Support for Sports with Urostomy Bag

I had my bladder and prostate removed in October due to bladder cancer and I'm currently undergoing chemotherapy. I want to get back to tennis and golf ASAP but need advice on the best forms of support. There is lots online for colostomy but nothing for urostomy.......can you help?

Hello Andy B. I don't have a urostomy and therefore cannot really answer your question with any confidence of understanding the problems you face. However, I note that nobody else has (as yet) answered your post, so I will make a comment of my own.  It would appear that the regular contributors to this site are mostly those with colostomies or ileostomies and occasionally someone mentions that they have a urostomy. I assume that many people drift on and off the site as per their needs, so at any one time there may not be too many urostomates reading the posts. In such circumstances, It might be more productive to make contact with those who have previously posted about their urostomies. You can do this via the 'premium content' section and look under 'urostomy', where all the old posts have been saved. If there is a post in there that is relevant to your problem or interest, then you can still reply to it, no matter how old it is. What usually happens automatically, is that whoever was watching the post at the time, will recieve an email alerting them to the fact that someone has newly posted. This way, the forum topic can stay active indefinitely.

I hope this is helpful to you and I also hope that someone (knowlegeable) replies directly to your own post.

Best wishes

Bill  

I had my bladder and everything (female bits) removed Nov 10/18. Everyone seems to think the wraps are good for support. I have always gone to the gym. To get back in shape, I bought a girdle and cut a hole for the bag, and it works for me.

Lost my bladder and prostate in Oct 2007. I wear a belt that I get from Byram Healthcare Atlanta GA. I am not into sports too much but I would not think contact sports would work. I worked in a shop for 5 years after my operation and was a volunteer firefighter for 5 more years, totaling 42 at both. I reroofed my house, installed new windows and siding with my little bag friend. Not sorry to have it a bit. I fish a lot also. I was putting in a large window the first year after I got the bag and pulled it off, so I went to the belt. It's been good so far. I change my little buddy every 6 days. Hope that helps.

G'day Andy,

I hope this link idea works... https://www.meetanostomate.org/discussion-forum/viewtopic.php?t=9460 highlight=

If it did scroll to my last post and you will see a hernia support belt. This is the style I thought I would get via the Oz government supply, but then I discovered that no belt with a hole in it is endorsed in Oz as they risk a hernia developing through the hole.

So I got an endorsed belt that is 21 cm wide and 100 cm long. It locks with Velcro. When positioned over the stoma, the belt almost covers the whole of the bag. I mean just the tap pokes out from under the belt. When I asked the Stoma Nurse how does the stoma manage to output when it is firmly covered by a broad belt, she said, it just does. She was right, of course.

I have been wearing this belt for 2 weeks (because I have a slight parastomal hernia) and nothing has changed in my daily functions. When it comes to bag draining time, I roll up the belt maybe 5 cm to expose the bag more fully.

The reason I am talking about a hernia belt is I think it would give you 100% support for any active sport. No bag flopping about. Coraline has the same idea.

Tom

Thank you Dewey, that's a very encouraging message and I take hope and encouragement from it. I live in the UK so can't use your belt supplier.....I'm trying to find a suitable one here.

Best wishes

Andy

Thank you for this very helpful email. I have a belt which I've only worn once because I felt sure it was going to burst the bag and I didn't want to take the risk, but having read your message, I will give it a go. The stoma nurses say the same thing here about cutting a hole, so I guess they must be right. Thanks again and best wishes from the UK

Andy

Hi Andy,

I have had a urostomy since I was 2 years old and I'm now approaching my 50th year. It's fair to say I have struggled with active sport over the years and tried numerous products and garments in an attempt to continue active sports. I even managed to play rugby up until my mid-teens. I see you are located in the UK. There is a very good company I came across a number of years ago based in Scotland. They specialize in underwear. I would certainly check them out. They have very good hernia support wear which I found useful as they are very tight fitting. The boxer shorts they provide are also very useful and I find since wearing them for support during sports I get very little leakage and most importantly for me they hide the fact that you have a bag.

They are called Vanilla Blush - there may be others out there but I would certainly try them. They are very helpful and being in the UK you will get some products on NHS prescription.

Hope that helps.

Robbie

Andy, everyone's advice is straight on, but how do you feel? Chemo can really drag you down, and I've met some who did too much too soon and had to stop...you know yourself, but don't try to impress anyone. You need to heal: mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is not easy, and excuse me, but I fear you may be trying to recreate your past life without allowing enough time to fully integrate your new 'facts of life'. In my own experience, my brain was racing but the chemo and radiation were the winners---quite temporarily. In giving myself the time I needed, I healed faster, had no post-op problems, and my cancer has been successfully treated (although I'm still on the five-year plan). Think about it, and feel free to ignore me if I'm out of line. dls

Hi Andy, I had my bladder and prostate out in June and have been back jogging since August. I found that I need to use elasticated shorts which tend to be longer than normal shorts and they have a high waist that covers my bag. I then empty the bag before starting any activity and have had good results. I found I needed a larger size for comfort.

I've not been swimming yet but I have been scuba diving with no problems so far.

Good luck, Steve

Just some information I took pictures of my belt and my buddy I sleep with. Bed at 11:00 PM and up at 6:30 most of the time. Wear the belt for 6 days then change everything except in summer when I sweat a lot I change more often.