Positive Options for Living with Your Ostomy

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Nearly half a million people in the U.S. have an ostomy—an opening which is created to expel waste when the body’s normal systems for discharging waste are not functioning due to disease or injury. This book deals specifically with openings on the abdomen called colostomies (large intestine), ileostomies (small intestine), and urostomies (urinary tract) which handle waste materials from our digestive tracts. If you have had this operation or will have to have it in the future, this book aims to provide information on the practical and emotional aspects of life after surgery. The fact that ostomies are often life-saving procedures does not make them any easier to adjust to or live with. Changing the way your body rids itself of waste material is a big issue mentally as well as physically. While clearly explaining the basics about ostomies and ostomy-care, this book also includes the kind of information and psychological adjustment advice that doctors, surgeons and nurses may not give.