Happy New Year to one and all,
This April 19th of 2015 will be five years of having my ileostomy. It has been quite the experience, to say the least. And I'm sure it will continue to be an experience for which I will be ready for anything and everything it will bring. I have a positive outlook on having my friend Jr., who I have dubbed my stoma ;). Sure, at times he can be a little noisy, but hey, even if you don't have a stoma, you are going to be noisy. It's all either in front or behind. To all who have and will have a stoma, being either a colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy, don't let it rule the way you want to live. Sure, it was a shock, but it also saved my life. I would rather live with an ostomy than not live at all. The big guy above has a reason for this, and I'm going to take every advantage of it. I'm going to smell the roses and everything else that life will offer. Life has always been a challenge and will always be; just try to accept whatever it hands you, and if it has lemons, then by George, make lemonade and enjoy. So to finish here, have a Happy and prosperous New Year.
Charleston Guy

This is a remarkable community of 40,818 members.
You will get real advice from fellow ostomates who truly understand you - things you won't find in the books.
And it's not all about ostomy - there is friendship and relationships too.
Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
ConnMan
I began my Urostomy life February 27th, 2023...a month and a half ago. I stumbled upon this site from another on Youtube and website called VeganOstomy and between that site and this one, most of my fear and worry of not having any answers other than calling the Dr's office recording menu and hoping to hear back in the next day or two for an answer to leaks, skin irritations etc, or just feeling alone and the "no one understands" thoughts I had to look forward to in my mind were all put to rest by these two websites and the community here at MaO!! I have been here for a few weeks now, and the help and support offered by the members here is just amazing!! The information and support is absolutely priceless for anyone recently out of their surgery and have tons of questions or had it for years...sit down...have a good read and you will see for yourself!!