I'm coming up on a year as a colostomate, no significant problems.
My mottos were always "I like my food hotter than the hinges of hell" and "If you aren't blowing sparks the next morning, it wasn't hot enough last night."
Chemo in '96 for lymphoma made my tongue too sensitive for Taco Bell mild sauce. You know that was torture! I eventually grew out of that and my new-found curly hair.
I had chemo for ovarian cancer and acquired curly hair, a sensitive tongue, and a stoma this time. My tongue is making a slow comeback.
As I'm able to eat hotter and hotter foods, I notice I've lost the 'revenge' component of the aftereffects. That's certainly a bonus!
Have you observed similar items?
Raphael
riffael
Mar 24, 2022 1:52 am
Past Member
Mar 24, 2022 5:01 am
Haha!! Now I say it just burns on one end...!!! That's one advantage of the Stoma!!
One strange effect for me is that I have a ravenous appetite for pickled foods sometimes. Pickled beets, the little round ones, are the best!! Little pickled sweet red and green peppers are really good. The pickled foods contain all the good bacteria that you are missing in your gut. Eat pickled foods and you won't need all that live bacteria yogurt.
Eamon
MeetAnOstoMate is a remarkable community of 41,432 members.
“I found real people, real humor, and answers I couldn’t get anywhere else.”
“The support here impressed my husband’s medical team - they plan to recommend it.”
“This community saved me when I thought I was a freak. Now I’m thriving.”
“Thank god for this site - I finally knew what to ask my surgeon.”
Justbreathe
MeetAnOstoMate website turned out to be a lifesaver for me. I say this because, for me, this ostomy journey was a devastating event both physically and mentally.
Here, I found folks who understood my feelings even better than my family or friends could. Only a fellow ostomate can understand how you really feel.
Information sharing is key, as well as support and understanding, to ultimately bring more harmony into our ostomy life journey. I found here, virtually no ostomy questions that are not touched upon. Questions which some might feel, may be too trivial to contact a doctor about or even too shy or embarrassed to ask their own doctor about. They are all addressed here.
For me, anonymity was very helpful in seeking answers to each phase of this life changing medical and mental event. Sharing initial trauma feelings, ongoing support and finally acceptance was what I found with my membership here. I am not sure what my mental and physical attitude would be today without having found this site.
Additional benefits included: finding products and ideas to help with daily maintenance, innovative ideas and as a bonus - some great humor.
After all “laughter IS the best medicine”.
I have been a member for 3 years, an ostomate for 4 years - yes, I certainly wish I would have found it immediately after surgery but so very thankful I finally found it when I did as I truly believe it turned my troubled depression and situation into a more positive attitude and acceptance.
Sincerely,
An Ileostomate nicknamed Justbreathe 🫶🏼
Advertisement
Hollister
Living with an ostomy doesn’t mean you have to live with stoma fluid leakage or skin irritation.
Learn how convex skin barriers work and what benefits they offer.
Learn how convex skin barriers work and what benefits they offer.
How to Manage Emotions with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister
Past Member
Mar 24, 2022 7:19 am
They are so good for your belly!! As I walk down the aisle, my hand washes for the pickled stuff!! All by itself almost when my body needs it. Great stuff!!
Eamon
TerryLT
Mar 24, 2022 7:50 pm
Haven't had cancer myself, but just wanted to say, I'm glad you are able to eat the hot stuff again! I am also a spicy food freak and it would bug the hell out of me if I couldn't eat half the things I love. On another note, I have a good friend who went through cancer treatment a few years ago and came out of it with curly hair!
Terry
TerryLT
Mar 24, 2022 7:51 pm
Love pickled stuff. My favorites are beets and herring (not together!)! Yum, and so good for you.
Terry
Perilune
Mar 29, 2022 2:47 am
At my Scrabble group yesterday, someone mentioned a friend who had chemo and all her hair fell out, and then it grew back curly. Quite a price to pay for curly hair, though.
Advertisement
Hollister
A convex ostomy skin barrier can help prevent output leakage and skin issues. Unfortunately, some misconceptions about convexity may keep people with ostomies from using it.
Learn about convexity and 4 myths surrounding it.
Learn about convexity and 4 myths surrounding it.
riffael
May 21, 2022 8:12 am
This is the second time post-chemo that it grew back curly. It didn't take too long the first time to straighten back out though...
PurpleBushie
Sep 30, 2023 1:35 am
I heard horror stories of spicy foods causing watery output, damaging the skin barrier, & even burning skin in the event of a leakage. Lucky for me, I've experienced absolutely none of that! Sometimes it turns my output orange if it's an extremely pigmented spice like gochujang or chili powder which certainly makes things feel riskier, but no actual negative effects. Which is good, since I really love Korean and Mexican foods. Can't get a piece of candy without chili powder in Mexico (this is an exaggeration, but also I love chili sweets so I don't mind either way)