It’s almost that time of year again. When the leaves are green, the tank tops come out, the iced tea is being poured, and summertime is underway.  Ok well maybe not almost, but it is starting too slowly warm up outside. (And hey if you live in the south, summer will be there in like…two weeks!) Even though summer is still a few months away, it’s never too early to start planning. Especially when you have a stoma, and even more so if you’ve never experienced a summer with a stoma. Let me tell you, it’s no 4^th of July picnic that’s for sure. But it doesn’t have to be miserable. You just need to know a couple things before the fireworks start. 

First of all, if you’ve just had ostomy surgery the best thing you can do is take your time and heal. That should be your first and foremost priority. Once the healing process takes place, you then need to go through an adjustment period. Things are different now. You no longer do certain things the way you used too. And hey, that’s ok. It just takes a little time getting used too. Just make sure you’re speaking out when you’re feeling down, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You need all the love and support you can get. 

Once you’ve gone through that initial adjustment phase and you’re at a point where you’ve embraced the new normal (or as much as one really can), now it’s time to look to the future. Summer. When you can’t hide that pouch (and maybe a pooch…ahem that’s me) under a baggy sweater anymore. Instead, you have the t-shirts, tank tops, and those cute little summer dresses to choose from. But don’t freak out! There are ways you can hide the pouch. One method that has helped for me is by going to an online clothing retailer that makes specially clothing for people like you and me. There are these nifty little bands that you can put over the top of the pouch that act almost like Spanx would, and it has a smoothing effect that helps to make it disappear under your shirt. Plus, this is great for also keeping it in place when you’re running around doing all those fun summertime activities.  

Another thing to plan for during summertime is water time. After all, what’s summer without a pool, lake, or beach? And despite what you might think, your stoma and pouch are totally water friendly. There are just a couple things to watch out for. The first one is you want to make sure before going in water that you check the seal and your baseplate. Make sure everything is sticking and is tight. Otherwise, it can leak. It’s also good to empty out your pouch before diving in. Also, like with the band, it’s good to have a tighter swimming suit (thankfully they’ve finally mad one pieces cute) that way everything stays in place. And if you plan on being in the water fairly often, just be regularly changing out your pouch, so again the adhesion doesn’t fail. 

Summertime doesn’t have to be a scary time when you have a stoma. On the contrary it can be an amazing time. You just need to do a little pre planning before you’re ready to do some suntanning (sorry couldn’ help it) in order for you to have a rockin’ summer!