Hi. I'm a 37-year-old male who has had an ostomy since April 2015. So, this makes me very new to this lifestyle. I haven't found too much mental struggle nor "mourning" of my missing body part. But, as someone familiar with depression, I feel as though this could happen. So, I post here hoping this helps and to get responses in return with any thoughts. One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is the fact that I am single and what this means for that part of my life. I now have this enormous and ugly scar up and down my abdomen and a bag of poop dangling off to its side. What will a woman think, especially if they don't know about ostomies? How do I broach the subject with someone? How soon do I tell someone about it? I've always been an out-there, upfront, and honest guy with every woman I've dated. But I'm unsure how to handle this. I don't want to dwell as that is certainly a precursor to depression, so I'm hoping to just get responses and conversation to help me process and cope with these tough questions and emotions. Thank you all.
And, my colostomy is due to chronic diverticulitis and complications with surgery. I had a bowel resection in November 2014. In April 2015, I was diagnosed with a stricture and surgery was done. A day later I went septic and ended up on a ventilator for about a week with also more surgery and the colostomy being given. They tell me it's temporary, but it could be quite a while before they contemplate reversal due to the vast trauma I endured. Thank you again for reading.
