I am 21 yo male who is fairly fit. Flat stomach with abs and I am lean. I currently have an ileostomy and I am in the process of having a j-pouch (3 step). Around my stoma its bulging out a bit and it seems to look like some kind of mild hernia, not huge but still. I am having it checked out but due to covid it takes time. Its not causing me any problems or pain, its purely my fear of how it will look once I am done with surgeries and if it will bulge out or be completely flat that worries me (because I am young and vain and care about my looks haha). Does anyone have any experience with this? According to Healthline the best way to fix it is to reverse the stoma, which is the plan regardless since I am having a j-pouch. Thanks!
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Since we have no colon or rectum, doing strenuous exercises, especially abdominal exercises are not good for us honestly. I spoke to a lot of people on here that gotten hernias among other things from doing extensive exercises, especially abdominal exercises. Its best for us to take it easy. A lot of people will try and challenge what I say on this topic but I talk to people quite a lot on hear and heard their stories.
In regards to your question, I would ask the surgeon.
@Former Member You didn’t ask for fitness advice, but unfortunately some (of questionable value) was delivered to you above. It’s probably perfectly obvious to you that not all advice on a public forum is authoritative, and in particular I encourage you to follow whatever fitness regimen feels good to you, and resolve any concerns with your doctor. As long as you suspect a hernia it would be prudent to take care with any significant lifting. As far as abdominal appearance goes it can be very hard to predict - many people end up with a visible stoma scar or dip. It wouldn’t hurt to mention to your surgeon that it’s important to you, and ask if they can try their best to make it look good. If you’re not satisfied with the cosmetic result you can always explore options to improve the appearance when your bowel structure isn’t part of the discussion. Good luck!
Fredz, the info you got from Healthline is correct. If a hernia is present, they can repair it at take-down. But, mainly, only surgery can fix a hernia. There will be a scar, but it will improve over time. While the stoma is in place, obviously you should not strain your abdominals. Like Scott mentioned, discuss all this with your surgeon. You will need to be careful in the post op period after the j-pouch surgery too. There are many athletes with a j-pouch, so no need to stop your focus on fitness.
You are being smart to ask questions in advance.
Jan 
@Jan Dollar posted:Fredz, the info you got from Healthline is correct. If a hernia is present, they can repair it at take-down. But, mainly, only surgery can fix a hernia. There will be a scar, but it will improve over time. While the stoma is in place, obviously you should not strain your abdominals. Like Scott mentioned, discuss all this with your surgeon. You will need to be careful in the post op period after the j-pouch surgery too. There are many athletes with a j-pouch, so no need to stop your focus on fitness.
You are being smart to ask questions in advance.
Jan
Damn, thank you so much!!!
Fredz,
I have had a K pouch for 42yrs (a continent ileostomy with a permanent stoma (very tiny)).
Around 2008 I started to get peristomal hernias. I had them fixed from outside--in and inside-out. They even moved my stoma twice.
In the end, I required a mesh repair but that was because I needed to keep my stoma. Yours will be closed so it is a different story. There will be less strain on the zone (I think...Scott and Jan please feel free to correct me if I am wrong here!).
My big mistake was not allowing the area to heal sufficiently before starting various activities. Like Stairmaster and sports.
Your surgeon will be able to tell you what your options are but generally, they fix it when they do your take-down. Just remember, this is not a race to get back to the gym.
It is a marathon...pace yourself. Heal up and then heal some more. Who cares what your abs look like for a few months. Once they are healed you can go back to working out and getting your 6-pack back...
Sharon