Support wear
I use support wear on a daily basis and am always in it unless I am in the shower or swimming. I wear it around the house, to work, to exercise and to sleep in. I have different items of support wear that provide varying levels of support depending on what I am doing. If I am sleeping or sat watching tv I have a very low level of support and if I am running or doing a class at the gym I wear my highest level of support.
I have a few items from the high street that are tummy control type garments so they're either knickers that come high up your abdomen or they're long vests that are made of much tighter material than a vest usually would be. However what I use the most are the two below items that are both made by Suportx. There are a lot of manufacturers of specialist support wear for people with stomas and for hernia preventation, I have found Suportx meets my needs the best.
My first stoma resulted in a hernia and so I've been wearing support wear for as long as I have had a stoma. I had my hernia repaired when my second end stoma was formed but as I have had a hernia previously I am at higher risk of another one developing. To prevent a hernia forming is the main reason I wear support wear but I do also like the fact it keeps my bag flat against my stomach and it helps to stop my stoma from prolapsing.
As well as a support wear tube or belt which the below items are, I always wear a belt that clips onto my stoma bag. This helps keep the base part of the bag adhered to my skin and pulls it into a little dip I have all around my stoma, so my stoma comes out of my abdomen at a satisfactory level for output to go into the bag and my stoma isn't sitting too flush with my stomach or retracting into the dip around it. You can see the outline of the belt in the nude support wear tube below.
This first item is model SPX726 and it measures 26cm from top to base and is a tube so you can either put it on over your head and pull it down or step into it, there is no way to adjust the fit of it. You can get more shallow belts that don't come as far up your abdomen as the below. This sits just under my bustline as the photos show and I find the tube doesn't roll down as a result of sitting so high on my abdomen. The material is 65% Polyamide and 35% Lycra and it feels supportive but not restrictive or uncomfortable. This tube gives me enough support on a daily basis to do things like go to work or go on a night out. The top and bottom of the tube have a sort of semi sticky lining of silicone all the way around, this helps to keep the tube in place when it's on. I just wash this as I would regular clothes and it dries very quickly.
The below item is a tube belt and is model SPX554B, Suportx have named this their easypeel belt. You open up the two flaps, wrap it around your abdomen and then Velcro the belt to a tightness you feel comfortable with. I wear the belt with the flaps at the front and just have regular knickers on underneath. This belt sits lower than my bustline as it is not as deep as the above tube. The material is 57% Polyamide, 23% Cotton and 20% Elastane and again I just wash this item with the rest of my clothes. The material is very breathable, I wear this when walking my dog, going to the gym or attending gym classes and running and I never feel too uncomfortable or sweaty in it. This has the same silicone band on the top and bottom inside of the belt so it stays in place.
I have a few items from the high street that are tummy control type garments so they're either knickers that come high up your abdomen or they're long vests that are made of much tighter material than a vest usually would be. However what I use the most are the two below items that are both made by Suportx. There are a lot of manufacturers of specialist support wear for people with stomas and for hernia preventation, I have found Suportx meets my needs the best.
My first stoma resulted in a hernia and so I've been wearing support wear for as long as I have had a stoma. I had my hernia repaired when my second end stoma was formed but as I have had a hernia previously I am at higher risk of another one developing. To prevent a hernia forming is the main reason I wear support wear but I do also like the fact it keeps my bag flat against my stomach and it helps to stop my stoma from prolapsing.
As well as a support wear tube or belt which the below items are, I always wear a belt that clips onto my stoma bag. This helps keep the base part of the bag adhered to my skin and pulls it into a little dip I have all around my stoma, so my stoma comes out of my abdomen at a satisfactory level for output to go into the bag and my stoma isn't sitting too flush with my stomach or retracting into the dip around it. You can see the outline of the belt in the nude support wear tube below.
This first item is model SPX726 and it measures 26cm from top to base and is a tube so you can either put it on over your head and pull it down or step into it, there is no way to adjust the fit of it. You can get more shallow belts that don't come as far up your abdomen as the below. This sits just under my bustline as the photos show and I find the tube doesn't roll down as a result of sitting so high on my abdomen. The material is 65% Polyamide and 35% Lycra and it feels supportive but not restrictive or uncomfortable. This tube gives me enough support on a daily basis to do things like go to work or go on a night out. The top and bottom of the tube have a sort of semi sticky lining of silicone all the way around, this helps to keep the tube in place when it's on. I just wash this as I would regular clothes and it dries very quickly.
I couldn't be without either of these items now I have them - they're almost as essential as my stoma care items. They're enabling me to live an active life with my stoma and not worry about doing anything too intensive as I know my stoma and the area surrounding it is well supported.
If you want to find out about the range of current Suportx support wear you can find them online here. If there is a stoma event taking place in your area you're generally able to meet with suppliers like Suportx and see some of their items up close. You can then arrange for one of their representatives to come out to meet with you, show you some of the products and measure you for an item. This is advisable as sometimes items can be custom made to provide a bespoke fit. I'm in the UK and so I then had to take my Suportx order to my GP surgery to authorise the items to be ordered.
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