What are the worries of going out to eat with an ostomy?

Just curious, what are the worries or concerns when going out to eat at a restaurant or a party? My biggest worry now with my condition is eating something that doesn't agree with me and having an accident. So, I stick with safe foods, but sometimes that misfires! My condition now is SCI with neurogenic (flaccid) bowel with a possible future elected colostomy. Thanks

Hi BP

What do you mean by an accident?

There should be no issues as long as there is a toilet handy should you need one.

None. I've had my ileostomy for over 30 years, so I know what I can and can't eat. Having loose output for the last 20 years of living with a stoma, I just take whatever comes. When I remember to, I carry one spare bag folded in half in my pocket, so I can change if needed, but that rarely happens. When it does, it's not a problem.

No concerns at all. Go out, eat, and enjoy with an ostomy. Does your condition react that fast when you eat? I'd presume it still takes at least a little time to get through your system.

100% agree with J. Get out there and live for the day. By the way, J, oysters don't work as an aphrodisiac. I had a dozen the other day and only 11 of them worked. Regards, IGGIE

If I have caffeine or something that thins output with the ileostomy, if I know I am going to do that, beforehand I take three anti-diarrhea pills. Yes, I carry an emergency kit. I carry a Ziploc with everything I need for a change. Add in a trash bag. I adjusted my meals when out. For example, I still do Chipotle; I just avoid, well, most of the stuff. I get rice, meat, cheese, sour cream… I am happy with that alone. Some here can eat beans, corn, salad with no issue; everyone seems different. Just like people say, try a small amount of foods to start. And empty the bag before you go out if you can. Chew everything really well. I just reread your post. I think if you have an elective end colostomy, you should be just fine. I hear you can get a closed pouch that you just change once a day, and you can eat pretty much whatever you want. You don't have to really worry about thin output or acidity. I think a barrier ring would be a good idea. But I think it's a much easier time to have a colostomy than it is an ileostomy, and if I'm wrong, correct me. I think the only thing is if your bowels empty at night, you might have to get up a little earlier, like put an alarm clock to get up a little earlier and empty the bag or change the bag. But you should be fine, and if you have an SI, you just really want to keep an eye on if it's red or if there's any inflammation, and they will tell you at the clinic how to take care of that. Get a good ostomy nurse. I'm in a chair due to another issue, and if I had a choice, maybe I would get an end colostomy because it sounds much easier. I had emergency surgery for my bacterial infection, and I have an ileostomy that I'm looking to get reversed. I never had problems with control before, so that's why I'm doing it. If I do have problems after the reversal, I will definitely opt for a permanent ileostomy, but at least I know I have the choice. Also, when you get the colostomy, you might not feel pain if you have a blockage, so you have to watch out, and if you feel nauseous or sweating, like with any other kind of sore or anything like that, go to the hospital right away. But I knew somebody with a colostomy and spinal issues for like 20 years, and I think he went to the hospital for blockages three times. He never ate nuts whole; he never ate any beans. But other than that, he lived a good full life—passed well into his 70s. And the blockages were never too hard to take care of in the ER.

No concerns for me for 30+ years while I am out and about.

Your body takes hours to digest food (a bit faster with missing portions of colon).

If you are dining out for a few hours or partying hard, I would think you would be OK.

Some foods like Chinese can give me issues, starting at 6 hours after consumption up to 12 hours later.

Just watch what you eat and enjoy what you eat.

I've had a colostomy for a little over 15 months.

My wife and I go out to fast food and restaurants nearly every day. Never had an accident. There have been a few times my bag filled to capacity with gas or output. I just get up and zip to the nearest bathroom and take care of it. If I'm at a friend's house and get a bag full of gas, I'll say I have to get something out of my car and do a bag burp outside.

Like others have posted, carry a spare bag folded up and a disposal bag (like the dark-colored ones that come with the Hollister 2-piece system).

If I get a sudden nearly full bag at a friend's house, I hit the bathroom, unsnap the bag, put it into the disposal bag, tie a knot on the disposal bag, snap on the new bag, and put the disposal bag in my car's trunk to properly dispose of later. By doing this, I don't stink up my friend's bathroom/house.

Living with a stoma... you're going to become very familiar with poop. You really have to become used to it and not get grossed out.

I'm in Las Vegas right now on vacation. Last night we were at a sports bar/restaurant watching Dodger Baseball. Midway through, I reached down and checked my bag... suddenly 3/4 full. I zipped off to a bathroom for a quick draining, put in some M9 drops, and returned to watch San Diego beat the Dodgers. I always wear a Hollister thin belt that clips into the bag flange. It gives me peace of mind that a heavy bag of poop won't pop off. I also use an IGGIE clip (a small binder clip) to secure the Velcro closure at the bottom of the bag... so no surprises.

Hey Iggie,

Maybe try a "baker's dozen".

I am 6 months post-op (removal of complete sigmoid colon, full rectum, and entire anus) and don't let the colostomy stop me from doing anything. As long as you are prepared in advance, there should be no reason why you can't enjoy yourself.

We just recently took our first flight to see friends, incorporated a train journey too before reaching our destination. No problem and felt quite proud of myself.

I was exhausted by the time we returned home after our three nights away, but I was given a second chance to live following my thirteen-hour surgery, and that's exactly what I am doing 🙂

Hi Broken,

If I'm reading you right, you currently suffer from NFB from your spinal cord injury and don't have an ostomy. Your biggest concern when you get one will be making sure your bag hasn't filled. Once the colon is disconnected from the rectum, you lose control of when you empty... probably just like you have now. Depending on how much food is in your colon, you just need to keep an eye on the rate at which your bag fills. I don't know if NFB involves a change in motility or just the sphincter function. How quickly your bag fills will depend on a lot of things, but because there's no real sensation of when it's filling, you'll just need to check periodically. This is especially true if you ate significantly during the meal before you go to the restaurant. Being a colostomy, I'm guessing you could irrigate, which should really help you with your output timing.

;O)

I've eaten in restaurants around the world with my ileostomy (well, okay, just in the U.S. and the U.K.) with no issues. As long as the place has a usable toilet, all is good. :-)

Daniel

Yeah, as long as an accessible bathroom is near, you should be OK. But I'm sure before the ostomy, like I'm sure how your life is now, you already have to look out for eateries with accessible bathrooms. So at least, when you start this new chapter of your life, if you do decide to, that won't be an issue. Probably with the bag, it'll be less of an issue than it is now because you'll have more control actually. As long as you have a good bag system, and your insurance is good, I think you'll have more control and better peace of mind. And you don't have to worry so much about bedsores after the procedure. Really, if I had a spinal cord injury and I could choose an end colostomy, I would do it. Especially if I was having trouble with bowel control beforehand. Try to find the support group in your area and talk to those people one on one who have lived with it. I think that will help also. When I spoke to my ostomy nurse, she said that the biggest problem with people who have SCI (if the injury is high up) and the bag is that if you have any irritation, you won't feel it, so unless you're looking at it, you may not know. So you got to change the bag every 3 to 4 days. But your output won't be so acidic, so you should be fine. Still, keep a good eye on your skin around the stoma, and I think you'll do well. I want to add that when I was in the hospital, I got weaker as the days went on, and then I made a turnaround. But I was too weak to sit up in my wheelchair or to sit up in any chair, and I couldn't transfer. And they didn't want to get the Hoyer lift because they were so busy. So they got a silicone measuring cup, and they just emptied me in that and took that to the bathroom. And I saw somebody else online that uses that method, and they put like a dog poop bag in the measuring cup, and they empty like that when they are working and on the go and say like mobility is impaired. Just close up the bag and toss it away.

Thank you all for the replies! I appreciate it... Just to be clear, I do not have the ostomy yet and am still trying to talk myself out of it, but with my SCI condition, it seems to be the best option at this point! The reason I asked my question is just curiosity about what happens if you eat something that doesn't agree with your tummy, and what kind of sounds the stoma and bag make? My tummy seems to growl a lot, but I'm pretty sure it's my intestines making all the noise pushing waste through.

G-Day Broken Pipes, If you go ahead and get a colostomy, let me recommend that before you have the operation, you have the hairs where your stoma will be professionally and permanently removed. This will stop the problem some people have with hairs around the stoma. A stoma never killed anyone, but they have saved a lot of lives. Regards, IGGIE

A stoma will make fart sounds just like your butt does. If your medical professionals say your condition is permanent and you don't have any or little control of when you go, the decision to get an ostomy should be an easy one to make. When I went through chemotherapy and was running to the bathroom 20-30 times a day because I had very little control of being able to hold it in (my cancer was right on that muscle that controls that), it got very, very old very quickly and there's no way I'd maintain that lifestyle. Plus, I was going through underwear at an alarming rate. 😁 Nowadays, I go pretty much like I did before and unless my ostomy stuff fails somehow (which I've only had happen twice but I'll take the blame for both times), I never have to worry about accidents like I did or like I'm guessing you do right now. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Yeah, my condition is permanent. I've been living with it for 27 years now. But as I get older, it seems to be getting worse. And hey, at least with a fart out your butt, you can muffle it in the seat cushions! Lol... and hopefully, it's only a fart! Is there a way to muffle a stoma fart? Haha

I have had an ileo for several years. A permanent one.

And recent ken butt. I had no other choices in this matter.

From what I have read about ileo vs. colostomy, and if you had a choice between the two, the colostomy is likely the best for most normal people.

People with SCI? Probably isn't much different. IDK...

It will depend on your condition, limitations, mobility... just talking out loud here. If your SCI affects your hands, a colostomy, it seems to me, is less maintenance.

Less worries. Less leaks.

As for the sounds it makes getting either of these? You will have a fast comeback line to amuse nearby friends or strangers.

"Frogs."

"Was that you?"

"Damn that fried banana."

Yes, there are actually mufflers you can put in a wrap or belt that'll help with the sound. I prefer to flex my abs and get a couple more notes out, so I have no experience with them. 😁 Remember, there is no smell with farting, so you just say oops and go on. 🤷‍♂️ Now, if you open the bag to let the air out and there are people around, that's just plain mean. 😁

I think Midas is having a sale on mufflers this week, or was it Meineke? Toot toot.

I have not really had any issues going out to dinner. One time though, Ms. Stoma, as I call her, decided to spew her liquid again and again. As luck would have it, they seated us right by the restrooms! I just kept excusing myself to get up and empty. My boyfriend is always very understanding of my situation. Yesterday we went out for an early dinner and he asked, "Shouldn't you empty before we leave?" I thought I was good, but when I stood up I said, "Oh, you are right, time to empty."

All this to say, the bag has not stopped me from going out to dinner and enjoying food. I am mindful about what I eat. I have learned what is good and what is not. I had one time we ordered pizza in, the onions were not cooked really well, I had a really hard time coaxing the stuff out of the Stoma. It was an interesting experience and lesson learned.

Kim

Sorry... you got me laughing at "coaxing onions" out of your stoma.

Gotta be tough to be an ostomymate.

Hi Broken Pipes. From what you initially wrote and then clarified, my recommendation would be to accept your doc's advice to have a stoma. It will prevent the accidents you're concerned about! With an ileostomy, there is less processing of your food intake, so the output has very little odor. With a colostomy, your food is processed to a greater degree, resulting in a much stronger scent. As far as the sound of releasing gas is concerned, buy a dog and blame it on him/her or blame it on one of your kids. That worked for me once in a hotel elevator...