Ostomy Support Forum

Hi everyone, hope you are all having the best day you can.
I have had my colostomy for 4 years following treatment for colorectal cancer and have been plodding along okay, or so I thought. Over the last 12 to 18 months, the fatigue and pain levels had been gradually building again until I realized that I felt the same way as when I was having radiation therapy. Blood tests and GP visits have r ...

I'm seeking comments from anyone with experience taking OTC Imodium (loperamide) to reduce wateriness of stool. How well does it work? Does it thicken output too much? How much and how often do you take it? Any side effects? My goal would be to reduce the prospect of dehydration from losing so much liquid in discharge. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

I had a quick question. I had a diverting-loop ileostomy, but I only have one outlet (hole). I thought loop ileostomies always had two. Does anyone else have a loop ileostomy with one hole?

Would you take an ice bath with a 3-month-old stoma?

I had an ileostomy a year and a half ago.
I wear a two-piece pouch system. Starting yesterday, I had three leakages, which obviously meant I had to change three times. I have the plastic barrier that I put on my wafer.
Not really eating because I don't want the output, but I am drinking.
Thought everything was going good today until… another leakage.
Another change. Part of my skin is gettin ...

Good morning everyone,
I am reaching out to you all to see if anyone has any similar feelings or advice for me.
Five months post-colostomy operation, and I am seriously struggling.
Struggling with the fact that life won't be the same, and I just have to get used to a new way of doing things.
Every morning I wake up, I cry. I don't want to start the day; I try to find the strength to keep going ...

I had an ileostomy for 3 years. It was reversed, and now I have a colostomy. After 5 years, I've started getting panic and anxiety attacks where I cannot stand having the bag and two-piece system stuck to my skin. I have no idea where it's come from. No other issues have changed in my life. Does anyone have any hints on how to help lessen this? I've tried walking my dog, riding a recumbent bik ...

I had a sigmoid colon rupture due to undiagnosed diverticulitis in August of 2024. I had emergency surgery with a Hartmann's procedure. I spent 6 days in the ICU due to septic peritonitis. It was a huge shock to wake up from all this to realize how badly my life had been in danger and that I now had a colostomy. The recovery was difficult. I developed an abscess in the lower abdominal/pelvic a ...

Question: I wonder if people with a colostomy have a better time with more solid output or more liquid output? I have just rinsed my bag out for the 2nd day in a row because it just seems to stick to the bag instead of falling out. The only time my output is more solid is when I eat steak; nothing else seems to make any difference. I can load up on crackers, and it stays the same. If I eat a b ...

I created this post because the answer is too long to place as an answer in a thread.
I have noticed multiple posts with ostomates wondering if they can eat beans, mushrooms, popcorn, etc. There are numerous lists available listing foods to avoid in order to prevent blockages. For persons with recent ostomies, this can be bewildering since the lists often contain foods we like to eat. First, t ...

Since we can't be like "able-anal-ed" folks and "take a dump," we need a saying of our own. "Draining the bag" just doesn't cut it. Some candidates to consider:
Trapshooting. Has a nice ring to it. Imagine: "Hey Sally, back in a jiffy... gotta do a little trapshooting."
Turboturd. For the ostomate in a hurry.
Dash-of-splash. Similar to turboturd, but with some recoil.
Easysqueeze. When you kno ...