How many of us name our ostomy a name of the opposite sex of us?

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. 

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...

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 ...

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...

Today isn't all about the dogs Drop a picture(s) of your pet(s)

Mali the dog sleeping on Kenya 

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...

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...

                       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;

What's he ...

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?

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

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...

Hey, with tomorrow being Mother's Day in the US and several other countries, I thought MAYBE it would be fun to share some reason(s), if you're doing/have done the mom thing in any capacity, why you would not win #motheroftheyear

(I'll post one for each of my kids in the comments below)

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

Hi, I have had my ilesotomy for over 7 years now and have been suffering a little anxiety the last few years from it. When socialising with new friends I find that I can't even concentrate on their conversations as all I'm worrying about is my bag!! Making noises, eating with them as I have a high output and so have isolated myself the last few years. Does anyone else feel the same? Would love ...

Curious how others in past/present relationships have navigated these surgeries and ostomies with a partner. I have a feeling experiences will be across the board and hopefully some whose experiences haven't been the best up to this point can find encouragement/support in other's stories.

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 HAVE DECIDED TO LIVE FOREVER OR DIE TRYING.  My mission each day, getting out of bed, is to return to that bed in the evening in at least as good shape as when I had left it.  In America, this is not as easy these days as perhaps it once was.  Every day, there's another mass shooting.  They occur everywhere:  in schools, churches, banks, in public places and private places, and the weapo...

So.. I'm sure it's been discussed about 64827294 times already but I can not be bothered to go looking down the entire forum for a post lol. But output colourssss;

Most frequently it's a brownish-orange colour the majority of the time

It's never consistent… sometimes it's bright green and sludgy and looks like it's got little ball shaped bits in it, sometimes it's dark green and looks lik...

Well, I finally have travelled for the first time since my ileostomy in 2017. Wasn't sure how many "ostomy kits" I should take with me so, in the words of my grandma "better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it".

My journey began as a trip to California for the memorial of my 96 year old cousin....4 flights in 4 days and 2-2hr car rides later, I arrived back home. Three ...

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...

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!!!!!!!!

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...

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....

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 fe...

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...

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

ON SOME SUBJECTS, A DICTIONARY barely touches the surface.  Morals, my dictionary says, are a person's standards of behavior, while ethics are said to be moral principles that govern behavior.  Sounds kind of the same, but in common usage they have come to be distinguishable.  Neither have any particular relationship with religion.  Some of the most ethical and moral people I've met are non...

ONE OF THE UNSUNG GREAT THINGS about retirement is the simplification of one's wardrobe.  Not having to report to work every day means you are no longer bound by job requirements or social dress codes.  You don't even have to get out of bed, let alone put on clothing.  There are disadvantages to that sort of layaboutism, of course.  “Clothes make the man,” Mark Twain told us.  “Naked...

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

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.

Post a picture of your pup(s). I know we've had a few dog posts but really can you ever look at too many puppy/dog pictures? I think not.

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...

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??????

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, whethe...

Well, last night after letting my surgeon have it for listening but not hearing me I felt two very sharp pains a few inches to my left of the ileostomy. They went away and I thought nothing more of it.

I have alarms set overnight to remind me that I'm on TPN and need to empty usually 3 times overnight. Last night I only had to empty once. The alarms still went off I just wasn't having any outp...

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...

Who can finish these sentences...or identify the picture? 

"Could be worse..." & "I was going to make espresso" & "You take the blonde I'll take the one in the toiban". & "The staircase can be treacherous"

Hello handsome, is that a ten-gallon hat or are you just enjoying the show". & “Don't just stand there clasping your hands in pain… How about a round of applause for The Waco Kid?”. ...

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

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site so I apologize if this topic has been brought up already. I know we are all scattered but would anyone be interested in helping me coordinate some in person meet ups? As a patient advocate for the IBD and ostomy community, I know first-hand how helpful (and awesome!) it is to connect with others who understand what we go through.

If you're comfortable, share...

Wanted to jump on and give a quick update...I just had my reversal and so far, so good. I have the utmost respect for all of you who can't have the opportunity of reversal and must remain an ostomate permanently. While I have been reversed, I choose to stay a part of this group that I needed for a few short months, once you've lived this life a reversal doesn't mean you can simply "unlive" it.�...

I KEEP IT IN A LITTLE ROUND GLASS BOWL in my bathroom with a dipping tool for convenient use whenever I feel that I need a little of the magic white powder.  No, not cocaine.  It's baking soda, aka sodium bicarbonate, a wondrous, multiuse item that we can all benefit from daily.  I stopped spending money for expensive ostomy deodorizers a long time ago.  Baking soda does a better job, and i...

Hey, I need some ideas for things I can watch that don't require my complete attention while doing domestic stuff that is really boring for me

If a dog or child dies in it, I don't want to watch it. My taste is pretty eclectic but I do really like British tv. I like documentaries as well.  Currently I have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +, Paramount +, and Hulu. 



Also open to book recommend...

Felt good waking up today back in my own home and for the first time in 6 weeks I don't have to go to the hospital, I don't have a chemo pump attached to me!

28 treatment sessions with chemo Mon-Fri was wearing on me. I think I have about a week before I have to go back and have the CT and MRI scans to see if the treatments were successful. If they were successful then it's time to move back t...

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 1000mph ...

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...

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 me m...

Hi everyone 

I can't help wonder if anyone has actually  found someone special  through this site I ask as I find it so difficult to find even a friend  in this crazy world 

I am new here and don't really think it would work but I am an optimist   so who knows  .

I am a chrones disease person with an ileostomy  since 1991  was married for almost 30yrs  single for the last 5 years 

I'M ALWAYS RECOMMENDING MOVIES to my friend around the corner, but I know that he never watches them.  Some people, for some reason, aren't keen on cinema.  Me, I've been going to the movies since I was old enough to ride my bike to the theatre to see ‘From Here to Eternity' when it first came out in 1953, the year that I turned eleven.  Since the onset of the pandemic, all my movie watchi...

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...