My son wants to start driving and return to the gym. We did buy a plastic item that slides over your seat belt that is supposed to keep the belt away from the stoma, but it is not deep enough. Also, sturdy protection to go over the stoma so it doesn't get squashed at the gym.
Does anyone know if there is anything that is about an inch in depth to allow for the stoma not to get squashed?
This is a remarkable community of 40,920 members.
You will get real advice from fellow ostomates who truly understand you - things you won't find in the books.
And it's not all about ostomy - there is friendship and relationships too.
Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
ron in mich
I like MAO because i learn new things from others sharing what they use.
https://www.stomagear.com/products/stomashield
— Proud owner of a lifesaving ostomy, vintage 2023, V6 colostomy engine.
Stoma guard, as already mentioned, or even a folded-up towel or small cushion under the seat belt, shouldn't really need a stoma guard for a gym workout, but if it makes you feel more confident about going.
Get a 6-inch piece of pool noodle. Cut it in half longitudinally. Place one piece on either side of your stoma under the seat belt. It works for me and is very cost-effective. You can adjust the length of the 6-inch piece to suit your needs, meaning it could be 5 inches or 4 inches. The diameter of the pool noodle should be about 7 cm.
You guys have your seatbelt so tight that it restricts flow? 🤔 Stoma Guard is probably the best and comes with various pads/sizes, so it's pretty adjustable.
I race sports cars and had to figure this problem out on a different scale for obvious reasons. My solution in the race car that transferred to street driving is to slide the lap belt under the bag/ostomy support wrap. This way, the lap belt is on my waist completely and the bag is not in the way of the belt. It's not the prettiest arrangement once the racing seat belts are all connected, but who cares, right, as long as they can hold me in the seat. The same goes for my street cars; once I'm in and belted, I'm comfortable and I know the lap belt isn't going to squish my bag. I wear a Nu-Hope support belt, 6 inches tall, and an Ostomy Secrets support wrap, the women's version because my body fits the hourglass shape better. That hourglass fitment has been a fantastic find as it greatly improved the fitment of shirts. Hope this helps!
My answer for driving was to buy a pair of very inexpensive foam knee pads (not the expensive heavy kind), cut off the elastic bands and such, and use one as a cover over the stoma, with the curved edge of the pad up and the flat edge down in my lap. (I trimmed the corners of the flat edge just a bit so they were more rounded.) It is convex enough to create space under it for the stoma, is kept in place with the lap belt, and the foam is firm enough that it doesn't flatten with the belt. I have done a lot of driving with this setup and not had any problems. We have two cars, so I keep one knee pad in each vehicle. Hope this helps with driving. Not sure if there is a way for this to work in the gym.
My husband got me this, and I need to buy another one to keep in his car. My stoma is about an inch below my belly button, and the lap belt part rides up and puts pressure on it when I'm driving/riding. I tried to put it below it and also above it when I forgot to grab it and drove his car and was miserable the entire drive. I ended up using my Kindle Paperwhite at an angle to push the seat belt up off it. They do make solid colors too :). I have no gym advice except maybe a stealth belt, or I read about another brand called Stashbandz if he is just trying to keep his bag secure while exercising.
I have a sheepskin cover that slips over the seatbelt and attaches with Velcro. I use it in my car and have a spare for traveling. It also doubles as a cushion for when I'm flying and renting a car at my destination.