Yeah, I'm coming up on 10 years of having my stoma, and I still have those feelings/behaviours sometimes.

I think it's harder when you have a urostomy or ileostomy because you expect it to be filling/full quite a few times a day, so you develop a slight OCD about checking it more often.

On the days I fast, it's actually really nice not to have to worry so much about it.

Yep I can see where you’re coming from. 99% of the time I forget the bag is there. Then I get a leak and that knocks confidence. But it’s part of the ostomy life we live. 😀

Yes, pretty much all the time I'm aware of what goes on in my pouch. The 1st few years were bad for me bcuz of very noisey gas but that seemed to settle down a fair bit. I use osto-e-z-vents & they have been a God send, but as Eric said ileostomies, like mine, can have high output. I've learned that leaving the house to go to town, means knowing where the washrooms are that I can use. I also usually wear a light sweater, something I can hold in front of me when I need to hide it a bit. 

My hand is often on mine, checking if it's filling, checking if I need to burp the bag before I go into a social situation etc. It's just part of my own anatomy now. Doesn't help that because mine is herniated I have to grab and hold everything in for sneezes and coughs!

you will get more confident as time goes on , I'm nearly 6 years post op and have few problems , I find using gelling products help a lot and adjusting the content so that it does not all gather at the top helps a lot , we are quite lucky here in Ireland as we can get as much supplies as we need and being able to change my bag a few times a day rather than emptying it helps a lot with the odour ,

this forum is the best resource and Eric deserves a medal for all his help to countless people all over the world .