GI Tract Before and After Ostomy Surgery

The digestion starts from the mouth, where the food is broken into pieces as we chew it. Saliva makes it easy to swallow those broken pieces of food. Food then travels to the stomach through the esophagus. It is further broken down by enzymes. This semi-liquid food mixture then travels to the small intestine, where the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream starts taking place.

The absorption of nutrients continues to take place as the food mixture travels along the intestinal tract. However, not all of the mixture gets absorbed. The leftover wastes travel along the large intestine, which absorbs moisture from those waste materials. Those wastes accumulate in the rectum. When the rectum is full, we feel the need to move bowels. During the bowel movement, the sphincter muscles of the anus relax and allow waste materials to pass out of the body.

Ileostomy, which involves the removal of the entire colon

An ileostomy involves the removal of the entire colon and then bringing out of a part of the small intestine out through the abdominal wall. The edge of the small intestine is then stitched to the abdominal skin. This way, the GI tract opens through a cut in the belly, allowing waste materials to pass out from there. It can be a loop ileostomy or an end ileostomy.

In most cases, the surgeon opts to create an ileostomy to allow the lower GI tract to recover from an injury or disease. When that part of the tract is healthy again, the surgeon performs another surgery to reverse the stoma, allowing the patient to pass out stools from the anus.

Colostomy, which involves the removal of a part of the colon

A colostomy is a surgically created opening in the abdomen that allows the patient to retain some part of the colon after the operation. It means that the stoma sticking out on the belly, in this case, is a part of the large bowel. This stoma can be an end colostomy, a loop colostomy, or a double-barrel colostomy. The placement of the stoma will depend on the part of the colon cut and diverted away from the remaining GI tract.

A colostomy, like an ileostomy, can be temporary or permanent, depending on the type and severity of the underlying health condition.

A stoma

As mentioned above, the stoma is a part of the bowel sticking out on the belly. The purpose of creating this opening is to allow fecal materials to leave the body without passing through the diseased part of the GI tract. A stoma is red and moist. It doesn’t have any nerve endings, which means that it doesn’t hurt when you rub on it. It may, however, bleed easily due to the presence of a lot of blood vessels. Minor bleeding should stop in a few minutes. You may, however, need to consult an ostomy care nurse if the bleeding seems persistent.

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to stoma care. The skin around the stoma, also called peristomal skin, holds a key value in this regard because this part of the skin is responsible for providing the ostomy pouch to the ground to stick on. You can speak to your ostomy care nurse regarding what to do to take care of your stoma and the skin around it.

Can you Run With An Ostomy Bag?

I learn things the hard way a lot of the time.  But I am not a huge fan of it anymore.  I like to learn as much as a can and deal with my issues in a healthy way.  Part of how I cope with the hardships in life is to have a good outlet.  We all get frustrated and angry and to me being active and going for a jog at the end of a hard and frustrating day can help me overcome my anger and frustration.  To me being outside on a track and just being alone with my thoughts is an amazing way to overcome hard times.  Now, part of my hardships was also caused due to the fact that I have a stoma and I was not going to let that take my life places I didn't want to go.

Running had become a staple in my life and one of the best things for me and I didn't want to give it up.  But that goes to show that we all can be afraid and all have fears that we won't be able to do something due to our surgery.  I want to let you know that almost all of my fears were really not actionable.  They were overblown issues and my life is honestly just about the same as it was before.  Now I just keep a little extra gear with me in a bag and I am set. 

Learning how to solve problems that others have already solved is key. I wanted to know how to get back into jogging again and as fast as possible.  This is where I was told to really hold up.  Most nurses and doctors said, jogging would be totally possible and that instead of jumping right in that I should start back slow.  First, they said, you just got out of surgery and you will have to recover.  They asked about my previous injuries and my sprained ankles came up.  PERFECT they said.  The healing schedule was actually pretty similar to the timing of an ankle.  They told me it would be a month before I am up and jogging like I was before and I was ready. 

It took me some time to work hard and plan what I needed to do.  I decided it was time to start back up at the gym.  Instead of running and weightlifting, I decided to go very slow.  I wanted to make sure my gear did not embarrass me in public and it didn't.  The elliptical and stationary bike were my friends to start with.  I thought they may actually be the hardest things to learn on so I wanted to test my gear first in the hardest way.  I started very light and very slow so as not to hurt my body.  Hernias are definitely a new thing that can happen much easier now. 

Now I didn't jump into it hardcore, but I started to get back into easy cardio and to keep track of how my body was handling it. I then started to jog slowly.  It took me a long time to get back into shape, but within 6 months I was happily jogging on a track again. So don't give up, search around for good gear, and motivation up and going. 

Being wise with storing extra ostomy gear

There are times that I think the whole better prepared than not is a little too much.  I see people storing food away for a whole year or three because of the riots and COVID-19.  I am not much into the idea of stocking up for the end of the world.  Even in 2021 with COVID-19 and the constant rioting I really don't like the whole prepping philosophy.  It seems to be like the tv is making this whole thing way worse.  I am glad I don't live in Portland or LA though.  

There is something to be said about being prepared for reasonable expectations in life though.  This year our reasonable expectations have changed a little for many locations in the United States.  We found out that medical supplies were almost completely made overseas and that in a pinch shipping and supply chains could actually be shut down.  Some cities and states felt this harder than others and so this may only apply to a smaller section of the country.  So what happens if you are unable to get your ostomy supplies for a month or even two?  It could be a scary situation for some and a reality for others.  The online forums have been filled with scary stories and some I believe are true.  The best part is that with communication being the way it is, most of those people who reached out were helped by locals. So how prepared do you need to be? I want to go over just some logical steps and reasons why I actually stocked up a little on my ostomy supplies and the things I like to keep a few extra of in case of a true emergency

Now in 2021, the stimulus packages let us know that most of the economy is going to crash again.  This all started in my mind when I saw the change in the United States Economy due to COVID-19. It went low, now it's up because of Keynesian economics and will plummet soon.  I saw our supply chains slow and come to a grinding halt in some locations.  The scary part was that due to the riots by BLM and Antifa many major cities were no longer safe to go into.  It is what it is, but that is the truth.  What this actually lead to was truck drivers would refuse to deliver goods due to their trucks being destroyed.  It was not on mainstream news, but local store owners know why their gear is not delivered and that was a big reason in two major cities.  Now in those cities, thousands of people have stomas and rely on ostomy gear daily.  It was hard to see this happen.  Normally, most of us get a monthly shipment which takes care of a month or so of our needs.  For myself, if I was in those cities I would have actually ran out of gear on month two and that would have left me in big trouble.   

Now at this point in time most people say, it happens, shipments get lost and we go to the local pharmacy to restock.  That is what I do, but in these two major cities, those were the first targets of the riots.  Many were burned to the ground along with all the big box store pharmacies.  It was a scary time.  Don't let this happen to you.  Just keep some extra supplies on hand. 

 

Care Routine for Your Stoma after the Ostomy

Many ostomates cannot follow and adopt their previous life routine after stoma. This is not because they have a new organ in their body. This can be due to a careless care routine and poor diet plan. The people who know about their stoma and its care can do all the things they have done in their life before the operation. Thus, you need guidelines and knowledge about ostomy care and healthy life.

Right after the ostomy surgery, you will wake up with a new organ and some clothes on it. The cover of the stoma is an ostomy pouching system. The primary role of the ostomy bag is to protect the stoma and collect the waste. Well, this is the thing you will need to wear for the rest of your life or until you go through the reverse procedure.

When it comes to the care of stoma, the ostomy pouching system has a special place. Many other factors do matter and have a vital part, but the first care belongs to the stoma bag. Many people have an unhealthy opening. They wonder why even they are cleaning the skin, taking a healthy diet, and having all their medicines. But the actual reason is their poor pouching system. Some ostomates wear the too tight bag, it causes irritation and bleeding. However, some people wear too loose stoma pouch or low-quality adhesive. Due to which the leakage of the waste damages their stoma and peristomal skin.

The one vital rule for stoma care is that the waste either solid or liquid should not touch your skin. Many ostomates suffer from the fungal infection on their peristomal. This is because of the poor hygiene routine and inappropriate pouching system. Always but the stoma bag according to the size of your home. Moreover, do not compromise on the adhesive, wafer, and flanges’ quality. The low-quality adhesive will not perform its duty, cause leakage, and damage your stoma. These habits can cause extreme bleeding and pain in the opening. Thus, a person takes more time to get better and heal. This does not allow the internal organs to get healed.

However, whenever you realize any problem or change in the peristomal skin or stoma, consult your WOC nurse. Do not ever do any kind of experiment with the opening. Sometimes, bleeding from the stoma is not a problem. It is normal in many cases. But, ostomates get panic when they see blood coming out. Moreover, cleaning the entire area is an essential activity. Many people change their appliances on time, but they do not wash peristomal skin and stoma. Some ostomates do have problems in washing; thus, they need to clean the entire section with a soft cloth. Moreover, never use cold water to wash or clean the stoma parts. First, take some Luke warm water, then dip the towel or cloth in this. Then, you can clean the peristomal area and stoma. Moreover, you can use a paper towel or tissue to dry the whole portion. Also, use some medicated gel to hydrate the skin. Dehydration is another reason that can cause skin diseases and infections. It is not about the diet. Ostomates do not use gels and water to clean the area. Thus, you must use some organic and chemical-free moisturizers to hydrate the peristomal skin. A balanced pH is one of the essential elements to provide a healthy life.

Moreover, bad and careless eating habits and diet plans can cause problems. Some people eat too much, they cannot avoid meat, pizza, burger, onions, garlic, and barbecue. Such things can cause constipation and cause bleeding in the stoma. However, some people eat too many fresh fruits which are also not so good for an ileostomy and Urostomy patient. It causes too much excretion and leakage as well.

Activities that are dangerous with a stoma

My upbringing left me in a lot of crazy situations with people who liked to be a little wild.  I enjoy the whole country living lifestyle and it allowed me to learn a lot of skills that most of my friends in the city didn't even think about.  One of my favorite things to do is to learn how to ride a bike but in the country and through the mountains. It is a great way to exercise and also spend time with people that you love and like.  This translated well to my later life because my family bike riding is a big thing for many families in this country and lots of us like to be together while doing something.  It is also a great way to stay fit and being with family is just a cool bond to have and I highly suggest giving it a try.  So does this mean I should stop it all because I have a stoma?  This means that you guessed it, I have a stoma.   I suggest that you keep up with working out and exercising even after your ostomy because you need it.  I do suggest you get the correct ostomy supplies and then you will be able to not have any issues. It is all about the right gear and that allows me to be a little crazy and live a little dangerously because my gear is that good. Just get high-quality ostomy gear and remember to get out and bike.  So what are some of the areas that I like to bike and the types of conditions I like to do it on? You guessed it, trails.

Being adventurous didn't go away when I got a little older. It actually got more real because I wanted to feel young again.  To me, the most fun thing to do on a bike is mountain biking.  There really is nothing like strapping up the right gear and finding an adventure ride that will shock your senses. It is wild and fast.  Luckily I live next to one of the best mountain bike trails in the state. Surprisingly it is actually in the city and built around a park that is really nearly unknown and dedicated to biking only. This trail is beautiful and crazy fast which means that I also use a stoma guard. 

 

Spend time with your family and let them learn how to do it. Biking can be hard and painful. If you are tired it takes work and pain to finish off the trail and sometimes it really is not fun. But it is the challenge and overcoming things you may not like to build character and life lessons. Many things in life are really hard. Biking with an ostomy can even be a bit of a challenge, but these are great ways to learn lessons. Hard lessons are good.

It is also fun to enjoy hard and not so hard times too. So don't always go 100% on each trip.   My family and I like to hop on our bikes and go and get ice cream and that is a really fun way to workout, and burn off some of the ice creams we are about to eat, and also to talk and get through things that happened in the day and week and some of our future hopes and plans as well. Date night and biking is a cool thing.