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...

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

ACCEPTANCE OR ADJUSTMENT ?
 


When trauma happens and you’re struck


in mind and body and you’re stuck


with feelings that you can’t control 


and umbrage about your new role. 


 


Acceptance is not on the cards 


because the concept is too hard,


...

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 it goes.  Rice, of co...

Hey everyone. I was starting to become active on her back at the end of last year. I had some very severe complications from a variety of medical issues. Doing a little better now and wanted to get back on and continue chatting with all your nice folk. I have made a few friends and am always up for more. Feel free to send me a message. I will respond accordingly. Thanks you all! ❤️ Glad to ...

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 made f...

Hello to everbody! I haven't been to this site in many years. I've been meaning to sign up again, but I have been busy living life and never quite got around to it. For any longtime members, I am the person who started the "Ostomy Tips" thread way back when. I'm looking forward to getting re-aquainted with you all, as well as meeting new members!   Paul

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...

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 ...

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 certainly was satisfi...

Just want to say that, as a confirmed bachelor in his 50s at the time of my ostomy in 2009, I was doubtful I'd find the love I'd always wanted. Well I did, at the young age of 62, and we've been married for 6 years now. She'd only ever met one person before, a co-worker, with an ostomy, and was apprehensive. But we hit it off, and have a wonderful life together, and yes the intimacy is very goo...

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

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 ...

     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...

Ok..I just remembered what someone told.me two days ago and I just had to ask. Someone told me that there is a fetish for people with stomas. Like a Pornographic sub genre out there.  I told them that while I know that there is some crazy 💩 out there ..that that couldnt possibly be true. There is no way in God's green earth that I am even going to think of looking that up. But has anyone eve...

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!  

Hello I will be flying for the first time with my pouch. I usually carry a bag with emergency changing supplies when I leave home. Of course this bag includes small curved scissors. Will it be allowed on a plane and if it’s not do you just pre-cut a pouch and pray it’s the right size. My stoma size fluctuates, so if guys have suggestions, they are welcomed and appreciated. I know a lot more th...

Hi to all my adventurous ostomates...    Im headed to see my son and 3 highly active grandkids next week and my Son  tells me we're going to Kings Dominion (a amusement park) to ride the coasters . The last time I'd been there I vomited on workers shoes , and sweated like crazy and had to stop riding the rides . I was taken by ambulance to a Virginia hospital where I was diagnosed with low pot...

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...

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...

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...

Hey friends!


So I am eligible for the j pouch reversal, but I’m very conflicted. As someone who had severe UC, I can imagine that I will possibly face complications with pouchitis, and honestly I don’t miss being on the toilet 6+ times a day, whi...

Yes, I know it’s a bit weird, but I just felt like writing this down 💩 💩. Back in September/October 2013, I had a very severe flare up of what I was then diagnosed with: ulcerative colitis. Only a few days after this, 2nd November 2013, I ha...

  A little boy goes to his father and asks, “Daddy, how was I born?”The father answers,“Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, and googled each other. There your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive...

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...

I know this topic has been posted many times...but does anybody have any terrible dating stories about trying to date with a ostomy? I have read about the ones where people don't mind etc..but I feel like those are few any far between. I just wanna know that I am not alone in feeling like I will never meet anyone.  I had numerous hospitalizations over the years and have not dated due to my illn...

I’m turning off phone and computers for the weekend, see you Monday, having a “for the love of all things holy can you please just leave me alone for a couple days?” with the family they have increased contact as a result, so this is the only way ...

THERE WAS A DAY WHEN houses had mailboxes mounted next to the front door, and the mail delivery person walked up and plopped it right in there.  Today, notwithstanding that I live in a residential neighborhood in the middle of a fair-sized city, we have to have what used to be referred to as ‘rural mailboxes’ planted out at the road and the mail carrier putters up in a small specialty vehicle a...

So, I’m literally less than 24 hours post ileostomy surgery sat here in my hospital bed typing this. Hello from Stoke Mandeville Hospital. 

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in my early 30’s but had probably had a couple of flares in my 20’s ...

 Browsing movie titles on Netflix and Amazon - some of them remind me of my old stoma such as: Scarface The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Dirty Harry The Creature from the Black Lagoon There Will Be Blood What Lies Beneath A River Runs Through It Children of the Corn The Thing The Punisher Lord of the Flies Gone With the Wind Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Crimson Tide It Hellr...

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...

I was baking a batch of cookies yesterday, a chore I usually find onerous.  I like cooking as there is an element of creativity to it, but baking is basically just following instructions, boring....anyway, I digress.  As I often do when baking, to make the time more enjoyable, I put some music on, nice and loud.  I chose a selection I had not listened to for a few years, The Best of The Temptat...

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...

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...

Two of my sisters stopped by today to wish me a happy birthday and to have a visit one of whom is Gronk’s mom. I jokingly brought it up again that I would gladly take him if she didn’t want him because she’s now single and not home as often to take care of him, at that point my other sister chimed in and said she doesn’t have the time to take care of him anymore! It’s not that she doesn’t love ...

Simple question, answer as specifically as you want. 😁 what do women like more? 1) clean shaven 2) stubbly 3) beard

If that's you.....here's what you do.  Head over to your nearest Walmart........even if you need nothing or have no intention of spending a cent.  Walk into the appropriate clothing section for you.....and stand behind a rack of clothes that's facing the checkout lanes.  And just watch.  If you do that for 10 or 15 minutes I guarantee you will leave the store feeling better about yourself.  I d...

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...

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

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

these are our girls Baby and Sissy both pure Saint Bernards both over 300lbs each lol

Anyone else watch the eclipse last Sunday night? Just starting…a little more…and even more…and the finale….Sorry for the sideways pics, I swear I was standing straight up when I took them. 😁 guess my techno ain’t so great after all. 😩😁

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...

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...

When Covid first started I thought it would be worse than what it has been. It has been bad and it's likely to be with us forever but controlled. I thought ( at first) is this the end of the world as we know it? I wondered what would happen if 50 % of the world died? I thought if I survived how would people like us manage if we couldn't get pouches/bags? Before I had time to think of an answer ...

Had a great week last week with my appliance, I managed to go 6 days mostly out of laziness without changing. Saturday I changed, Monday at the surgeons office I sprung a leak and did a quick but I thought effective change, just now I was reminded...

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 ...

Hi Guys,   I always thought it odd that so many osotomates are from the UK.  Just from a percentage of the population sort of thing.  I noticed it on here first, when I look at the ladies pics....but I also noticed it recenlty on the "other" ostomy dating site.  I was looking at the "new members" pics and the majority of the gals are from the UK.  What am I missing about ostomies and Great Bri...

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. 

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...