Sunday, March 12, 2017

Enjoying Good Weather With a Stoma

There really is nothing that I love more than being outside and spending that time with my family.  Rather it is spring or fall those time periods seem to fit my preferences for the weather to a tee.  And let's face it pumpkin spice and cucumber water is such a win.  But with this part of the year comes a lot of different foods and drinks and if you have a stoma, it may mean a whirlwind of changes.  Sometimes the extra food you eat can have some rather annoying side effects.  Now that I have a stoma I am a little more conscious of my diet and especially during possible holiday times. 



The first few times I over-eat on the holidays ended up being pretty bad.  First I was frustrated because I was told to not eat most of the foods I really enjoy.  So that is what I did, I literally stuck with my strict diet.  My diet was not very fun and to be honest it made me stand out at my holiday parties and so on.  It was a bit frustrating.  I was flat out ignorant and I learned quickly that is a bad thing. 


I also did not do well on my next holiday season and went to the complete opposite spectrum.   It was certainly a big issue because I went all out.  I just enjoyed all the foods I felt I had been stripped of.  Now I do not suggest this at all. I had so many digestion issues and let's face it I felt super fat.  No way was this a win in any shape and form.  And believe me, it felt like I was shooting out my dinner and snacks like a rock.  But there is always a good and a bad to me and lessons to learn. 



There is always wisdom in learning and it is good to have a nice balanced approach to your ostomy care.  When it comes to the holidays, enjoy it in moderation.  That is what I think is the most important part.  Moderation is good for most things in life.  My ostomy does not hold me back, but the more I learn the more I am able to enjoy life.  I now know what had more fiber in it and it took years to learn.  So feel free to make mistakes.  It is not the end of the world, just bad sounds and feelings.  


Learn from others and be smart enough to not fall where they fell.  What I am talking about is doing self-research.  I think that going online and learning your social media outlets is a great start.  There are entire websites dedicated to diets and food knowledge for all types of ostomies.  It is really incredible how much knowledge we have.  IT is insane the knowledge that is available.  I suggest starting on the web.  Find a few good forums websites and learn what you can and then move on. 


It is always worth it to dive deep into the social media world. I know for a fact it helped me.  Youtube and Instagram are amazing for finding people who are willing to share their life with you.  Remember though that most of those people want to be paid.  Be wise and not super trusting but enjoy the knowledge.