Living with an ostomy requires some adjustments, especially when it comes to how your body handles medications. Depending on whether you have a colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy, your body may absorb medicines differently. This can sometimes reduce how well certain drugs or supplements work.

Knowing how your ostomy affects medication absor

There isn’t one specific “ostomy diet,” but there are important things to keep in mind as you learn which foods work best for your body.

Follow your nurse’s or doctor’s instructions during each stage of recovery. Everyone reacts to foods differently, so you will need to find out what works for you through trial and error. Our updated “Eating With An Ostomy” guide can support you as you learn what 

 Ostomies are life-saving because they create a new way for waste to leave the body when the normal digestive or urinary system can’t work due to issues like cancer, IBD, or serious injury. The surgery diverts waste through a stoma (a small opening on the abdomen) into an external pouch. This helps prevent dangerous complications and allows people to live healthier, safer, and more active lives. 

 The most common ostomy surgeries are ileostomy (opening in the small intestine), colostomy (opening in the large intestine), and urostomy (opening for urine). An ileostomy is created from the small intestine, a colostomy from the large intestine, and a urostomy redirects urine from the bladder.