Possible Colostomy

[me23]

Hello everyone. My mother (age 46) was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It is most likely that she will need to have a colostomy. She is terrified and depressed about the idea of having a bag permanentlyand I am depressed just seeing her emotional state . I am just wondering, for those of you who have the bag, how much did your lifestyle change after getting the bag? Would it be possible to go swimming after getting the bag? Is the bag noticeable through your clothing? Any information that you can provide me of what changes we might expect would be appreciated!!

[Jason_D]

Hi There Me,

To just quickly answer your questions for you....

Swimming... no problem at all. The stoma and bag wont stop her doing anything activities wise. Since my colostomy 6 years ago when I was 23 I've swam, worked, played, bungee jumped and parachuted. Not doing those last two ever again though... not cos of the bag, Im just a complete coward and was scared to death ;D

See thru clothing..... nope. Should not be visable thru clothing. Most stomas are located belt line or lower, and by its nature that area has a lot of clothing layers over it. For example your jumpers/sweaters and shirts and t-shirts hang down there. Then theres the trousers or skirts, and then theres the undewear too if she find she prefers having it tucked in them. So, ppl will not see it. And I promise you people will only know shes has a ostomy if she tells them.

I would highly recommend you and mum read the lifestyle guide pages of the website I wrote. (the website that this msg brd forms part of). It covers 20+ topics including things we've discussed here, and other things like the operation itself, what to expect after the op, diet, travel, sports, relationships and lots lots more besides.

The guide can be found at
www.ostomy.fsnet.co.uk/guide.html

If mum doesnt have net access there is a page where you can download the entire guide to print out or read offline.
www.ostomy.fsnet.co.uk/downloads.html

Downloads are in either Word .doc format or Adobe .pdf format. They are zipped to keep file sizes to a minimum so you wil need a copy of winzip to open them initially after download. Www.winzip.com

If after reading the guide you have more questions or queries please do feel free to get in touch with us again here.

Or if you want to discuss ostomies or anything else in real time please feel free to join our chat room -
www.ostomy.fsnet.co.uk/chat.html

We're open 24/7 but late afternoon, early evenings onwards UK TIME is the best time to catch us. Theres a UK time clock on the page too so you can see what 6pm UK time is for you. As a rough guide if you live in the states 6pm UK time is 1pm EST.

Take care, I sincerely hope your mum doesnt need a colostomy, but if she does then I promise that onces she's recovered it will be no detriment to her physically. ;D

Im sure if other ppl here have comments and suggestions etc they will post them too

Buh bye now,


Jason_D
[e-mail]

[Demmie]

HI

Welcome to the board.

What can I say that Jason hasnt

I swam with my bag - didnt show through swimming costume , I also rowed, climbed, and did a whole lot of other things same as before.

I was advised by one the members here to start in teh bath , once I felt comfortable with the bag in the bath - ie knew it wouldnt leak/ fall off/ come undone I was ready to try a small pool - and last summer I was back swimming in the sea. There are advances in stoma care that mean that there are now bags that cope with almost all sports, swimming, climbing biking, etc etc etc.

When you are discussing this with her Doctor , maybe ask for help and assistance of a stoma nurse. They will help reassure you about what can be done, and the effects of a stoma on everyday life. Placing can be important ....... you need to think about waistlines and pantie lines and tights - make sure the site misses all those - you may have to leave the hipsters on one side for a while .

The Lifestyle guides on here are invaluable - as is this board - you may also like to drop into chat on a Saturday evening , where most people are more than willing to offer their experiences.

Wishing you and your mother the best of luck

Kind regards
MsDemmie

[Kathy_from_England]

Hi and Welcome!

Little I can add to the great advice already received from Jason and Demmie, but a little story might reassure you about the bag being visible.

My husband recently had to go for a barium meal and small bowel series. He arrived at the hospital and was taken into the room by the radiologist. He was then asked if he had taken his laxatives ready for the exam.
"No," replied Gary. "I don't need to, with my ileostomy."
the radiologist was taken aback and said:
"but...you don't have a bag do you?"
"Yes," replied Gary.

Now, I reckon that if a radiologist about to perform bowel X-rays can't tell that a patient is wearing a bag, then it isn't very obvious!

Take care,

[Sean]

I had a similar experience to this. My radiologist didn't realise I had a bag either before doing a small bowel series. The only way she found out was when all the barium was collecting in a large mass. Either I was very sick or had an ostomy.

I think that having an ostomy isn't something that is normally taken into consideration by medical staff for young people. (and they will consider 46 young!)

I don't swim, so I can't really help with that question. The only non-medical person who has found out about my bag without me telling them, is once when a security guard at an airport frisked me. Also this is something that has happened many times without the bag being noticed.

Sean

[me23]

I want to thank you all for your replies and comments . It is most likely that my mother we need to have a colostomy done and she is very depressed at the idea. I try to be optimistic but it very hard to see her in the emotional state that she is in. All we have done the past couple of days is cry. I thank you all for your help in responding to my questions.