Oh my god, I have never blogged before and, if I'm honest, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing! Still trying to find my way around this website (and I am supposed to be computer literate!!!), not to mention trying to work out the benefits (and cost!) between being a free member or a full member. But do you know what?... I just want to meet some new friends, friends who understand, friends who know what it's like, friends I can laugh with and, my god, if I stumbled across a special friend, wow, wouldn't that be great!
I had my op 3 months ago, I didn't have years of debilitating illness... I had the odd flare-up of UC and then I was fortunate enough to be able to lead a normal, almost symptom-free life for years. But we can't be lucky forever, I guess. In February this year, I got a flare-up that just wouldn't go away. I ended up in the hospital and was devastated to be told my bowel would rupture if I didn't have surgery. And so here I am, one ileostomy later... which I haven't accepted yet, but on top of that, my wound opened up following an infection so I still have two very large holes in my abdomen and they are taking forever to heal.
I've loads of good friends, but none that understand. Life is for living and I want to live it, and I know there are loads of you out there who know how to do that, and I would really love to hear from you all.

Why Join MeetAnOstoMate?
First off, this is a pretty cool site with 40,218 members.
But, it's not all about ostomy. We talk about everything.
Many come here for advice, others find lasting friendships, and some have even found love.
🔒 Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
40,218 members
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Hollister
We conducted a survey to better understand the impact that living with an ostomy has on sleep.
Learn the results of our ostomy sleep survey.
Learn the results of our ostomy sleep survey.
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Hollister
Talking about having an ostomy can be uncomfortable for most people. Still, it's something you can't always avoid.
Learn about some strategies that can make it easier to talk about your stoma.
Learn about some strategies that can make it easier to talk about your stoma.