Ostomy and the Pandemic

It is 2020 and times are a bit hard.  Unemployment is rampant and supplies for stores are hard to find depending on your location. Yes as a benefit we are all able to wear PJ’s and lounge where nearly 24/7 three hundred and sixty five days a year at the moment, but there are some lesson to have learned from what we have been through. If you have an ostomy and are dealing with a stoma then you have a little more to worry about then the average person.  It just means you need to be more prepared.  A little preparation can go a long way in making sure you are safe and also happy when stuck at the stay a home orders we are all experiencing in our state. 

So a few tips I would give about keeping the correct ostomy supplies around.  It is as simple as that. Have extra ostomy supplies around! Know how many bags you will need and what types of adhesives you will need and how many you use each week. Now think back to the worst times you have had and emergency situations that you have come upon in the past. 

That is what you want to be prepared for and that is the amount of extra supplies you need on hand.  This pandemic has brought this into perspective.  We want to have enough toilet paper around because it may be off the shelves of stores for weeks at a time.  The same thing goes for having enough food and medical supplies as well. If you have allergies make sure you have a month of extra pills set aside and also keep those stores of food up as well.  Some tows ran out of food really quickly and have been unable to resupply for weeks at a time.

Another good idea to allow you to have extra supplies available is to buy in bulk. No not the bulk of purchasing one or two at a time, but get the big packs.  Most suppliers sell in sets of five but if there is a bag you really like and works well with your body see about purchasing a large stock of them and at a discounted rate. Most online retailers or even pharmacies are able to work with you and can give discounted rates. As always stay safe, keep enough supplies around and talk with your medical provider if you have any questions on storage.

Training for a Tough Mudder with an Ostomy.

If anyone ever called you crazy, then this might be the article for you.  I will start off by saying before you attempt to do a tough mudder or any hard workout with an ostomy make sure you seek information from your local health care provider on how to proceed.  First thing you should ask yourself is, do I want to do it.  If you want to run 10 plus miles in muddy conditions whilst doing some of the most physically demanding obstacles that special forces do then this is the right thing for you.  Make sure you have the right ostomy supplies.  So try out the right pouches that adhere to you the best.  You want to still have perfectly healthy skin when you are done so make sure it's a good fit.

Then you need to work up to your goal slowly.  Start by walking a few miles.  When you know you can do that, start to jog a bit.  Add some pushups and light weight lifting. 

This does not mean go hard on weights and start doing too much.  Remember you had an ostomy for a reason and your core may not be in the shape it was before the ostomy. Getting the right ostomy supplies is key.  So don’t just get what someone told you.  Do your own research and ask lots of people who have an ostomy who have started to work out. Or who are amazingly physically fit.  Don’t ask the person who clearly never works out, because they honestly don’t know.  The challenges you face will be many and having a leaky bag or messed up skin around your stoma do to bad advice is not worth it. 

I would also say don’t be afraid to get strong.  You may have a higher risk for a hernia but you still need to be strong and fit for a mud race. So start small, lift light and then increase gently. Don’t try to be superman all at once.  Start early.  Make the decision to race and then plan on doing it in 6 months or even a year later.  It sounds crazy but 10 miles with mud and obstacles is just as hard as running a marathon.  It's a lot more physically demanding and will take more of your body to complete.  Best advice is to find a friend to train with.  Run it with a buddy at the same time. If they don’t have an ostomy, maybe take it a little slower than them, but have fun, stay safe, and consult your healthcare provider before starting.