Ever have a conversation multiple times and think nothing of it, but then suddenly the significance of it becomes clear to you and you realize it’s a pattern and it’s time to address it? My most recent experience surrounding this has to do with the word colostomy and what it really means. I’ve had multiple conversations that go something like … Read More
How I Receive a Massage with an Ostomy
For Valentine’s Day I treated myself to a bag of ghost pepper chips from Trader Joes and a 90 minute massage. It was amazing. I ate almost the entire bag on my way to and home from the massage, and I enjoyed my massage thoroughly. While on the table I realized I’ve had quite a few massages in the time … Read More
Disneyland with an Ostomy
Shortly after my ostomy surgery I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland, and I passed it up. I didn’t see a point in going because I didn’t think there were things for me to do there since I wasn’t at all ready to be going on the big fancy crazy roller coasters. Looking back, I was holding myself back. … Read More
Six Tips for Introducing New Foods to Your Ostomy
One of the things I struggled with most through my IBD and early ostomy adventures was food. I love to eat, I love to try new things, and yet so often I found myself feeling confined. Before having an ostomy, I struggled with ulcerative colitis. When I was flaring it seemed like everything was a trigger. Going on dates or … Read More
Feeling Anxious About Trying Something New, Then Humbled & Grateful for the Experience
Humbled. That’s how I was feeling as I rushed inside to change my pouch after a long day out of town. As I peeled the pouch off I sighed with relief. I had spent a lot of my day trying not to be anxious or worry about the pouch I’d put on that morning and it reminded me a lot … Read More
Tips for Enjoying Candy & Desserts Post-Op
Halloween kicks off a season infiltrated with candy and desserts. If you’re still in that 6-8 week window of surgery recovery, you’re probably sticking to low-residue desserts this holiday season. The good news is, there are tons of low-residue desserts for you to enjoy. The bad news is, there are tons of low-residue dessert options for you to enjoy. Low-residue … Read More
How I Sleep With an Ostomy: Then & Now
Support groups are great for talking about things that only an ostomate would wonder about, like how we sleep with an ostomy. A couple of my friends and I were talking about sleeping positions and some of them were expressing concern about laying on their stomach for any length of time. I went through a progression of sleeping positions as I … Read More
It’s Stomaversary Month Again – Four Years Flies By!
Recently, I realized that that this month marks my fourth stomaversary month. Time sure does fly… Three and a half years ago, I was meeting with Heidi from Ostomyoutdoors.com. She was about three years out of surgery at that point and reading her blog was (is) a huge inspiration to me. She had done so many things I couldn’t dream … Read More
How I Built Strength Post-Surgery
I know it’s cliche, but it might be true: You can do anything you want with an ostomy. You might not be able to do it immediately after surgery, or even a couple months after surgery, but with some determination and perseverance, you can make it happen. It doesn’t always feel like that’s true though – when your body hurts and you’re scared … Read More
Three Things I Practice to Build My Happiness
I’ve spent a lot of time on self-reflection in the last few years. My friends and family note how much I’ve changed since my surgery, but this journey started well before that and is going to keep going for the rest of my life. When I make a mistake, I kick myself and question whether I’ve really changed at all. … Read More
Pushing my Limits! Rock Climbing & Zip Lining
Trying new things with an ostomy can be scary. My doctors freaked me out about trying a lot of foods and movements because of the risk for blockages and hernias. I conquered my food fears by doing my best to understand why certain foods might cause blockages and then using that knowledge to make educated decisions about what to eat … Read More
Journey to my Permanent Ostomy – Part Two
Back at home, I was spoiled. My dad took on chef duty and my boyfriend took on listen to me whine and make sure I take all my pain meds duty. A couple days after I got home my aunt (who is a nurse) came to visit and lend the empathetic ear that only a nurse can lend. She also … Read More
Journey to my Permanent Ostomy – Part One
In honor of having had surgery a year ago to make my ostomy permanent, I decided to strap myself to a chair and write about it. This surgery was a totally different experience for me than my first surgery for a number of reasons: First Surgery Pretty much on my death bed, frail, and in the most intense IBD flare … Read More
45 Things I’ve Done with my Ostomy
Part of what makes people nervous about having an ostomy is the worry that their life will be “over” and they’ll never get to do “normal” things again from eating out to enjoying intimacy. I’d like to settle your nerves. I’ve had my ostomy two years (today is my stomaversary!) and in those two years, even in just the first year, I … Read More
Stress: The Common Denominator
When we’re sick, sometimes it’s accompanied by stress. And when we’re stressed, sometimes (read: all the time?) it makes us feel even more sick. When we have surgery coming up, no matter how prepared we think we are, there’s always fear, anger, and stress about the situation hiding in our minds. And when we’re recovering from surgery, every extra, new … Read More
Coltrane for life. Why I decided to make my ostomy permanent.
When the surgeon and I were talking about my colectomy in the hospital, she mentioned leaving a couple inches of rectum partially because it was so inflamed she wasn’t comfortable operating, but also so that I’d have the possibility to have my ostomy reversed and go the j-pouch route. I told her I wouldn’t be doing that but she didn’t … Read More
What tips your iceberg?
Sometimes when we are confronted with a life-changing reality, we get stuck on the small things. It’s the same when a bunch of bad things happen and we take them in stride and then we spill water on our white shorts and react like it’s the end of the world. The straw that tipped the camels back. Whatever you want … Read More
Packing for the Hospital
If you’re lucky and get to schedule your surgery, you will have the luxury of packing items of your choice for your hospital stay. Here’s a list of things that I was glad I brought (or wished I’d remembered) during my hospital stay. Please comment if you have other ideas for things that I forgot! Legal stuff: Identification Insurance Card … Read More
Getting a Massage with an Ostomy
As I heal further, I find myself experimenting more and more with food, exercise, movement, everything. Laying on my stomach is included. It took me about 5 or 6 months beyond surgery to feel comfortable “laying” on my stomach. I put the word laying in quotes, because I still don’t lay flat. I usually put a pillow of sort under … Read More
Happy 6 Months to Coltrane!
Wow has it been 6 months already? I remembered the day before and the day after, but on my actual 6 month stomaversary, I completely forgot. I didn’t do anything special, I’ve actually been really tired lately so I took a long nap and went for a nice 3 mile walk along a horse trail and ate a tasty potato … Read More
Not Every Day is Easy
I would be lying if I said every day with an ostomy was easy. Today is one of the days that it’s not so easy to stay in a good mood. I woke up early and haven’t been getting a lot of sleep (not ostomy related, just busy). I’m grateful that my body wakes me up when my bag gets … Read More
5 Months and Going Strong
Yesterday marked 5 months and boy am I proud of myself. It’s hard to fathom that just five months ago I could hardly walk 15 feet when today I find myself walking 2-3 miles per day like it’s nothing. I still have a long way to go in terms of gaining my strength back to where I feel comfortable engaging … Read More
Just Dance, With an Ostomy
Since I’m still relatively new to the ostomy world, I haven’t had a lot of courage to dance or work out like I used to. Before surgery I was really active and had just started learning samba and afro-carribean dance. I went to zumba class and played capoeira (an afro-brazilian martial art) almost every day. Getting sick really knocked … Read More
Almond Meal is Not My Friend
The other day I met Coltrane’s evil twin for the first time. He’s much bigger than Coltrane and he caused me a lot of pain. I remember him every time I feel guilty for being totally overkill with my diet and not wanting to expand my food horizons. Who would have thought almond meal/flour pancakes would be a problem? The … Read More
An Ostomy is an Adjustment
Today I learned that some close friends were sharing my story with a lot of their friends (no problem with me, more awareness the better!), but the way the verbiage they were using to tell people bothered me. They had been telling people that I had my colon removed because the doctors just “couldn’t save it”. That doesn’t bother me … Read More
Healing is a Bumpy Road
Today was seven weeks post-colectomy and my body celebrated by not having nearly as much energy as it had had in the days leading up but after a morning nap I didn’t let that stop me. There is nothing like being able to recognize progress and that is what I have been so lucky to do over the last few … Read More
A Rookie Mistake, Next Time I’ll Taper
Taper isn’t a word typically found in my dictionary. When I decide I don’t want something in my life or diet anymore, I usually cut it out cold turkey, why keep it around? Unfortunately I made this mistake when I decided to cut back on the pain medicine the doctor had prescribed. In my defense, she said to take it … Read More
It’s Been One Month
Note: This was written in October 2013 It’s Coltrane’s one month birthday today! He’s celebrating by giving me my first encounter with diarrhea as an ostomate, at least I think it’s diarrhea but I can’t be positive since I haven’t experienced it before. I can’t figure out what triggered it, whether it’s food, a virus, or a partial blockage (hopefully … Read More