What Would Life Be Like Without an Ostomy?

For many of us, having an ostomy gave us a second chance at life. But I wonder, what would your lives be if you never had to get an ostomy? Would your lives be similar or vastly different?

I think my life would be the same. I struggled at first, but now I live life as I did before. I think the only difference would be that I was so stressed out about life, work, money, etc., that I often didn't stop to enjoy life. I make a conscious effort to relax and live in the moment much more now. Henry had a post about this today, and it is so apropos.

I think about this from time to time, when I see others not putting as much effort into their daily plans as I do or able to take a long walk right after eating, things like that. I would most likely still be teaching pool fitness classes with a healthy colon allowing adequate hydration outside. I'd be able to sit through anything for longer periods of time without having to empty my bag. I do know that I would dress very differently. I used to wear baggier pants and tighter tops; now I need the "expansion" room in my tops. Despite all of this, I try to remember sitting on the toilet in absolute agony during my ulcerative colitis and j-pouch days and am so grateful to my ostomy.

Pretty similar overall. I do pretty much the same stuff now as I did before: work, pick up sticks, get the mail, take the trash out, mow, fish, hunt, etc. My only real difference is I never would have met my girlfriend without getting sick and getting on this website, so life is way better now.

Fact that I had a relatively quick and easy experience from the time I was diagnosed and had the surgery, a little more than a month had passed. Aside from wearing an ostomy pouch, which for some reason never really bothered me, life goes on basically the same for me, something I would hope others experience.

Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Just the same as it is now, it's only a stoma. I have other health problems not connected to my stoma; they cause problems. I just have to get on and do the best I can, as everyone else with or without an ostomy does.

My life is pretty much the same with or without the ostomy. It was the damage from pneumonia and the loss of body mass from three months in the hospital that has made a change in my life. That and the cumulative effects of aging. But without the ostomy, I would be dead. So, I guess that is a fairly big change. 🤣

Daniel

Got mine at age 65. So, life now is different with the little beast. I can't lift anything or lie on a surfboard anymore. I feel slightly clumsy from time to time. I look like the guy in the Alien movie with the little monster under his shirt.

Clumsy? Just wait for that 80th decade! 🤓

Vastly different!

;-)

Nothing much has changed here. I'd be dead without the surgery. That would have made my cats and pup very unhappy. I live for them.

Yikes...

I went through nearly 2 years of hell before the ostomy; cancer, chemo, and radiation, several bowel resections due to radiation enteritis and necrosis of parts of the intestines. When they finally did the colostomy, I was literally knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door. I don't sweat the small stuff anymore and every day I am grateful to be alive.

Me too! Life is good!

No more family to carp at me, just my wonderful, loving pets.

Hello, AaronDoyle,

I think that it depends on how old you are and what kind of life you are leading on a daily basis. Methinks, it would make a difference if one had a lot of person-to-person contact and/or were out in public. While I was fairly active after retirement, when I began to feel changes in my body and the curtailment of being at ease in those situations, I stopped getting together with others. It has been approximately 7 years since I did that, and it took me another 4 years before the growing cancer led me to the point of emergency surgery, which means that I had no adult contact other than my small family, and have had no close contact with adults since. My life has changed in that I never got any energy back. I am very weak and lie around a lot, or as much as I am able, as I still cook dinner before spending time prone, pay our bills, order refills or other things without my husband thinking he cannot live, constantly wrangle with what is, today, called customer service, etc. Yes, it changes one. Of course, there are always those who can rise above things most others are unable to. We are all different with different daily living challenges, ergo, outcomes are different.

Just as an aside, for 4 years, I did everything I could not to give in to growing challenges on my body because, mainly, I neither have much in healthcare to brag about in this area, nor have I had any reason to trust many. After the ordeal with the colon surgery, I got off drugs I was given ASAP. Currently, I do not take any prescription medications, just some vitamins. So, am I wrong again to ignore the changes? Then again, I am pretty old and going through what I had again is not desirable. Did anyone also have a Hartmann's procedure after colon surgery?

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Well,

An interesting hypothesis...

If only we could all have the option to follow all possibilities... I guess we might suspend choice and leave everything to chance???

Depends on one's beliefs, I guess.

I know if I had not been forced to curtail my university education when I had planned to study law, then my life would have been different...

Every one of us could point to things which caused our path to vary... As others have said, there are also many traits we have which equally have a determining factor on how we lead our lives...

Personally, flying solo is something I have yet to achieve... I am none too certain whether my ostomy has had a direct bearing upon this... it has certainly not stopped me from wearing a flying harness... but I do know, that had the TIES device worked, then the convenience of not having a bag on my abdomen would have been 'different'.

Speculation upon winning the pools - irrespective of whether a ticket or lots of tickets have been bought - in my mind, offers very low odds...

Better to avidly follow the 'what can bes' rather than 'what might have beens'.

Waves from the hills

And over the coasts of the UK

BW

Jayne

Jayne, I am struggling to understand what the interesting hypothesis I made was. Was it my comment about being dead without my ostomy? Or the dig I gave Beachboy about decades, which is a carryover from another thread?

Daniel

My error MM,

Sorry

In fact, I was commenting on the lead post, i.e., 'replying' to the thread hypothesis, viz an alternative, 'no ostomy'...

Meaning there is never the opportunity to follow another version of "what if"...

How so - in what ways...

Off the farm and some high-flying career, hey?

I figure we probably broadly set our agendas of experience prior to manifesting our life's path... Although why we may do that is not clear.

J

;-)

Agree.

When I look in the mirror, no pouch, I am not offended, grossed out by what I see. Stomas are not really ugly. What is ugly is the pouch.

The time it takes. The not knowing when it will "move."

I talk to my stoma, "I am taking a naked shower so hush."

"Enough!" I want to leave the house without you controlling me.

WTF? Now? Why?

Seriously. The surgery did save my life and I can have it reversed. I was scheduled to have a reversal and everything went wrong. Cancelled.

I am 66.

My reversal requires open surgery.

As much as I hate having a colostomy, my fear of another open surgery has stalled my scheduling it.

I am a total mess right now.

Much as Belching Bertha loves to embarrass me, I would be dead without her.

Visit a nude beach and walk around naked, wear very slim-fitting dresses, drink wine, and eat ice cream during the week. Go to the movies and eat tons of popcorn with butter. (Right now, with my bag, popcorn makes it blow up like a balloon and make loud honking noises.)

Bon courage x