Hello fellow ostomates! I have been following for a year and a half. This site is the best thing I have found in my new “normal.” I have tried taking my multivitamin; it makes my stool jet black! Does anyone on here have that problem? I have not been able to gain my weight back, and my appetite is not good most of the time. I had emergency surgery in April 2023; this site has been a lifesa ...

Hi all! I'm 27 and looking for other young ostomates. I'm in the United States, Georgia to be specific. I'm looking for both local and virtual connections with others in the young adult stage. I have a great local support group, but everyone is over 50 and relatively inactive. When I go through members here local to me, I don't find anyone in my age group. Does anyone have tips on meeting youn ...

Greetings..
Having spoken to Kas, we both have decided to purge our inventory of unused, mostly expired, donated from others, ostomy supplies.
She and I will be listing our inventory for you to decide if you'd like some spare supplies for those "oh shizt" moments you run out or can't stop leaking.
It pays to have extra supplies.
There should be no issue with expired supplies. Some...not all wi ...

Saw the website showing August in Florida.
Might be a good idea for meet and greets... and grits?
Anyone interested in attending?
These conventions are eye-openers. It would be my first.
Thoughts?

tbird56b
Just flew to Hungary. I really wasn't ready for the trip. Luckily, I was able to upgrade and had a very nice experience. I'm 4 months post-surgery but not in good enough shape for all the walking on tours. I'm on a Viking River cruise.
I am always chilled and had to buy a jacket. My suitcase is packed with ostomy supplies.
Next cruise is in February. I should be okay for that one. Sec ...

Hi everyone. I've been trolling the posts to get some info. Huge shock when I had an emergency Hartman's on September 9th due to diverticulitis. In hospital for 3 weeks with an n/g tube for most of that. My surgeon has now agreed to try a reversal robotically, but he has frightened me to death with all the stuff that can go wrong! I am hoping to hear from you guys who have been through this pr ...

It's been a while since I've posted - been on a social media sanity break. When I did check in, I had over 260 unread posts, and instead of trying to reply to them all, I thought I'd say welcome to all the new folks on the site!
You have found yourself in a club nobody wants to be in. But in my case, as with many others here, we would not be alive without our stomas, so here we are.
When I had ...

I have lost track of whom, but for the last year or two, I have been informing Canadians they are eligible to receive a disability tax credit if they have a stoma that is non-reversible. I have a stoma and need ostomy supplies, which qualified me. I get it, and so can you. See below for CRA info saying everyone with an irreversible stoma automatically gets this DTC (Disability Tax Credit).
I d ...

Hi everyone,

I'm almost four months post-ileostomy surgery, and I'm looking to start rebuilding my core strength. I haven't been able to exercise for years, so I'm starting from scratch and want to be really careful.

One of my biggest concerns is overdoing it and increasing my risk of a hernia. I know core strength is important, but I'm not sure what exercises are safe to begin with. ...

Well, it has been four days since my stoma reversal surgery, and I came home on Saturday.
Surgery went well on May 21st; my surgeon said it took approximately 30 minutes.
My bowels ‘woke up' at 3:19 a.m. on May 22 with a very loud, smelly fart. At 5:29 a.m. the same morning, I rushed to the bathroom.
I had the choice to go home on Friday, but after my experience with a lot of pain and infect ...

I have had my ileostomy since 1986 due to UC. I had a great stoma therapist prior to and after surgery, and I know that has made a HUGE impact on my recovery, acceptance, or whatever you want to call it. Because of her, I am pretty much an open book and have always been willing to help other ileostomates when questions and concerns arise. Which brings me to this posting.
Once again, I have bee ...