Getting back in the water - post stoma surgery

I returned to swimming six weeks after my stoma surgery.  I had done extensive research about stoma bags including swimming with them before my colostomy. 

I soon discovered my usual two-piece sport bikini wasn’t going to work for a moderate to vigorous front crawl swim whilst wearing a stoma bag. The drag created from the bag tugged uncomfortably and in one instance came off.  I also found a normal one-piece swimsuit lacked support around the abdomen.  

Choosing the right swim wear with support was important to me as I wanted to minimise my risk of developing a parastomal hernia.

I tried several legsuits and found one that also had some compression. Although it was designed for entry racing it was easy to get in and out of, unlike more technical racing suits. It did the job of giving me the right support to look after my stoma which is my priority.

The downside was people thought I wanted to race them and were both curious and amused when I slowly ambled along.

Despite my research and feeling confident that my stoma was supported I was still apprehensive and a little nervous about getting back in the water after surgery. Concerns ran through my mind about whether my bag would stay on, what if my stoma was active or leaked.

However, it felt so good to be back in the water and I soon relaxed into it.  I started with 20 lengths and slowly built back up. I was swimming 3 – 4 times a week in a 25m pool and avoided tumble turns.

Over the next few weeks, I increased each week by 10 – 15 lengths and added in arm work with a pull buoy.

At 10 weeks I completed a warm up of 16 – 20 lengths before I attempted to tumble turn.

However, I then discovered an additional challenge which was keeping my bag on. I found that as my duration in the water increased towards an hour and my swimming pace increased, the base plate of my stoma bag would start to come adrift.

I overcame this by using additional elastic tape designed to hold the baseplate down.

A few months in I got asked what race was I training for? I did explain why I was wearing the legsuit saying it was to look after my stoma which then led to ‘What is a stoma?’

I am always happy to educate about stomas to raise awareness.

As the months passed, I rebuilt my core strength, flexibility and fitness in the pool and on land in the gym and through yoga. I finally decided to try swimming in a training one-piece swimsuit instead of the leg suit and I haven’t looked back since.

Whilst I’m happy to wear a bikini to lounge around a pool and take a dip, for a training swim I always wear a full swimsuit. This helps keep my bag in place.