In reply to ajtay:
Hi ajtay, hope you're well and are fast on the road to recovery. I came at it from the slightly different angle of already having the ileostomy when I took up climbing. I never found a perfect harness, but to be honest I never looked that hard.
Not sure where to start so a little about myself. I've had mine for nearly 25 years (44 now) and it's never really stopped me from doing anything. I've sometimes stopped me from doing things through embarrassment or vanity but the bag never has. I've played rugby (first team captain of my club), climbed (poorly, but that was lack of ability and dedication) run, cycled, wild camped and all the things most people on here enjoy.
I've climbed for a few years, mostly dipping in and out depending on work/home life, but was never rock god. A couple of times a week was as keen as I ever got but those periods were short lived and I never really got above HVS or 6b+.
When I first had my ileostomy everything wasn't available on the Internet and if it was, it wasn't available to me, so anything I say is purely from personal experience. I'm sure there's lots out there now but I'm happy in how I do things and it works for me. With a little time I'm sure you'll find your own way of doing things that suit your lifestyle and getting ideas along the way is always helpful.
Back to your question, I found my harness comfy when climbing but it rode up when being lowered/falling off (they all will). I used to try and keep my bag empty when climbing because of this. Either eat 2/3 hours before or not at all if climbing/exercising early. This won't suit everyone and its a case of trial and error but you'll find certain foods just keep coming, so to speak, and others have a short period where they seem to make everything 'move along'. I found porridge a couple of hours before worked ok for me. I could then empty it and it would stay fairly empty for some time. Starvation works best but you will run out of energy at some point. I've done a 12hour race across Scotland (run, cycle, kayake, cycle, run) where I lived on gels and that seemed to work.
The other thing I found really helpful was a neoprene back support. I wore this a lot when doing active sports. It just kept everything tied down would definitely be a good thing to start with.
I could waffle on for ages but not sure that's the point of this thread so DM me if you want to know anything or if you just want my list of hints, tips and tricks of the trade. Don't mind doing it on this thread if you want but either way I'm always happy to let you know how I've done things, climbing or otherwise. Even if you just want to chat, get in touch.
It's a big change in life to start with but becomes less and less with time. Don't take the first few months as a guide to what it's like, hair and sweat glands take time to adjust so take it easy at first.
You seem keen to get on with life which is great if you want to do something, then you'll be able to do it.
Best of luck and I genuinely mean if you want to know ANYTHING then get in touch.
John
