My first time kiteboarding with a stoma1 was nerve wracking. I didn’t know what to expect. I had done all the rehab to strengthen my core, so I wasn’t really worried about getting a hernia at this stage. I was more worried about how the pouching system would hold up with all the movement, the wetsuit, and the harness. I wear a waist harness, which would be above the stoma and bag, but was worried it would slide down and put pressure and possibly break the seal on the bag, or even somehow damage the stoma site.
For my first session I wore a full length 4:3 wetsuit2. Under the wetsuit, I wore my regular ostomy bag, but over the bag I put on ostomy armour. My ostomy armour is a thin metal plate with a 1 inch thick foam backing, protecting the stoma from impacts. There is a keyhole cut out of the foam that the stoma fits into and is still able to function and drain into the bag.
Ostomy Bag 
Ostomy Armour
So with my gear ready, I was set to hit the water. I was so excited. I hadn’t been out kiting since the previous summer, and my health was so bad, it hardly counted as kiteboarding.
The wind was very light, and I was pretty underpowered the entire time. But, I was kiteboarding, and I was stoked! It felt so good to get on the water. The feeling of dipping my edge in, and powering up the kite and cruising along. Mentally I was soaring. A massive weight was lifted off of me. I can do this again! I even tried jumping a couple of times! But a combination of light wind, and my poor edging left me with some really small jumps. I guess I am going to have to work on my technique!
As I was riding, I noticed a couple of issues happening with my harness and bag. My harness was sitting a little too low, and the armour was sticking out a bit more than I imagined it would, so those two things were bumping up against each other, causing me some discomfort. Not only was it uncomfortable, like a soft jabbing, but it was making me worried that the bag was somehow coming off inside my wetsuit.
While usually I find that the armour helps to secure the bag by applying pressure and holding it firmly against my body, it proved detrimental for kiteboarding. My waist harness applied a bit of downward pressure on the armour, and because it sticks out so far, instead of pulling into me, it tended to push straight down. I thought for sure that my bag had come off in my wetsuit, and that I was in for a major cleanup!
I came in, landed my kite, grabbed my extra ostomy supplies and headed for the porta-potty on site. I carefully rolled my wetsuit down to inspect the damage. And sure enough, the edges of the baseplate securing my bag had come up considerably, and while I didn’t leak anywhere, it was a close thing. Had I stayed out much longer, there is no doubt the bag would have come completely off. As the seal was compromised, I opted to change everything to avoid any potential risk of a leak.
I am still fairly early in my days with an ileostomy3, so I haven’t had to be too adventurous with where I change my bag. Up to this point, I have always changed it on my schedule, in my own bathroom where I am familiar with everything. If I make a mess, no worries, there is a shower right beside me, and I have everything needed for a cleanup job. So with the wetsuit pulled down to my waist, and supplies ready to go, I managed to change into a fresh bag without incident. How is that for a confidence boost! I managed to avoid getting poop on, or in my wetsuit, I’ll take that as a victory!
1 A stoma is a surgically created opening in either the large or small intestine that allows for waste to bypass the rectum and drain into a bag.
2 4mm of neoprene through the torso and legs, 3mm of neoprene through the shoulders and arms.
3 Ileostomy is a stoma constructed by bringing the end or loop of small intestine out onto the surface of the skin, or the surgical procedure which creates this opening. Intestinal waste passes out of the ileostomy and is collected in an artificial external pouching system which is adhered to the skin.
This is such an inspiring story Alex! We really hope more ostomates will find the courage and confidence to go back to the things they like to do, and live the life they want to live!
Cannot wait for your next blog article!
Thank you so much Nelson. That is my hope as well!
You’re amazing brother. I’m so glad you’re getting back to doing the crazy stuff you used to do that makes everyone ELSE watching you shit their pants 🙂
Thanks buddy, I appreciate it!
Stoked to see the progression in your health over the last months homie, from rock bottom to long-term recovery in physical and mental health! I’m gonna wait for a few more posts, though, that boost my confidence on the low likelyhood of a shit spill everywhere, before I allow bag changes by the heat of the woodstove in the van 😉
We’ve seen the handle pass, that’s old news. I wanna see the kiteloop bag-pass/swap now, please.
Looking forward to reading about some of your snowboard sessions soon. Sorry I won’t be there to absolutely light up the Seymour kiddy park jumps with you (promise me to go bigger than that, we were embarrassing…).
Keep up the good YOLOing work.
Thanks buddy! Appreciate all the support in the gym along the way! And I promise not to get any poop in your van!
Hi Glad to see some positive vibes… I had a ileostomy last year second operation after having Crohns for 30 yrs… Just strengthening the core hoping to try kite surfing this year. Wakeboarded for years.. I was hoping you could give me an idea of what the stoma guard you use and if its worked well, Ive ordered a few but not been up to much!
Stay safe…
Hi Adam, I’m stoked you want to get into kiting, it is one of the most exciting sports! Make sure you really build a solid foundation for your core, that has been the biggest thing for me. Getting a hernia is a very real possibility, but if you build that solid core strength you should be fine.
As for which stoma guard I bought, I went with Ostomy Armour. Its super solid, and acts as a hernia belt as well. My issue with it is lack of range of motion, especially bending at the waist I find it can really get in the way. I don’t use if for kiteboarding or snowboarding anymore, but if I were to participate in potential high impact sports I would wear it. I have seen, but not yet tried a new belt out, its not a guard, but more of a support, Mr. Colitis Crohn’s designed and developed it (he is based in the UK, but ships worldwide) and it looks pretty interesting.
Good luck with building up your core strength, and getting back into sports!
Thats good to know what’s the one in the UK…? I’ll have a look at that…
Getting out on the paddle board up to the lock down, and taken up sailing too. But all we can do at the minute is keep the YouTube vids flowing…
Stay safe!
I think his website is mrcolitiscrohns.com. And make sure you take advantage of this forced down time to work on that core!
Hi Alex,
It looks like you kite in the gorge..yes?
If so I used to kite there all the time until last year when I got my ostomy.
I’d be great to talk with you more about kiting with an ostomy.
Thx so much,
Patti
Hi Patti,
I have done a bit of kiting down in the gorge, but mostly I get out up here in Squamish BC. I’ll shoot you an email shortly and we can chat more!
Hi
Have you discovered better harnesses since? Any updates? I have an ileostomy and want to try kiteboarding but am definitely worried.
What about no armour and using a kiteboarding seat harness that doesn’t go around the stomach?
Hi Tyler,
I am going to try a Mystic Hardshell this season and see how it goes. I really don’t like the idea of a seat harness as the kite pulls the bar up, which would cause more friction with the bag and stoma than I would like.
I have since stopped using the armour, and have kited a bunch with no issues! My main recommendation is spending a lot of time building and then maintaining your core strength.
Hi Alex,
I’m awaiting bowel surgery and aim to eventually get back into kiting after the op. Am interested to know which aspects you found most physically challenging with a stoma. I just cruise around and ride upwind, do basic transitions, am low intermediate so no jumps yet. My guess is that the basic waterstart has some challenges – curled up in a ball with your knees pulled in to your chest as you put the board on your feet. Does that not feel like one of the actions where hernia risk increases?
What about just riding along? Does that feel very different/like it’s an abdominal strain? Thanks.
Jake
Hi Jake,
My apologies for taking so long to respond!! I’ve certainly neglected this space the last few months! I’m so sorry about that!
As far as my biggest concerns, it was more the tension through the core when you get extended I was worried about. Generally when you are compact and bent in, you are a little better protected.
My biggest take away was really spending tons of time building up foundational core strength. I saw a physio who gave me exercises to use that helped support and prevent potential hernia’s. I spent a few months building up the strength before attempting to kite.
I found when i was just riding, and leaning back into the harness there didn’t seem to be any strain on the core, it was more when you start jumping that you put the strain on your core. And with good foundational strength you should be okay.
Hello, is there an update of this post? are you actually kite surfing with stoma protector? Which hardware are you using for kite (1 pc, 2 pcs, belts, protector ecc) and how to avoid big bulge/compression under the wetsuit?