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...

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 t...

Dec 17th I flew to calgary to get to Palm Springs. Going through security they pulled me over. I showed them the ileostomy card. They looked at mr like I robbed a bank. Pasted me down,lifted up my shit and tested my hands. Then in my carry-on they took out my stoma powder.  

I get to calgary go through security.  Same dam thing.    

Going home from Palm Springs  I forgot my card, which...

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, that sacred 1st Amendment right that sits upon a marble pedestal, polished into a brilliant sheen by the courts, has taken on a less honorable meaning these days.  Freedom of speech is all-inclusive, like a cruise to the Bahamas.  It includes freedom to lie, to dissemble, to exaggerate, to spew disinformation with not one whit of effort to verify validity.  Freedom of spee...

Intimacy between two ostinates at first at least for us was just getting past the shyness of showing your body with your ostomy appliance attached.  

Although I am no longer and a relationship with this man it had nothing to do with our ostomies as a matter of fact because of our ostomies we thought that we were more compatible than we actually were

The first step is showing your partner yo...

OK, so here we go:



Apparently I’m Grey Brain The Mercenary Of Hope!

Although my favorite poem on this website is regarding rectal stumps.  Bill just posted another nice poems:

INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS.

This tale is of an ostomate
but told for those who irrigate.
For I feel it may be they
who will envisage what I say.

Today I had an incident,
a torrid horrid accident.
Right in the middle of my flush
it all came out in one big rush.

This would not have been so bad
e...

Hi All - Greetings from London!

Just got back home (11pm), from a live Suzanne Vega concert here in London, where she has a big following. I thought it was an uplifting event, in a nostalgic kind of way, she said she has only written one new song since the pandemic hit. I felt it was a vibrant concert musically, complimented by some humorous story telling. For me, the richly colourful and crea...

Anyone out there play pickleball?

I started in May 2022 and can't get enough.  The weather in Pennsylvania has been pretty mild so far.  Come on spring time!!!!!!!!

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...

Some one posted about what everyone here has for a hobby.  .

Mine is film!  I was a projectionist highschool into college and worked in 2 theater's... I have a 35mm projector that was built during WW2....and still throws a picture better now then it did way back then.... I also have 16mm as well....lots of features in both formats.... I also have a Christe LX 700 LCD projector...for DVDs....

Hi mates, haven't been on site for a few years.. I walked into the grocery store today and looked around at the people doing their shopping, cringing at the prices, checking their lists, just doing the routine they do to live.  I wonder how many individuals I walked past who have a bag like me .????? How many have gone thru the surgeries, and pain ,and if they feel different from others. We don...

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...

I would say some pretty good advice. ️

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone out there. 
Love yourself and accept who you are and how you are and love will be with you forever. 
open your mind and it will open your heart and find happiness.

Enjoy your special day …everyday.

Ritz

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 th...

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?

Hi all. I'm going through an interesting time and am wondering if anyone can relate. I know most of us still carry a lot of the trauma caused by our health-related experiences. I know I do, but I've been fortunate to be able to put it aside and be there for my friends and family through their medical challenges. I've visited them in the hospital and volunteered in my local one for six years, ab...

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

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 th...

Welp today marks a year since I have had an ileo..

I have so much to share about my personal experience and it begins here. I've been home from the hospital for 3 weeks and am still wrapping my head around exactly what happened. I have increasingly had food tolerances over the last 20 years or so. I've never been diagnosed with any digestive disorder or any food allergy. I've always had issues with regularity/constipation but never to the point...

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...

You've been going out on some dates with someone you really like, and you only have one quarter for the Juke box. What love song would you choose?

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

For over 17 year’s I had a ileostomy that over time I developed a parastomal hernia that in turn caused me not to enjoy the finer things in life. After all that time I changed to a colostomy and had my hernia taken care of. Yesterday March 4th I did something that I would never have done with my ileostomy. I went to our local air force museum and they had a c-130 that you could step on and se...

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 th...

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...

Anyone willing to recommend a good book they’ve read recently? I’m open to most genres. 

Hey there everyone!

Super bowl is this Sunday. And for the first time in a while, I’ll be able to enjoy some of the foods. I do hope that others are able to enjoy the food and game this Sunday. Have a great week and weekend stay safe.

Was just chatting with an old high school mate about the opening bars of which songs that used to make us go YEAHHHHHH, AWWWRIGHT and get up on the dance floor!

These were ours (and remember, it was the early 80's, LOL!)



and of course....

I had an ileostomy placed in 2021 and since then, my 15 year relatonship has ended.  I'm now comfortable enough with my physical condition to start dating again but having some trouble getting started.  I'm thinking that looking to meet a woman with an ostomy also may be a good idea because we already have at least one thing in common, lol.  I'm kind of shy at first, so any input on how to g...

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...

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...

How many people here suffer from Depression, since receiving their ostomy. A lot of people told me he that you should be happy you’re still alive, which in some ways I am in other ways I am not. People also say it’s a give-and-take all gave me some of my life back, but it took away more than I thought it was going to. I always liked having someone in my life and so far this ostomy has cost ...

     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.

...

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 ...

Sitting on the beach sounds heavenly, especially for someone who lives in North Dakota. I moved to Arizona after college and started what I thought was my career forever. Only 1 year of working and I was diagnosed with cancer. I tried to work as much as I could after recovering from my surgery, but eventually the effects from the radiation consumed my life and I nearly died many times. It was t...

Hi Ladies and Gents ...all my Fellow Baggers ...

You might have heard of Naomi Kllein ...Brilliant writer and social scientist .

 Documentary : " The Shock Doctrine " .

  Based on a book by the same title by Naomi Kline.

Scary but very informative large scale social manipulation . This is not some wacky theory but a very thoughtful intelligent study of just how this world works ...in rea...

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

1) clean shaven

2) stubbly

3) beard

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. ️

THERE WAS A SPOT IN MY FRONT YARD where I wanted to plant a medium-size tree.  I chose a southeastern deciduous tree that, like most cats, has more than one name.  It is a black gum, also called a sour gum, or a black tupelo, or just tupelo (or, if you want to get technical:  Nyssa sylvatica).  Just that one word – tupelo – has such a sweet, Southern sound, it alone is enough to attract...

LAST FALL, I TURNED EIGHTY.  I find that it has changed my life for the better.  First of all, as many of you can attest, getting old takes getting used to, like an obnoxious relative.  It’s not something that creeps up on you over the years; it shows up suddenly, a rather brutal realization that hits you upside the head in the dead of night and knocks you senseless.  Up till then, you se...

My profile along with everyone else on this site speaks of trauma. Each one of us has been traumatized by everything leading up to the ostomy and things that have occurred afterwards. Some traumatic experiences may include, scopes, drains, NG tubes, multiple surgeries, pain, relationship breakups, lack of empathy by providers, and lonely hospital stays. The list goes on. As a clinical therapist...

Done, I am now an ostomate. I am home with very little pain. I am walking but do tire quickly. Not much of an appetite, but try to eat in small snippets.


Prior to surgery my wife talked to surgeon about preserving the prostate nerves so we could hopefully have near normal sex going forward. He did but he cautioned us after surgery it cost him time and me blood. The loss of blood took me comple...

Wondering if there have been any thoughts about this group having say a special gathering for example a cruise? We could actually meet eachother in person to share life experiences and get to know eachother on a different  level. Should be able to find a cruise line /travel agency for discount rates. I don't know, just crossed my mind

                       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;

...