I had my bladder removed in March 2016 and was advised by my surgeon that swimming would be fine. Unfortunately, as a male I found that the top half of my stoma bag was exposed above my swimming shorts. Not wishing to make it obvious that I had a bag several options were contemplated.
Finally, I decided on a neoprene wet suit vest which works very well from my viewpoint. Because wet suits are tight fitting I find the elasticity of the vest hides the bag well. The difficulty I discovered was in finding a sleeveless vest with a full frontal zip. Being nearly 80 my days of unzipping from the back are behind me (dreadful pun).
None of the shops here in Coffs Harbour had what I sought and I could not find anything online in Australia that suited me. Finally I managed to buy one
on the net from China. Not a great fit, probably because due to the stoma bag etc. my stomach seems to be the same circumference as my chest. Anyway,
I wear my 3mm Neoprene top and swim in the sea water every day. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Video about how a stoma affects daily life.
A diagnosis of rectal cancer resulted in a stoma for Graham.
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