IT HAS TAKEN A GREAT AMOUNT OF EFFORT to simplify my life.  Since back in the day, when Janis Joplin told us that freedom is having ‘nothin’ left to lose,’ I have been busy doing my best in my profession, accumulating both responsibility and the ever-available ‘stuff’ that somehow is attracted to you like metal shards to a magnet.  I don’t really know if I was happy, but I certain...

Hey Friends! 
     Help me tell a story?? I’ve been focused on healing lately, and what’s better for the soul than a good laugh? (Maybe great friends, and a huge hug? I’m sending you all one now. ) Without further ado, I’m going to start a story. Then y’all can add on. (I’m so excited! ) Just a couple rules.. don’t let the story end, and make sure the person above you is added ...

A HUG.

A hug is likened to a gift
that tends to please and to uplift
both the giver and receiver,
whether sceptic or believer. 

A hug does not come at a cost 
so when it’s given, nothing’s lost 
and if one hasn’t got a lot 
a hug might be all that...

JUST BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING that felt good, we went out to dinner Saturday night. We usually save that sort of extravagance for special occasions but, I guess, we just decided to manufacture a special occasion. So off we went to our favorite mom & pop Italian restaurant. “We won’t need those menus,” I told the waitress. We always get the same thing. Why experiment when you know...

Evening all, I’m from upstate New York and winter is coming!!  Just got an ostomy bag a week ago and was wondering if anyone has hiked in cold weather with their bag. I mean cold, like 30 degrees below zero!  Worried it may freeze?

Good morning my fellow ostomates

I know socializing in our society/culture is all about food... we meet for coffee, we go out to lunch, we go out to dinner, etc. But as a new ostomate I'm uncomfortable doing that with new people (coffee is ok I guess). So when someone asks me to lunch or dinner, how can I say politely that I don't want to and what can I suggest as an alternative event? And I ...

                       ODE TO AGING

 

This aging business isn’t fun; it’s weighty;

It hits me upside the head today, as I turn eighty.

The aches and pains, the medicines; I once felt fine

Back in my recent youth, when I was seventy-nine.

 

One knee is weak, my chronic kidneys balk.

At young attractive women I no longer gawk.

My doctor tells me how I’m doing great;

...

No, i’m not talking about our bags. I’m talking about how we see our lives and our futures. Our sense of purpose and contentment. And our sense of accomplishments we’ve all made over the years.

Do you see yourself, your life, or your future as half empty or half full?

Why do you see things the way you see them? What make you smile? What makes you cry? And by now you’re probably wonder...

Today I was trying to decide what my 2 favorite albums are and what my 2 favorite live concerts were...

I finally decided that my current favorite albums are: U2 - Achtung Baby and Sting - Fields of Gold.

My 2 favorite concerts were both in Houston:    The Eagles and Tom Petty

 

What are your favorites??????

It was hard to accept that I had a stoma it was either that or death. I just recently got one less than a month ago….. I talk to it a-lot like saying u not going to blow up my bag today …. Not today u better keep that bag on and it better not fall off….. sometimes u have to make the best out the situation to keep from becoming depressed. I’ll probably never date again and I’m ok with ...

I had a funny thing happen the other day.

I was just sitting on the couch and my 

stoma let out a fart that would have scared any teenager!

My spouse turned around as if in shock.... I thought it was

hilarious!  I can't be offended from much anymore, but it is amazing to see others reactions!

 

IN THE LATE SIXTIES, I joined an organization called ZPG, which stood for Zero Population Growth. It was founded by biologist Paul Ehrlich who wrote the best seller ‘The Population Bomb.’ Since 2002, it is known as Population Connection. Simply put, if two adults have two children, they have replaced themselves and have not added to population growth. Way back in the late 18th Century, an e...

Ok, so here's the deal-i-o. I made chili the other day--something that I truly love in the fall. I obviously forgot what kidney beans can do to you if you have an ostomy. After I indulged in a lovely bowl of fabulous chili--it was fabulous because I made it so fu*k off-lol

Later in the evening when I went to empty my bag, what do my wonderous eyes do appear, but lots and lots of little kidney ...

Just before my stumpy arrived I got into wood laser burning and finially after about 4 months getting back into it. I missed it and the little cash flow it occasionally brought.... my 1st piece was yesterday my example is in honor of my parents....please share urs and pics if ya got them...

WEDDINGS DEPRESS ME MORE THAN FUNERALS. Knowing how ill-prepared most people are for the challenging realities of married life, and knowing that current statistics reflect that 45 % of marriages are terminated by divorce, I find it difficult to get excited about the commencement of a relationship which is as apt to fail as not. The divorce rate is actually down 5 % from the 50 % mark in the Eig...

We saw some pretty cute dogs on here recently so I thought it might be fun to show our pets.

Since Henry meets/knows all these celebrities, I figured let’s find out who everyone’s celebrity crush is. Here’s mine….Mariska Hargitay

OK, so here we go:



Apparently I’m Grey Brain The Mercenary Of Hope!

I haven't been out dancing since I started my ostomy journey (Nov 2019 started chemo, radiation, surgery, recovery) and I used to love to dance!   There is a dance next Saturday I want to go to so I was doing some searches to make sure all is ok for that type of activity. 

I also want to learn belly dancing and found this very inspirational interview.  Thought I would share. ️

THE TOPIC HERE IS ACTUAL MEATLOAF, not the recently deceased singer/actor, may he rest in peace.  My meatloaves have typically been blah creations, slapped together when nothing else is available.  But this week, I hit on an additional ingredient that made it really good:  hoisin sauce.  We have used this with stir-fry for years, but otherwise it just sat on a shelf in the fridge.  It is m...

RECTAL STUMP MUCUS.

If there’s one thing’ gives me the hump.
It’s mucus from my rectal stump.
They did not tell me this would be.
A side–effect of ostomy.

With no faeces coming through.
No way did I expect this goo.
It is so...

Simple question, answer as specifically as you want. what do women like more?

1) clean shaven

2) stubbly

3) beard

So, is anyone dressing up for Halloween? My job is having a costume contest...even though I work from home, I am still eligible-which means that I don't have to wear my costume all day--just long enough to take a pic and submit it--lol. Currently I'm torn between a few costumes--I usually like to go the "pun" route....So here are my options: Pig In A Blanket, Witch Doctor, Static Cling, Deviled...

The queen's now king Charles body guards in the bear skin hat's can not leave their post even if they need to use the bathroom. They are trained to stand for hours on end, so if they need the toilet they have to pee in their pants. 

Also another one for you the bear skin hat's cost £64,000 and they last over 60 years.

The guards also are trained to faint in a certain way that makes them lay...

This site is a godsend. As a newbie (colostomy on Nov 8,'21), I look at it every day for a number of reasons. Reading what people are going through makes me grateful that my elective surgery because of a severe case of IBS-C is nothing compared to what they have been  through and are still  living with.

I don't have to go the hospital for anything related to my ostomy. I feel sorry for those...

     I’ve been missing you all because life has been big. I have lots of stories we can laugh (or cry) together through. I’m going to post a list of stories. Tell me a story that’s happened recently in your “perfect” life. Then pick a story you want me to tell. This should be an amusing, fun, and humbling experience. I can’t wait to spill all the tea. We can be human together.

...

ONE SUMMER WE WERE DRIVING in the Appalachians, enjoying the rural atmosphere and the beauty of the curvy roads through green hills, when we ended up behind a medium-sized flatbed truck loaded with cages, all strapped down and secured.  The cages were filled with live chickens and the speed of the truck was enough to cause thousands of white feathers to come flying out of the cages, filling th...

I would say some pretty good advice. ️

Obviously on this site there’s a higher percentage of people that belong to the elite Barbie Butt Gang. However, with so many on here having it, we’re just a small amount of people having this unique physique. You ever wonder how many people you see, walk by, etc. have it too?  I know of 1 other person that has it, she was(since moved) a vet tech where I take Cooper. Yes, my mind goes 1000...

When you are picking up your phone to take a picture and the lens has accidentally turned towards you and you unexpectedly see yourself........what is your immediate thought?

 

(I immediately recoil and think "oh my God" and then look closer...thinking "is that what I really look like"?)  Shocks me very time...

So my wife is currently experimenting with the fetish scene! Thanks to 50 shades lol! So is there anyone out there with a stoma that's I to or has been into the fetish scene ie clubs etc? Can you give some advice and or share so experience? 

Cheers michael

Anyone who drives has had them, in spades.  This is a fairly recent phenomenon that I have observed, over the last few years.  I can't figure it out and hope that someone on this site will be able to enlighten me!  I started noticing a lot of drivers leaving huge gaps between themselves and the car in front of them.  I'm talking about at stop lights, stop signs, courtesy corners, etc.  I m...

THE THINGS THAT WEALTHY PEOPLE DO with their money astound me. Some go in for flashy jewelry, rings and Rolex watches and lots of gold. Some spend money on expensive cars, big boats, and houses much bigger than what they need to actually live in. Others hire nannies to care for their children, maids to clean their homes, cooks to make their meals, gardeners to tend their yards, and a variety of...

I think we all agree this is a pretty awesome forum.  And I bet we all have one post stuck in our heads that is what you think of first when you think of this place.  The one topic that hit home and you can't forget.  I'm curious to hear which post it was for you.  

For me I actually have 2.........a serious one and a funny one.  The one that drew me to this forum.......or maybe I should...

I’ve been to the hospital a lot as we all have.

My question is this, if you have a roommate when you watch television do you wear headphones or keep it at a low volume so as not to disturb your neighbor? I do or don’t watch tv. On the GI surgical floor those are the rules, printed and everything.

I’m on what’s called the medical floor and it has just opened up, it’s not new or swank...

OK, so what is everyone's fave Halloween candy? I'll go first....Twix 

RICE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS.  White rice, jasmine rice, yellow rice, Rice A Roni.  “Rice is great,” said Mitch Hedberg, “if you’re hungry and want 2,000 of something.”  Then there’s Spanish rice, fried rice, herbed rice, Indian rice.  The only rice I don’t like is brown rice which, as it turns out, is whole grain and more nutritious than white rice, but that’s the way i...

Jeans Yes!!!!

Ok I have been recouping since March/22 just from ileo surgery and been living in PJ's or track pants since. Today is chemo treatment day its a all day affair but it's all good....why you might ask

Well I will share.... the greatest feeling of today going into my wardrobe pulling out a couple pairs of jeans that months ago I could just squeeze into and I decided what the hell ya...

We have survived Ian here in SW Florida and so very grateful.  Lots and lots of people with heartbreaking stories and  destruction.  Today we have both water and electricity back in service so onward and upward.  Our community is new and was built...

My friend and caretaker Rick wants to get out of the house, I do too honestly. 
Taking a medium sized (for me) road trip to Worcester to see the “Woo Sox” AAA baseball game and bundling up since its close to fall in New England. It’s a nice one year old ballpark, Polar Park. When I was feeling better in summer of 21, I was able to take my niece to a game and we had a great time!

Easier t...

Hey everyone, happy Halloween!  

I just wanted to share this article I just read, it was linked from the r/ostomy subreddit, it was written by a fellow ostomate for The Daily Beast, and it’s in response to Matthew Perry’s now-infamous article:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/keanu-reeves-isnt-th e-only-one-matthew-perry-offended-recently-those-w ith-ostomy-bags-are-upset 

FORMER NFL STAR DEION SANDERS was colorful enough to garner two nicknames:  Prime Time, and Neon Deion.  As a football coach now, he is called Coach Prime.  But due to medical issues with his left foot, he recently had to have his big toe and his second toe amputated.  How ambulatory he will be in the future is yet to be determined, but it’s fortunate that this didn’t happen during his ...

Here it is, all my wisdom wrapped up in 1 simple statement….This ostomy thingy you got has either saved your life or made it better in some form. You’re not buried in dirt and hopefully you’re feeling better, enjoy each and every day. It’s not that bad in the big scheme of things. So, put your cape on and have a good Monday. 

Hey Osty Friends. So I am a African American woman from PA USA. I am I guess you would say new to this (April 2021) and I am social with my circle which I never thought I would be so open and honest even though with my friends but hey they know this saved me (radiation from Anal Cancer Treatment burnt my colon) so it is what it is. I am separated (he couldn't handle it and I don't hate him he t...

hello, im new here and wanted to share my story and maybe get some advices.

ive got permanent ileostomy in jan 2018 due to UC. At that very moment my relations with my husband was not good for some years. Then i received a post-op space with some liquid. And cant have sex till i fix it. 

Coz of all these troubles no i have just my son he is 17 and permanent ileostomy in my life. Will be glad...

Hi. I am new to this group. My son is 26, he is scheduled for completion protectomy surgery in a few weeks time. Last March he had sub total colectomy and end ileostomy. His sigmoid was too inflamed to be removed which is what they are removing and the rectum. 

His surgeon gave 2 bits of advice. 

1... loose some weight as healing will improve post surgery and eat accordingly (because of my ...

It’s national dog day, let’s see your better half. You foreigners can join in too.