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 to get b...

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

Hi Everyone and I’m just trying to figure how to get a club of all good people to enjoy 😊 being nice and friends and text and then talk and keep in touch to make sure everyone is ok and any questions and us answer any questions that anyone has ...

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 Guys, Well........here's one to brighten your day! A little background first.....being a short-gutter I change my barrier every other day, in the morning when I get up. I have a ritual to do this, as timing is everything in my world. I stop eating about 1:30am, then re-hydrate from 2:30 to 3:30am, then hit the sack around 4:30am. Then it's up at 7:15 or so, and on with my day. Because I’m b...

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 to the sto...

How long will it take Sally to find the cat in the picture? Yes, there is one…..

I am integrating myself back into society after a very long pause. I dont want to go back to the bank where I worked in a call center in a high stress dept. I'm curious what everyone does for work? I'm hoping for ideas :) Also any woman my age need a friend to chat with. I could use a chat buddy these days. It would be nice to chat with someone who understands the assignment. 

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 the...

Now that we have entered the month of October, I thought that I would share a pic to give you all some ideas of how to carve your pumpkin this year--lol  

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 what ...

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? An...

     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. 🤗 -A bad hair...

I was at my dentist today getting a new crown. As he was injecting me with the anesthetic, I started to feel something warm on my side. My first thought was that the assistant had spilled some water on me but very quickly realized my bag was leaki...

Hi everyone😃❤ I was just curious what everyone's plans for turkey day were? Anybody doing any travel? (Be safe). I am just having a quiet (or should I say loud 😛) dinner with my family.  What is your fave thanksgiving day staple food? Mine is definitely the stuffing🤗. Momma makes it every year. The recipe has been passed down for years through my family. No stovetop for us (although...

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 econo...

We saw some pretty cute dogs on here recently so I thought it might be fun to show our pets. 😍🐕🐈🐎🐖🐑🦙🐐🐇🐁🦜🐠

My weekend was incredible. Never felt more "normal!" (Had a seven year hiatus) The Massage: I chose 50 min Aromatherapy. I lay on my stomach and back, did nothing different w/ my bag. For the comfort of the very accepting young masseuse (I offered, she didn't care), I put a small towel under and over my bag, on my stomach, then on my back. I have a bad back, curvy spine, but she was light on i...

So Henry had the Diva list for great singers of years gone by. So who would you have for your top five male solo singer's? Mine would go something like this. 1 George Michael, 2 Bob Marley, 3 Elvis,4 Ed Sheeran,5 Tom Jones. XX

ON A RECENT TRIP THROUGH TOWN, I think that I caught every red light there was to catch.  That has always been my cross to bear.  It’s as if the traffic signal sees me coming.  If I was a QAnon bozo, I’d likely think that the government managed to embed a chip inside me that signals the light as I approach it to turn red, here he comes!  Maybe it permeated my epidermis when I entered the federa...

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?????? 🎼🎤🎸🥁🎹🎧

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 o...

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...

I would say some pretty good advice. 💛💚❤️💙🧡💜

This isn't really IBD related per say, but has anyone here ever been cheated on by their spouse? I have been in my relationship since 2002 and married since 2008. I have had Crohn's since 1994. My CD almost killed me a few times and the biggest memory of almost dying my husband was by my side rushing me to the hospital. He helped me through my darkest days. Unfortunately our sex life was none e...

Just need to vent a little: Going to hear some music down by a river town, which I love. Earlier, at home getting ready, I was just kind of thinking out loud, something along the lines of, “I hope our friends are staking a spot near the bathrooms.” My husband said, “Well, I don’t know, ask them to move. What’s the big deal?” It really is so NOT a big deal, just one of those times when I realize...

Some of you know that in 2018 I left my abusive spouse after 15 long years trying to make things work. I moved into my own apartment, got a job and worked very hard to become debt free. During this time, I gave my then spouse two years to get counseling and work on the issues. After realizing that he had done nothing, I divorced him in 2020.  A year later in April 2021, I moved out of the apart...

DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY WEAR PAJAMAS ANY MORE?  Especially with an ostomy, I don’t want any potential obstructions, like a waistline, while I’m sleeping.  I wear night shirts.  I have some flannel for winter, and some light cotton for summer.  Even after I’ve discarded that, once I’ve made my way into my day, I will often shun pants in favor of a kaftan, which I will frequently wear throughout the...

So I was conversing with someone early this morning and that person used the term…thumbs-upping. 👍 Anyone ever hear of this term before or have personally used it? I never knew the term existed. 🤔

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 so...

Simple enough question, right? I think as civilization progresses it’s expected that the masses would increase their intelligence as well…..only makes sense, right? But I think I’m concluding that while the smartest people continue to get smarter, the rest of the world is actually getting less smart. Here’s my case in point; Normally I try very hard to not be in public during normal times of t...

So seeing as quite a few people want another icebreaker-type game, I thought long and hard … ok, maybe I just typed icebreaker questions into Google and scrolled and clicked on links until I found something and then thought, “duh? Why didn’t I think of this ages ago?” Anyway, how about something like a game of kiss, marry, kill. Let’s make it so that we have more than one gender in the options ...

Hello Friends,      I’m sitting in the calm of a sleeping house all prepped and ready for surgery. It’s currently 1am here in Washington state. We’re a tad behind the rest of the world. 😉      I’m not sure if a bowel prep is better with or without an ostomy. I had the grand pleasure of putting 2 Liters of soapy (go figure 🤷🏼‍♀️) water into my stoma. I have a loop ileostomy, so th...

OK, so here we go: Apparently I’m Grey Brain The Mercenary Of Hope!

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 wondering…why ...

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

Good morning/evening So it's that time of the year where were being forced to spend extraordinary amounts of money on gifts. I know Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with family and loved ones. So to have a bit of fun what did someone buy you for Christmas that you hated or was funny. For me I would have to say the worst gift I received was bath salts that I couldn't use due to f...

Hi Friends!      I have surgery coming up on April 14th to repair a recto vaginal fistula at the point of anastomosis. (Where my sweet ileostomy started) If the surrounding tissue looks good my surgeon may reverse my ileostomy. (I know, shock and disappointment..) 🤦🏼‍♀️ I'm also in need of a having my midline incision taken down, reinforced, and repaired. I have a few questions I hop...

So we're all here one way or the other likely in relation to waste. So in response to that what's some of those ways you make it that you probably shouldn't? Talking those late night cravings, those lunchtime splurges or the midday snack, maybe a comfort food that takes you back ( :D I made a rhyme), or that adult beverage you resort to after one of those kind of days. For me popcorn always fi...

well im divorced due to the ostomy.  she couldn't handle my medical problems so she walked away. i feel like trash, like im not worth anything anymore. she was having a affair while i was in the hospital almost dead the witch. sorry. bad day in court. custody hearing was today not good day.

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

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 swanky it’s jus...

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 mean e...

HERE’S A TRITE TRUISM:  There’s no such thing as a stupid question.  They wouldn’t be asking if they didn’t want to know, and wanting to know is a good thing.  That’s how we learn; that’s how we grow; that’s how we survive.  As magnificent an instrument as is the human brain, we only use part of it, after all, and learning is an active, adventurous, two-way street that requires work, whether in...

Moving to Massachusetts a few years back I wasn’t sure what to expect neighbor wise. When I lived in Washington state I had no idea who my neighbors were and it was honestly probably best that way I lived in my mother’s townhouse that I inherited the payments on when she passed away. It was a lovely home but it had an HOA that was constantly in my business no love was lost between myself and th...