I have double ostomies. I started pole a year ago, and I've just started aerial. For 16 years, I did nothing. I'm due for my 35th operation in October, but I'm not allowing it to stop me anymore. Thank you to those who believe in me every day, even though I don't. I'm so lucky to have a supportive partner who also has an ileostomy. Be bold, believe, and fly

It's been a while since I've posted - been on a social media sanity break. When I did check in, I had over 260 unread posts, and instead of trying to reply to them all, I thought I'd say welcome to all the new folks on the site!
You have found yourself in a club nobody wants to be in. But in my case, as with many others here, we would not be alive without our stomas, so here we are.
When I had ...

Sooooo, I've been dealing with this for a while and trying all sorts of things. The latest has been the Eakins circle thingie; I forget what it's called. I tried the marathon stuff, and it didn't really help and also created a very uneven surface by coating the injured skin and not coating the uninjured skin. It also did sting for me. I tried the flow assist thing, and that helped some, but mo ...

Hello everyone, the products I find most helpful for my ileostomy are
Hollister flange without the tape to peel off. I also use a skin barrier called Tens Aces. I buy that on Amazon. It is a little pricey but so well worth it. Around $30. Not a covered skin barrier by Medicare but the best product for your skin. I also use a Hollister ring and slim size because my stoma is small and on the bag ...

Hello from New Zealand. I had an ileostomy 10 weeks ago, due to ulcerative colitis not responding to any drugs.
Within about 4 weeks after surgery, I started to suffer joint pain, knees, wrists, thumb joints.
I asked the doctor and he believes because I still have an anal stub, the joint pain is from what UC is left within the anus and rectum.
Has anyone experienced this and if so, how did you ...

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've been on here. It's good to see some familiar names and faces. I hope you're all doing really well. I miss you guys.
I wanted to come on and mention something I read yesterday that I had never heard about when I had my colostomy and ileostomy: the ostomy irrigation and ostomy cap. I think it's geared towards colostomies from what I gathered. But appare ...

I'm a fairly new ostomate and have been practicing a lot with changing my bags. I've been using Hollister one-piece bags for about 4-5 months but I have a hernia which makes the adhesive wrinkle and it doesn't last as long as I would like. I tried using a sample of the convex Sensura bag but it already leaked after the first day. Looking for recommendations about which bags seem to be the best ...

I was rushed into emergency surgery on Feb 23 this year. At first, I didn't think I could cope with the mess. I have found products that make it easier. At first, I cried constantly. Now I can shower without a tape covering.
I still hate the ostomy, but I'm not crying all the time. My family has been wonderful, helping with everything. The backup support is vital.

I have used, from the get-go, a baggie to cover the clipped end of the appliance. Even with a really good clip, those "fluids" can be tenacious. So I slip a plain old baggie (no zip lock) over the clip end. I worked as a legal secretary/assistant for 40 years in the rarefied environment of the law firm and never experienced a leak that was not contained. Give it a try. It worked and still work ...

A year, almost to the day, I started a journey I did not know I would be on. On May 22nd, 2024, my husband took me to the emergency department as something did not feel right in my abdomen. I had been dealing with a kidney stone since May 19th, but this felt the same. It felt like what I described to my husband: like a puff of air had been released in my abdomen.
When the CT scan results came ...

About 3 months after my ileostomy and ureter repair surgery, I had to start working again and could not do anything strenuous. So, I took on a job working the midnight shift in retail (no customers), bathroom accessible any time I needed, light duty work (mostly). With that said, I'd been there over a year and took on a high volume, high stress position, thinking about higher pay and such. We ...