Ever since going into surgery to get an ostomy done on my intestines, my life has been significantly changed in several different ways. Once I woke up in the hospital with a big old stoma on my abdomen, I knew things were going to be different. I felt like my world was spinning and turning upside down, but I had my family there in the hospital room who were very loving and supportive during that difficult time. One thing that I was worried about going forward into the recovery process was where I would be buying my ostomy gear. With the new addition of a stoma in my body, I knew that I would spend the rest of my life buying ostomy gear and different products to take care of my stoma. I had several conversations with the doctors about what gear I should be buying and where I was going to be getting it.
I spent the first few weeks after surgery recovering on the couch at home; this was a good time for me to catch up on some of my favorite shows that I had not been able to put the time in that I had wanted to. It was also a good time for me to start slowly introducing my body back to some normal foods and see how my stoma reacts with them. For the most part things went pretty well, though there are a few foods that tend to make me more gassy than others that I am going to have to try to avoid eating on a regular basis. One concern that I had was where I was going to buy my ostomy gear and supplies. I went to some places around town like Walmart and Meijer, but these were probably not the best places to look. They had a very small collection of ostomy products that were not super helpful for what I would be needing. Next I went to Walgreens to see if I could have better luck there. They definitely had more products than Walmart or Meijer and I spent a lot of time looking around the different shelves there. I ended up finding some products that my doctors recommended so I am gonna chalk that up as a win.
One thing I noticed while shopping for ostomy gear is that I feel pretty embarrassed about buying my products. Sure, I bet the cashiers at Walgreens see more embarrassing stuff being bought than ostomy related products, but I can’t help but feel like people are judging me everytime I walk up to pay for my stuff. Not everyone quite understands what a stoma is and I think some people are quick to make judgements about me because of it. It was nice to find a place that sells ostomy gear, but I have kept on looking around at different stores to see if there are any places nearby that have a better selection of products laying around. Adjusting to life with a stoma has been a bit of a struggle, but I am hopeful about the future and about finding more and more ostomy gear that’s right for me.
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