im new

I'm new to this and not sure what to do or say. I just want to talk to people who understand.

Hi, just be yourself and join in with blogging. You have already made a start by coming here. If you have any questions, then post them here or in the forum. You will always find someone who will be able to answer you. Don't be afraid; we all know what it's like to cope. Tc ambies

Hello samancell91. Thank you for your post and welcome to the meet an oatomate site. If it helps - if been posting for a while now and yet still I often don't know what I'm going to say before I actually say it. Please don't think that you have to say a lot or that your contribution has to be anything other than what you think. One thing is pretty certain - the people who come on here do understand the circumstances surrounding having an ostomy. However, everyone will react slightly differently to adverse circumstances so in order to get the best out of any conversation it's good to share how you 'feel' about stuff. Then it gives people the opportunity of being helpful in their dialogue.Keep posting!!Best wishes Bill

Glad you are here! I am new to this forum, but like you, I wanted to be around and talk to people who understand what we are experiencing. I had surgery 9 months ago, and most of my problems are my thoughts and the fact that you cannot strike up a conversation about ostomy concerns. Glad you are here. Feeling like I'm the only one is one of my issues too. Keep posting, :-)

This place kept me sane

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Hi there - feel free to come into the chat room nightly and talk away :) Barbara

Hey everyone, I have just got an ileostomy eleven days ago as well as a stricture removed from my small intestine. I am really feeling depressed; my stools began to thicken yesterday and were under a liter, and today they are not as thick and over a liter. I am eating a low-residue diet and have slowed my water intake down, just sipping throughout the day. I was meant to get out of the hospital two days ago, but my potassium keeps coming back at 2.7. I feel as if I am never going to get out of here, and I can't take it anymore. My potassium is never going to go up, and even if one day my stool thickens, the next day it could be water. I am also on eight Imodium a day and reducing my steroids to nothing; I am currently on five mg. When does it settle, or does it ever? Will psyllium seed help thicken up stools or marshmallows? If so, do I just eat marshmallows throughout the day or before meals? Would not eating dairy or wheat help? Please help; I just want to live my life and get out of this hospital. This has been going on since the end of November when I was hospitalized the first time and given the NG tube to take home. Sadly, the pain continued, and I had to get an operation, and I am so happy the pain has stopped, but I feel like I am going mad in here. They test my blood in the morning, then come back two hours later and say it's too low; I have to stay. Then I get a potassium and magnesium drip for seven hours. The same will happen again tomorrow, and of course, it will be low because now it's over a liter. Sorry I am such a moan; any of your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Escobar, sorry to hear about your low potassium level and not being able to go home. I'm also the proud owner of an ileostomy and a urostomy. I drink about 2 liters of fluid a day and eat just about anything, which I don't find a problem. I've been told that some people take Imodium, but I've never done so. What illness did you have for you to have an ileostomy? Good luck and keep the faith.