are struggling with living in low-income households or uninsured households. This organization has helped over two hundred people on a dedicated list they designate as regulars. This number of so-called regulars is expected to double, if not triple, in a few years. 

The need for ostomy supplies is relatively high here in the united states. Many people who have ostomy procedures don’t have the proper means to pay for the supplies. Ostomy supplies are pretty expensive, believe it or not. Many people are in the same situation. They spend days, weeks, or even months waiting for their insurance to accept their ostomy supply order. Many people go home after their procedure and get the shock that ostomy supplies are not covered by their health insurance provider. Some people do not even have health insurance to cover their bills. In some instances, people go through a natural disaster that wipes their supplies out. This would be catastrophic especially if they were not prepared for this natural disaster and lose everything. 

The donations that are provided to Kindred Box allow for this company to offer other people in need of ostomy supplies. Kindred Box delivers people with a new lease on life. With the option of affordable ostomy supplies, they can get out of the house, get back to work, and just get back to living their life. Couple this with the fact that these people have the knowledge that someone cares about them; they can quickly get back to living their life the way they want without the burden of needing to get enough money together to pay for their ostomy supplies. Donations provided to this company are the primary source of income and the main reason they can provide this service of cheap and affordable even at times free ostomy supplies. 

This company provides an excellent service to ostomy patients. In my opinion, this is a fantastic company, and I am thrilled with what they are doing for people. I am glad that there is a company that is looking out for ostomy patients and their needs. I don’t like that most health care providers do not cover ostomy products. I believe that they should cover ostomy products because it is still a health care product; after all, they are a health care insurance provider. I like that the company Kindred Box is around and is looking out for these people when their insurance is not. 

So you have a stoma huh? Well, you’re not alone in this fight my friend. In fact, there are just about a million people all over the world who are going through the exact same things that you are right now. I have talked to many people who have had to get an ostomy at some point in their life, and now will live every single day with a stoma for the rest of their life.

To be honest, I’m really glad that I don’t have a stoma myself. However, I just so happen to be extremely knowledgeable about ostomies and can offer you a lot of advice on what to do when it comes to taking care of your stoma. Believe it or not, there is actually a huge market for stoma supplies, with a lot of different products and brands to choose from. My point is that you should not feel like you do not have any resources, because you absolutely do. Your biggest resource right now is me, who is taking the time out of my day to write this silly article for you. So buckle up, sit back, and relax or whatever – because I am going to be giving you some great tips and tricks on how to take care of yourself and your stoma. 

So the first product I am going to be telling you about is called stoma powder – so as you are probably well aware of, sometimes it can be hard to get your skin barrier to stick in place. You can try a huge assortment of adhesives, creams, jellies, and whatever else you have laying around the house. Heck, you may have even found yourself trying to rubber band your ostomy pouch together. Well, I’m here to tell you that you can find a concrete solution to put all your stoma-sticking needs behind you. Stoma powder is made to absorb the moisture of your skin around the stoma, and keep that area clean.

This is a huge benefit because skin barriers work best on places that are clean and dry. So using stoma powder, you can apply it to the areas that are more moist, sweaty, or just kind of slimy in general. Your skin barrier should have a way easier time sticking that way, and your stoma should be much happier all around. Trust me, stoma powder is a must have if you are looking for some new products to try out. Plus, it’s not even that expensive, so you should be fine even if you are on a budget or something.

Another product that I want to tell you about is actually another powder. Two powders in one article? Yes, you are reading that correctly my good sir. However, this certain powder has a much different purpose than the other stoma powder we have talked about already. This powder is called Anti-Fungal powder, which is exactly the same as what it sounds like.

Basically, people with stomas can develop fungal infections and other gross things underneath their ostomy barriers. Nobody wants to remove their skin barrier while changing ostomy bags, only to see some nasty fungal growth that should not be growing down there. So make sure you are taking every precaution that you possibly can, and get yourself some antifungal powder for your stoma.

Contrary to what many people may think, I didn’t start becoming an average sportsman until I had an ostomy procedure done. As I previously mentioned in a previous article, I had to cut my golf swing in half after my procedure. That was because my body had in fact changed.  I also had to keep my right arm closer to my side so that the ostomy supplies I was using stayed in place during my backswing. 

Like in all things you have to adapt but In golf, the more you can control your swing and stay on the same plane that you started on when taking the club back, the more balls you will be able to square up and hit flush off the sweet spot of the club. The pros are the pros because they can stay on a plane while taking a huge backswing. This is why they hit it so far. But things ended up changing for me.

Believe it or not.  Although I didn’t need my ostomy supplies for the long haul, the swing I developed while using them stuck around long after my ostomy care. Therefore, I am now what is called a “bogey golfer”. Now, most people don’t think much of someone that is a “bogey golfer” unless they’ve ever played the game of golf (which happens to be the hardest game in the world).

A bogey golfer means that you were able to put the golf ball in the hole in one more shot than you’re allowed on that given hole, which is called PAR (professional average result). A bogey golfer means you’re slightly below average. In my case now that is pretty darn good.  It takes a lot of skill to get that good.

So what does that really mean.  Now, anyone that shoots even PAR is said to be a really good golfer. But, by the definition, they’re really just average. And they’re especially average if they’re shooting PAR on courses that aren’t near the type of courses the professionals play on every week. And these professionals are shooting anywhere from 15 to 30 under PAR over the course of a four-day tournament. This means they are really above average, and by really I mean way above average. But being a professional is not really my long term gameplay.

The amount of feel and precision that the professional golfer must have in order to shoot such scores is out of this world. Their skill level is truly insane. They have truly been blessed with a gift to do such things. The crazy thing is, there’s no cookie-cutter “fit” for what the best golfer looks like physically speaking. The body of an athlete is different than a regular person’s.  They simply are made differently.

There are golfers that are very much overweight, and there are golfers that look malnourished. Both can hit the ball the same distance and both can win the same tournament on any given day.  That is a wild thing, but there is something in teh way they think, feel, and understand the game that goes beyond the normal human being.  I am simply happy to be able to keep up with them with my ostomy and regular average bogey golf game. So keep your spirits up and your golf game strong.

As I was growing up, I loved to watch movies with my friends and family. We talked about them like we were critics. It’s amusing looking back at those times now that I am a movie director. I did not have a normal life growing up. I spent most of my time indoors watching movies because I could not play sports. I was born with a defect that has a lot of drawbacks and prevents me from being very active. 

I was born with an imperforate anus. It is a birth defect that affects roughly every one out of fifty people. It is quite rare, but I still managed to be born with it. A imperforate anus is when an anal cavity is either missing or in the wrong location. I was born without one. This resulted in the doctors needing to perform an emergency colostomy procedure. This meant they would take the end of my colon and bring it to the front of my body. The exit is on my lower right abdomen. The exit is called a stoma. This is a pink, red color and is where all of my bodily waste will exit. It is caught in a bag or pouch that needs to be emptied when it is getting full. I generally do it after it gets used as I do not like carrying the waste around with me. 

Life with an ostomy has been more or less tough, but I have overcome all the challenges that have been put in front of me. I knew I wanted to be a movie director. When I was in junior high, I had the opportunity to make a video for the school. I put everything I had into it. When it turned it in for review, I received so much praise I was about to cry. I wish I were joking, but it meant a lot to me that people liked my work. I knew then and there that I was going to pursue this passion of mine to the end. I graduated high school doing many different video projects in those years, and some got noticed by a few colleges I was looking at. I received three offers to different schools, all with full-ride scholarships. 

I made sure to apply myself in film school. I wanted to learn all that I could if I wanted to become a movie director. A few of my projects I worked on in those four years got noticed by some big names in Hollywood, and they reached out to me. They offered me a job on an upcoming movie to be the assistant director which nearly made me jump out of my skin. I am glad that I pursued a career that did not affect my ostomy. I do not tell many people about it, but I did tell the main director of the movie. The first big movie I worked on was one you have probably seen its a small film called avengers endgame. 

As the years went on, I continued to get job offers, and after a while, I made my own movie and had my one assistant director. I’m glad to have pursued my passion. I like to think this is all due to me having an ostomy and knowing I could not play sports or do physical work. 

I am a formula one pit crew member, and I have had a colostomy procedure and now carry an ostomy bag with me where ever I go. My life was great and still is to this day. I do not really think about it unless I do a movement and feel the strain in my abdominal area. I operate the wheel gun. This means when my driver comes in for his pit stop, I use an over-engineered impact gun to take the wheel nut off then back on. This job is quite stressful because if I do not get the wheel nut on tight enough, there is a chance my driver could lose his wheel mid-race, causing an untold kind of accident. 

I had to get my colostomy procedure after an accident in the pit lane. After getting my driver’s wheel on the cable providing air to my impact got caught in the wheel, and I did not notice. After he was given the all-clear to drive, I got pulled along. I let go after I realized what was going on, but it was too late. There was another car coming down the pit lane, and I got the front right wheel to my stomach at fifty miles per hour. This unfortunate accident caused the race to shut down shortly after I was rushed to the hospital. When I got there, and my doctor saw me, he told me the bad news. I would need to get a temporary ostomy procedure if I wanted to be able to have proper bowel movements and for my wellbeing for the time being. I solemnly agreed to the surgery but feard I was done as a pit crew member. 

When I woke up from my surgery, I asked my doctor if I could still do my job as being on a pit crew for a Formula One team has been my dream for since I could remember. He told me I could so long as I am careful so that nothing like this happens again; he did not have to say that to me twice. I spent a week in the hospital before I was released. While I was there, I learned as much as I could about my new situation and how I can better myself and learn to live with it. 

Getting back to work was the best-case scenario. I was so happy when I returned. Everyone on the team had so many questions. I know ostomy patients keep it private, but I was open with the team; they are like my family, and I knew they would not look at me differently, and I was right. If anything, they thought I was a badass with my new pouch. They, like myself, were amazed and relieved I was able to get up and walk away from such an incident like that. 

Having this ostomy pouch for the last few months has been an adjustment, but I generally forget about it unless I move too quickly carelessly. My job requires me to be fast, so this has been a minor setback, but I’m still able to keep up with the other three impact operators, which are essential for me to keep my job. I will do anything to keep this job. It has been my dream, and now that I am here, I will do anything and everything I can do to ensure I keep it regardless of my situation. 

Not a lot of people know much about ostomy. In fact, I would venture to say that the majority of people don’t even know that hundreds of thousands of people are walking around with stomas everyday of their lives. The nice thing about this is that you can usually keep the fact that you have an ostomy on the down low for the most part. Ostomy bags have improved a lot over the past few years, and you can even find some pouches that excel in hiding under clothes and whatnot.

I have a lot of ostomate friends who are worried about being able to hide their ostomy pouches effectively underneath their pants and shirts, so for them this is a huge deal. If you are asking me personally, I would tell you that I don’t really care much if people notice my ostomy pouch. I definitely used to be more insecure about the fact that I had to wear one all the time, but I guess time heals all wounds in that sense (except for my stoma, if you know what I mean).

There are some notable differences between various ostomy pouches, so I wanted to come on here quick and write about the difference between the main two ones that I am familiar with – more specifically, I will be talking about the one-piece ostomy pouch and the two-piece ostomy pouch.

Now at surface value, these pouches are exactly what they sound like in their title. One features an ostomy pouch system that comes together as one whole unit, while the other is broken down into two separate pieces. Now to talk about the differences between the two, I will first start with the one-piece system. So the one-piece ostomy pouch is designed so that the skin barrier is attached to the ostomy bag at all times, meaning that it is all one unit. The one-piece pouch may sound like it’s more convenient, but I can assure you that that is hardly the case.

In reality, the one-piece ostomy bag tends to be the least convenient of the two. If you have not had an ostomy, then I will need to inform you about changing your ostomy pouch. Ostomates have to regularly change their pouch to empty out all the contents or to simply throw it away and put a new pouch on. With the one-piece pouch, one has to take off the entire skin barrier as well as the actual bag when changing pouches. This can become an issue if you are doing this often, because changing the skin barrier too often can lead to irritation for some people.

The two-piece system is nice because the skin barrier and the ostomy bag can detach from each other, meaning the whole way you go about changing your ostomy pouch can be a lot easier. If you don’t need to change out the skin barrier and just the bag, then you’ll have a much easier time with the two-piece system! I will say that one-piece systems are usually easier to hide under clothes if you are in social situations where you don’t want anyone to discover your stoma secret. Anyways, I hope you learned something from this article, and I wish you the best on all your future ostomy endeavors. 

Don’t be afraid.  To me, health is all about the mental and emotional side of things. Not feeling emotionally safe is a staple for catastrophe if you are not in a great mental state. I realize that most don’t see health in such a light, but I’ve come to understand that all things health related dial back to the core elements of our conscience: cognition, feelings, and a sense of protection. Without these things, physical health won’t even matter much. To be human means to reason, to wade through the mysteries of the world with some semblance of sanity, and to try to understand ourselves.

Only once those basic essences of our being are taken care of and tended to can we start to think about the physical side of things. Truly we need to feel that we are safe and protected and nothing really matters up until you feel that.  Only then do the physical attributes of our character really stick out as being wrong or something hurting.

I think that once you sit down and face your fears, face your instabilities, and face your emotions, you start to gain a better understanding of your physical nature. For example, having surgery on your abdomen to completely restructure your excretory system to fit the needs of your current physical health is something that scares most people. Why is it that ostomy supplies and tending to a stoma would come off as “scary” to the majority?  But that is simply a normal feeling. It is truly ok to be afraid of those feelings and the thought of dealing with a stoma.  That is not going to be the end of the world and you are going to be ok.

I think it harkens back to our inner nature of knowing when something is “wrong” or unnatural. And that’s all good and well from a biological standpoint. But humanity has transcended what is traditionally seen as “biological”, and so I think it’s important to not blame our nature or our ways on such primitive things. We’ve learned how to deal with fears or with taboo topics. So why can’t we learn to adapt physically to something new, like living alongside ostomy supplies and relearning how to go to the bathroom?

It really boils down to our sense of entitlement, I believe. Because we feel like we’re owed a normal human life and a normal human body, we lash out at others who suggest that it’s okay to be different or do things in a different way. The perfect life is not promised to us.  Not even in our constitution are we promised a good life.  Only the chance to create a good lfie for ourselves and any bad thing can truly happen.  We’re ultimately lashing out at what’s abnormal deep down, we just don’t process it that way when it comes down to it. Instead, we process it via hurtful language towards others who aren’t “normal.”

So, I encourage you to see the world from a different point of view. Don’t look at things as normal and abnormal. Look at them as an ability to be different. There’s a whole lot of things in between that just embody how varied humans can be, and all it takes is a new system of looking at things.

Understanding what types of ostomy gear that is actually out in the market can be really complicated.  When people think about great ostomy supplies for their abdomen, they often think about what skin barrier is best. To me what is best is generally what is best to the individual and not to the whole.  So, it begs the question: which skin barrier really is best?

Now there are lots of different options but there are some pretty solid base lines that are followed in this area.  Well, the best kind of barrier is a solid skin barrier. This ensures a seal and protects the skin also around the stoma. A standard wear barrier is used for formed or semi-formed stool. An extended wear barrier is used for urine or stool that is loose or liquid form. This type of barrier does not break down like a standard wear barrier. Standard wear can break down when it comes in contact with liquids.

There are also different options for barriers with specific ingredients for patients with sensitive skin. Always consult your health care provider if you notice any sensitivity around your stoma. The last thing to consider is what your insurance will cover. Most insurances will work with health care providers, but it is also good to check. There are several ingredients and materials in skin barriers. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing which ostomy supplies are best for you.

Now that you know this is the area that you want to get into.  Once you have decided on skin barriers, you have to consider pouching systems. Another factor in determining how often you change your pouching system. One thing to consider is the type of stoma and the location of the stoma. Each person is their own human.  We all have a personal body style and our stomas are in different locations depending on a lot of factors.  You should also think about the drainage and what type of excrement the pouch will be holding. Personally, people have to think about their activity levels and perspiration. A person who works out regularly will have to change their pouch more often than someone who does not. Body type can also determine how often a person changes their pouch.

Not all of us are the same and I keep saying that over and over because it is simply true.  Some people are able to wear their pouch for up to seven days. Some people can only go for three days. Some, still, may have to change their pouching system every day. It really depends on the type of stoma you have and your preferences. The pouch should always immediately be changed when there is leakage or the skin surrounding the pouch is irritated. Keeping the area clean and sterile is vital when dealing with a stoma. Proper ostomy supplies and care will ensure a functioning and healthy stoma. No one wants to be working with bad gear or not healthy gear.  That is simply not a good way to be or to live.

In all cases, If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsure you should always contact your health care provider. Let them know if you are changing your system more often than you expected or if the skin surrounding is red or sore. Because at this point you may need professional help.