Craziest Thing You've Had to Do Since Having the Bag

I'll go first. I was still not used to all this and I'd gone to work without an extra barrier and bag. So of course, I'm moving around at work and lucky for me I'm constantly checking to make sure the barrier is stuck to my skin and it wasn't. Instant panic. I grab a roll of that thick clear packing tape. I taped the hell out of the barrier and even though I crinkled when I bent over, it saved the day.

I had my ileostomy. My daughter and I wanted to go eat at Texas Roadhouse. I had my ileostomy probably a month and didn't know how it would react, so we ordered dinner. Right before the steaks came, my bag burst, and I told my daughter to better get those steaks to go. I ran into the bathroom, cleaned myself up best I could, no supplies on hand, and our waitress got a really, really nice tip, and off to home we went. Thank God we were only 2 miles from the house.

Six months before getting sick, I had booked two vacations. The first one was a two-week driving trip to central California during my company's two-week Christmas holiday shutdown. The second trip was a one-week "80's music" theme cruise leaving in early March.

Not wanting to cancel, I had my disability leave cut short. So three weeks after my seven-hour emergency/exploratory surgery, I returned to full-time work. I could hardly walk but slowly persevered. Then, two months later, I went on the cruise. Right after coming home from that adventure, I passed out at work, smacking my head on a machine, resulting in an interesting ride via paramedics back to the "big house" (hospital).

Not looking forward to anything crazy in the near future. Thanks for the heads up. Crazy is on the bus.

Relationship with my ex lol, I've had my ileostomy over 30 years. There's not much I haven't done and still have mishaps now, mostly my own fault lol.

Nothing crazy, I've never really had any issues. 🤷‍♂️ The smartest thing I've ever done since having an ostomy is take a one-way flight to Tennessee.

The craziest things I did and said were to hide it to make it invisible. Some helped, and some didn't.

During a surgery in which they moved meat from my thighs to my stomach to rebuild the stomach wall, I agreed to let them use leeches to promote blood flow to the area. Halfway through the treatment, we began to wonder if these things laid eggs or not. After some research by the nurses, we found out they are sterile. Right😅

Early on, I had a pouch leak during a union negotiation lunch and intentionally spilled coffee in my lap as a reason to cut the meeting short and go home and change. Not smart, definitely an overreaction, traded one embarrassment for another. Would handle it differently today.

Plumber, so... I'm gonna ask instead of jumping straight to Google because Google can't have a fun conversation... Are all leeches sterile? If so, how do they reproduce? Or were these special hospital leeches? I thought we stopped using leeches by the early 1900s? Guess not?!

🫣💩

Maybe not a crazy thing, but my 3 nieces and I are really close. Two of them are adults and one is an oh-so-spoiled teenager. Since I'm like a mom to them, when they "try" and get snippy with me or their sisters, all I say is, "Don't make me throw my 💩 at you like a monkey," and it gets them to stop all the time. And of course, one of them just had to be a little smart ass and say, "Yeah, we don't wanna see Auntie's 💩 hit the fan." 🤭 Guess I never have to give them the evil eye anymore to get them to stop acting like little buttheads. ☺️

@ Rose Bud..

Got to think of swinging your 💩.. or attempting to threaten is illegal in some states. 😆.

What isn't illegal nowadays... getting a spanking or having Granny whip your butt with a hairbrush or belt was normal in the 80s... and they know NOT to mess with me even though the two are in their early 30s and the spoiled one... they know I don't play and the teenager listens better to me than her parents because I don't put up with the crybaby/smart mouth... BUT hey, maybe one day I'll be on the 10 o'clock news... 40-year-old woman threatens to swing ostomy waste at nieces for acting up... Guess the 💩 really hit the fan... More at 11 🤣

@rosebudd..

Yep.. the shoe.. swear my mom had perfected the art of throwing it... at us.. 🤕

My dad.. the belt whisperer. 😳

The good old days. Did something stupid, paid for it. Be it shoe leather or belt.

My husband still remembers his grandma taking off her flip-flops to swat him as a child. He said it was horrible because she had huge feet and wore a size 12 shoe 😂😂

And don't forget the wooden spoon… a classic in our house growing up 😬

EEK

I'm a dental hygienist. I'm working away and feeling those 'tickly' feelings around the flange, which some may realize is a leak starting. Luckily, the patient in the chair was in a big hurry! I look down and, yup, getting wet. So, I work REALLY quickly and say: "This is your expedited cleaning today! Goodbye!" Luckily, there is a huge garbage container in my room! Door closed, I am grabbing all the paper towels to clean up as best I can! I always carry barrier strips with me. Luckily, ileostomy waste doesn't have a lot of odor because it was in the garbage... geesh!

Like we always say: Gotta be tough... to be an Ostomymate.

..You had me at "getting wet"..😆

Although that phrase should have at least meant getting stinky..

And it does. You caught it in time.. lucky you..

And I am sorry but ilio waste does stink quite a bit. 🤔..and if left in that trash can?? It's gonna linger..

Just saying.. your nose might not be as sensitive as ours..

You had a good day..🤗

@cplumber nice visual..

There goes my appetite for burgers and eggs. Thanks, bud..😆🤑

The craziest thing I've done is to stop eating plants and grains. I became a carnivore two years after becoming an ostomate and now have zero issues with my health or my ostomy. I don't have leaks, rashes, blockages, pancaking, constipation, or digestive pain. I have a liquid output and very little of it. I went from depressed and negative to only remembering I'm an ostomate when I empty my rarely full bag. I'm feeling awesome and wish everyone felt this good. Best wishes, Terri.

BS

Well?.........................................

Go on >................................

Make us smile ..........

;-))

Leaving us wondering - naughty you lol

J

F1 bred for medical purposes - are all such created within lab conditions - I guess so - otherwise how could a 'sterile' or nearly sterile environment be created in theatre?

Nice one, Cplumber!

I had the same thoughts when historically leeches were used in conjunction with their blood-sucking capacities [never too much] in delicate eye surgery - before methods moved on.

;-))

There is nonetheless a certain 'unease,' didn't you find - although 'clinically clean.'

My eyebrow remains raised.

CP,

Good luck with the graft... hope the thigh healed promptly - although I guess one can't "monitor" the stomach quite so easily!

BW

J

LF,

Practice makes perfect.....

We can sometimes be over self-conscious.....

But hey - early days then hey.

BW

J

Went on a trip one week after having stoma surgery and had to stay in a room with my boyfriend's dad and brother. My stomach was starting to wake up and it made so many noises while sleeping... all throughout the night. I didn't tell them in detail about my surgery. I was so embarrassed.

Hello JESSBXOXOX,

Welcome to our little corner of the World Wide Web. I'm at 15 months with a colostomy. I was talking to co-workers this morning, and my stoma was making all kinds of noise. I just pat the bulge in my shirt and say "quiet you," or "shoosh."

It takes a while to get used to an ostomy. I learned how to care for it from the good folks on this website.