WEBINAR: Living with an Ostomy 101 – Surviving and Thriving the First Six Months and Beyond

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I had the pleasure of being a panelist during the “Living with an Ostomy 101” webinar that was hosted by Corstrata last month.

We invite you to join Eric Polsinelli, author of the award-winning VeganOstomy Blog: IBD, ostomy, veganism, life; Dawnette Meredith, author of Awesome Ostomy: Strategies and Resources for Living with an Ostomy, and Myra Varnado, BS, RN, CWON, CFCN, Director of Clinical Services for CORSTRATA for an interactive discussion on Living with an Ostomy 101 – Surviving and Thriving the First Six Months and Beyond

Panelists share their expertise and experiences on how to navigate this life-changing event from pre- to post-ostomy surgery and answer your most critical health and lifestyle questions ostomates have during the first six months following surgery.

This webinar is intended to help both ostomates and caregivers with important information and tips on living with an ostomy, including:

• How to prepare for surgery
• What you need to know before you leave the hospital
• Managing your ostomy at home
• How to get back to work, school and everyday life
• Best resources for ostomy appliances and services
• And more!

You can watch the recorded webinar below:

https://vimeo.com/247822266

Disclosure: Corstrata compensated me for my time preparing for and participating in the webinar. My participation does not equal my endorsement for the services they offer, but I do believe that telemedicine and telenursing in general can be a valueable asset to patients.

You can find out more about their services at http://corstrata.com/

You can also learn more about the work that Dawnette does on her website http://awesomeostomy.com/

12 thoughts on “WEBINAR: Living with an Ostomy 101 – Surviving and Thriving the First Six Months and Beyond”

  1. Hi Larry…I do not recall seeing you before. Are you new here? Tell us your story if so. Friendly people and sharing does help. I had my J Pouch from 1996 to 2009. It was great. It did well until things went south. Samples have helped in choosing a better bag then what I came out of the hospital with. Having one that releases the gas is great otherwise I was burping the bag more then I had to empty it…that was a lot!
    The only thing I have trouble with is the length of the bag. It pokes my leg something awful all the time. So, I tape it up and put it in its place. Seem I should get some Gel for the bag. I may sleep better knowing I would not get a real liquidy leak. Try samples galore until you are satisfied with what you have.
    Thank you for sharing….Linda

    Reply
      • No, Eric, I have not tried one. However, I did try a bag that had material on each side of it and I found it too bulky which is kind of nuts. Maybe a silky one would help. I will think about it. I do not have a charge card or anything so I do not buy on line. Have I told you your site is great?!

        Reply
  2. Eric just watched the Webinar and found it so comprehensive. Great job by you and your fellow participants.
    Also took a long look at insipire.com as I didn’t know that it existed and found it really helpful. Thanks for your hard work and dedication for providing never ending information to all of your members.

    Reply
  3. why is it, do you think that you can get a knee replacement, a hip replacement, new heart valve even invitro surgery where operations go through the mothers body into the babies body and yet the best modern medicine can do for us is a plastic bag glued to our belly?

    Reply
    • Actually, many people do not need the bag and can have an internal pouch formed (i.e. j-pouch) and can go to the bathroom normally. Some ostomates even qualify for BCIR, which is an internal ostomy (you’d still empty through your abdomen).

      For those who have colostomies, irrigation can make them “bag-free” for a day or more.

      There are actually several complexities when it comes to ostomy surgery:
      – someone may have a disease that makes it very difficult to “get rid of the bag” because the disease would attack any other body modifications.
      – if someone’s ostomy is far enough up their digestive tract, there isn’t much to work with and an external pouch becomes the best option.

      Reply
    • Hello Larry…I had a J pouch from 1996 to 2009. It was wonderful and worked well untill things got screwy again. This was new to me as I had not heard of it before I was told I needed surgery. I just came out of surgery with it. It ws a good time for adjustment and the what may come next, thing. In 2009 I needed an Iloeostomy. I love mine and tho I never had a really good Ostomy nurse, everything I learned I learned on my own. I felt tht they really failed in there instruction as they seemed to assume that someone was telling me wht I needed to know, when in actuality, no one really was. However the head nurse gave me more information then the ostomy nurse. But, the ostomy nurse did make sure I went home with the needed supplies to get me started. I had not even changed a bag at that point. On my own from the start. I felt ditched.
      Sorry you seem frusterated with technology, but believe me just being able to have a bag that looses the gas itself is a real joy. Before that I had to burp it more often then I had to empty it which was a lot. Are you new? I do not recall seeing you before. Tell us your story.
      Linda

      Reply

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