Seize the Bag: Life After Colostomy

Seize the Bag: Life After Colostomy Thoughts on living with a colonostomy, resources and recommendations for supplies. Author also suffers from fibromyalgia, COPD, sleep apnea, and arthritis.

Sharing resources and equipment recommendations for all these conditions.

My skin, like my ailments, changes its properties every once in awhile. Last week, my skin around my stoma was very acco...
01/12/2026

My skin, like my ailments, changes its properties every once in awhile. Last week, my skin around my stoma was very accommodating and the adhesive circle of my ostomy bag fit securely for as long as I wore the bag. This week, not so much. After a new bag is put in place, the adhesive circle begins to pucker around the edges. This allows gas from the bag to escape. Gross!

Amazon to the rescue. Skin barrier ring is very flexible so it doesn’t pucker every time I move. The adhesive circle of my bag adheres to the skin barrier circle and creates a stable, secure fit.

Stoma timeline. For over two years, my stoma has been exactly the same. Other than the learning curve associated with di...
01/09/2026

Stoma timeline. For over two years, my stoma has been exactly the same. Other than the learning curve associated with dietary changes and which supplies are essential, there have been no issues. Why then, am I now experiencing pain in my stoma and a definite change in the output? I’m embarking on a trip down the rabbit hole of stoma research. I’ll let you know what I find out.

Anyone else feel like your internal thermostat is broken? I checked my temp—normal. So how can I explain this non-stop s...
01/03/2026

Anyone else feel like your internal thermostat is broken? I checked my temp—normal. So how can I explain this non-stop sweating alternating with chills ? For three days, my bag has essentially melted off my skin. When changing my bag, the air escaping from the bag and my stoma is like steam!
I feel fine. No fever. No rash. Just extreme heat and then out of nowhere I’m freezing. Yet another weird and wacky stoma story. If you are experiencing the same, you are not alone. Sorry I don’t have any answers yet, but I will.

When you have conditions all attacking your immune system and all causing pain (arthritis, COPD, fibromyalgia, diverticu...
01/02/2026

When you have conditions all attacking your immune system and all causing pain (arthritis, COPD, fibromyalgia, diverticulitis, and a stoma), nailing down a treatment plan is often like nailing jello to a tree. Something that I do is keep a “what’s working” journal. In the journal I record the date and time and what kind of pain I was experiencing, what I tried and what worked.If you put each of these into columns then you can sort by type of pain or type of remedy, even time of day-and hopefully identify patterns or at the very least, see what worked the last time you experienced this particular type of pain.

Happy New Year! My word for the year is transformation. Looking forward to whatever changes God has in store for me in 2...
01/01/2026

Happy New Year! My word for the year is transformation. Looking forward to whatever changes God has in store for me in 2026.

Celebrate your progress and productivity- no matter how small the accomplishment, the point is you’re moving forward and...
12/31/2025

Celebrate your progress and productivity- no matter how small the accomplishment, the point is you’re moving forward and that is enough.

End the year on a positive note. Think back on all the things (big or small) that God has allowed you to do.

12/31/2025

Look at you! You are absolutely killing it out there. ♥️ ~ Nanea

When your body feels tired or your spirit feels stretched thin, John 1:1 whispers a grounding truth:You are held by a Go...
12/26/2025

When your body feels tired or your spirit feels stretched thin, John 1:1 whispers a grounding truth:

You are held by a God who existed before your struggle and will remain long after it passes.

When you feel small in the face of uncertainty, remember:

The Word who shaped the universe is shaping you.

When you wonder if your story still has purpose:

The Author Himself is present on every page.

Nothing in your life is too tangled, too late, or too heavy for the One who has always been.

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a very merry pain free Christmas!
12/26/2025

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a very merry pain free Christmas!

Regardless of what chronic health condition(s) you have, get your affairs in order. You need a living will and/or a heal...
12/26/2025

Regardless of what chronic health condition(s) you have, get your affairs in order. You need a living will and/or a healthcare surrogate who is authorized to make decisions for your care in the event you are incapacitated. If you choose a surrogate, make sure they know your wishes as to ventilators or other life prolonging measures and that they are capable of following your wishes even if it means letting you go. If no surrogate is in place, your living will must be followed as written. If you have a surrogate, that person’s instructions are followed instead of the living will. At least that was my experience. In my opinion, my quality of life and certainly my current level of pain would have been drastically different if the hospital had followed my living will instructions.😢

20. Holiday gatherings and performances can bring anxiety. If you are prepared well in advance , you should be able to a...
12/23/2025

20. Holiday gatherings and performances can bring anxiety. If you are prepared well in advance , you should be able to attend all the festivities. For the arthritis and the fibromyalgia, I take my pain meds so they will take effect as the activity begins. I take an extra dose with me just in case. For the stoma, I have a “go bag” filled with ostomy bags, skin prep, and disposal bags. To further assuage anxiety, get dressed in plenty of time to rest before your departure.

19. When dealing with multiple ailments, especially if one is an autoimmune disease, you don’t know which is the culprit...
12/23/2025

19. When dealing with multiple ailments, especially if one is an autoimmune disease, you don’t know which is the culprit for your current discomfort. Such is the case for me for the past week. A fibromyalgia flare sent pain ricocheting off nerve endings throughout my body. Then I ran out of pain meds, so my arthritis became unbearable. Lab results and an ultrasound of my thyroid generated more questions than answers. Short version: it’s been a painful week and now my immune system is attacking my thyroid. Hang in there and share your experiences. You never know when something you share might save someone from pain.

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