@pidge32 hi. I’m 80 and my stoma is two and a bit years old. I chose (agreed with surgeon, aamof) that I’d go for the permanent stoma option. I felt that gave me some ‘control’ in the matter. Good value and I used it to accept the little chap. There was six months of chemo which perhaps distracted me a bit from awareness of just how bizarre it all is.,
Two years on, I can say I’m pretty well normalised except i sometimes look down at it and think WTF? But then I put a new bag on and resume life. I take some meds which make me tired and dopey and would say that’s actually worse.
The stoma behaves very well as long as I don’t get sloppy. I have had only a few ‘accidents’ but they’ve been in private.
A grandson asked me “what comes out?” I said “poo” . He went away quite satisfied, bless him.