Outdoor activities with an ileostomy

It's now less than a week until I trek off to Staffordshire to spend a week volunteering at a kids activity camp! The camp is for children with illnesses and disabilities, and gives them a chance to spend a week having fun without the main focus being on their condition. I can't wait to get involved! My week at camp will be full of activities, ranging from den building to climbing, swimming to abseiling, and time spent in the outdoors.

Besides this, I've always loved outdoor pursuits. My hometown is really close to the Peak District, meaning I spent a lot of my childhood out there walking. I live in a village anyway, so the countryside is a real love of mine. Over the years (and before I was diagnosed with UC), I completed Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and even a 2 week alpine trek to Switzerland and Italy. I've always gone climbing, biking and hiking, and the outdoors is one of my greatest loves.

When I was diagnosed and had my emergency stoma surgery, I initially thought my outdoors days were up - or at least seriously limited. How was I meant to exist out on the hillside with not a toilet in sight? Would a climbing harness fit me with a stoma bag? Would swimming even be an option?

Actually, none of this has been an issue. Since my surgery, my outdoor pursuits have continued without any limits whatsoever.

Brecon Beacons 2015

At uni, I got involved with a local DofE group and have started to train as a supervisor, taking a group of Golds out on their practice expedition to the Brecons. This trip involved wild camping, with limited access to bathrooms of any kind (even on campsites!) We walked long distances of over 10km each day, for 8 hours at a time.

The good news with a stoma is that you don't need some massive facilities to change it - just bring your usual kit with you (in a waterproof, sealed bag, to keep things from becoming damp) and you can even change in a tent if you're feeling confident enough (been there, done that). Dealing with a stoma while out in the countryside revolves largely around watching what you eat - avoiding a large breakfast, for example, can mean you'll go a long while before needing the loo.

However, you've got to balance this with getting enough energy to hike safely - being starving isn't healthy for a long walk - so consider something like a banana, or cereal, which is small but pretty filling (and also slows down gut transit). Drink plenty of water and carry rehydration salts (dioralyte) just in case. Wear loose clothing, in case of 'ballooning' - if others can't see it, it doesn't really matter anyway. Take imodium plentifully! I always take a huge supply. If the situation becomes really urgent, there's always the option of a wild empty (take hand sanitisers etc in case).

I also went away several times with a certain like-minded person (also very into camping) and together we've been around both the Peak and Lake Districts. Again, camping is no issue with a stoma, the only issue I ever found being getting up at night - a lot less appealing if you're trekking in the dark to the toilet block at 3am in the rain. If you can put up with that for the sake of the beautiful countryside, then you're all good.

I've done climbing since my op, but always wear a hernia belt - I think I always will do, for the fact that my scars put me at higher risk and it's an activity involving a lot of stomach muscle. It's still perfectly possible, however, and the climbing harness is no problem at all!

Swimming (as I've covered before) is perfectly fine too. You can get extender strips of tape for extra waterproof security, but they're not even essential. Your bag is designed not to come loose under water, and there's no more chance it will in the pool than it would elsewhere.

Of course, on camp we'll be staying indoors, not camping - but there'll be lots of activities going off. On a recent holiday with a friend, we even went indoor caving - which included crawling through tunnels on my belly, squeezing through little spaces - and I still had no bother. If that doesn't cause me an issue, I don't think anything will.

Night hike 2015

Although there's some advance planning needed, outdoor pursuits with a stoma shouldn't be much different to pre-surgery, and life certainly shouldn't be put on hold. It's likely you'll feel a lot healthier after surgery than you did during the UC days, and it's great to take this opportunity with both hands. 

Because, let's be honest, for all the wild emptying/3am toilet block trips in the rain, I wouldn't give up this beautiful view!