Sharon's Successful trip to Asia

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Linda in NJ
Posts: 166
Joined: 2005-09-30 23:00:46

Sharon's Successful trip to Asia

Post by Linda in NJ »

Our friend Sharon posted this in the "Beyond the Pouch" forum, and graciously agreed that I could copy it here:

I'm a very long time ileostomate but I still have my ostomy-related victories! We travel regularly, and I do fine-ostomy and all- however, we always go to westernized countries like those of Western Europe, Israel, Canada, etc. Anyway we just returned from our first visit to Asia and to a Third World country, Bhutan. I'd been having concerns about supplies since I realized there would be no way to obtain anything there. I grossly overpacked supplies and put 10 changes in each piece of luggage, including carry-on, which totaled 40 changes. I only used 6, but having so much made me comfortable, one never knows about war, earthquakes, typhoons, and other events that may cause a tourist to be stranded! As it turned out there was an earthquake and a typhoon but we didn't get stranded.

I had some food conerns as well, since I knew ahead of time that the Bhutanese eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I do too at home, but then I go potty a lot at home as well, and since we'd be on car rides and hikes I wanted to minimize output as much as possible. I ate a pretty low residue diet of rice, noodles, some meat, and small amts of vegetables. Never got diarrhea either--another big worry!!! Ibuprofen helped to slow my output as well. I still needed more 'bush stops' than others, but oh well... The guide may have wondered what I was doing in the bushes since it does take me longer than someone just taking a 'whizz'. I got pretty good at emptying my pouch with my ready, aim, fire!

A nurse at a travel clinic before I left had suggested NOT showering with my stoma exposed since the water is not potable and the stoma may be an entry point for infection. Hadn't really thought of this, but just to be safe I changed using stoma wipes and didn't expose the stoma to non-potable water. In some ways it was easier not showering to do a change. My skin looks fine also.

Anyway, I won't go on and on, just wanted to share my victory and let everyone know that even after having an ileostomy for much of my 51 year life, victory can still happen!!!
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