What's It Like To Not Poo Out Your Bum Anymore?

Recently I was asked a rather personal question: “What is it like to not poo out of your bum anymore?”.

Although I was taken aback at first, as I thought about how to answer I realised that it’s probably a question that must be something that people without a stoma wonder about. After all, that's where part of the stigma over having a stoma comes from: your body no longer functions the same way everyone else's does. Their inability to understand is why questions like this should be asked and answered. I’d never really thought about it until then so I thought I’d post my answer for anyone else wondering about it.

Straight after my operation, it was extremely weird to try and wrap my head around. So much so, that at first I just used to sit on the toilet and do nothing. It was weird because for 2 years I’d spent the majority of my day on the toilet and now I had all these extra hours in the day that I didn’t know what to do with. It took me a good few weeks, I’d say probably about 6, to get over this. Now it's just second nature to go to the toilet and empty my bag in a couple of minutes then get on with my day. 

It’s nice to not be tied to the toilet nearly as much as I used to be, figuratively speaking that is. It’s nice to not have to worry about where the nearest toilet is every time that I step outside of my front door. To not have to plan my days around whether or not the place I’m going has ample facilities or how much I’m going to have to apologise and worry about what I’m going to have to say to whoever I’m with for fear that they might not fully understand what I’m telling them. 

This was the case for about 3 months at least. It’s slightly different now because my Colitis has flared back up again in the remaining rectal stump which has brought back the blood and pain I'd hoped to be free of for longer than those 3 months between September and December. However, this post isn't about my colitis flaring back up, it's about providing an answer to a question I was asked and honestly, it's not weird at all. I no longer give it a second thought because I know that if I hadn't had the surgery, my colon would have perforated and I may not be here today. 

I hope this has helped anyone wondering what it's like to no longer use your bum for its intended purpose. If there are any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section below or send me a message.

Until next time,

AJx

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