Latest Forum Topics

I have had to remind several ostomy nurses of the following facts:

The top layer of your skin is called epidermis has a top layer of its own called the stratum corneum It is essentially dead. (It is The armor that is your first layer of defense against any kind of infection)This top layer of skin is constantly being replaced.  Normal healthy dry intact skin that is exposed to air and not expo...

Howdy Gang,

  Seems we deal with a lot of skin irritation issues on here, so I'm going to list the fault tree you should go thru with your Doc or Ostomy Nurse whenever you run into a skin problem.  I'll also include the link to that great stoma picture book I keep referring to that shows in graphic detail all the issues you could have with your stoma.  It will help you narrow down what you ...

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

 

THERE ARE AN AWFUL LOT OF THINGS that are well beyond my learning curve.  In school I discovered, painfully, that I was neither a math nor a science person.  My brain was just not constituted to proces...

Hello all!

When i first go an ostomy i googled all kinds of questions. In my searches i noticed a lot of people stating that they'd be short on supplies and they're expensive. Not sure if this is actually the case and i can't find the forums i originally looked into, and found this community!

I've had my reversal and i have left over supplies I'd like to donate to some people that may need th...

This one had me at raccoon . Which are you?

It seems like my stoma gets smaller after I change it. When I do a change everything fits properly, but then it seems to shrink down under the barrier. I don't want to have to change it every day. Anyone hear of something like this before? It just started acting like this the past week, I've had it since January. 

Thanks for any advice. 

MEMORY IS LOOKING BACK.  I do it all the time, since that’s where my life is, and I have yet to suffer the fate of Lot’s wife and get turned into a pillar of salt.  In fact, I am always doing my best to avoid too much sodium, for health reasons.  Lot’s wife, who is not named in the bible, but is called Ado or Edith in the Midrash, may have been disobedient out of simple curiosity, or s...

Hi everyone! I’m new to this forum and I’m so excited to have found a group of people that I can talk to. I used to attend an ostomy support group once a month at the Mayo hospital here in Phoenix but I kinda stopped going. The Mayo has been my home since 2018. Long story… I’ve had Chron’s since 2005. Had a flare up about once a year but I always got through it. I got married around t...

https://youtu.be/fvXAj7Xy3gs

The radio said it was spring at 5:24 pm here in Ohio. I dressed for spring but should’ve gone with a warmer coat. Balmy 47 degrees. 
~Jodie

Has anyone eaten Amy's gluten free Thai Pad Thai? I had thought I just wouldn't eat the cashews. But there are onions and a little broccoli in it too. How did you do with eating it?

IN SOUTHERN UTAH, I LIVED just twenty-two minutes from the east entrance into Zion National Park.  I went there often, but always sought to find out-of-the-way places, away from the tourists.  Like all the national parks across the country, the overcrowding has essentially turned them into a sort of commercialized wilderness, which is not wilderness at all.  I was a tourist myself when I vis...

https://youtu.be/JHXNaYoguNU

I'm new here and just trying to figure the site out. I currently have an illeostomy, I had had one when I was younger and then got a j pouch. Fast forward many years and my jpouch failed and I had my surgery in January.  Feeling alone at times, so thought I would make a post. So hello!

WE’VE ALL HAD PHOTOS TAKEN OF US that we thought were terrible.  Do I look like that?  But the worst, the photo you don’t ever want to sit for, is the infamous mugshot.  Whenever someone gets arrested, having fingerprints taken and a mugshot are normal elements of the processing into the system called booking.  Many well-known people have been through this unenviable procedure over the ...

Maybe I'm just oblivious.......but is the new 'MaO' logo in the upper left corner new?  

Also, did anyone notice there's now a "Frequent Ostomy Questions" section at the very bottom of the page?  This must be new because all the things posted in it are recent posts.  

What else have I missed that's new??

;O)

 

Hey All!

it’s been a hot minute so I thought I’d give a quick check in. 

One cool thing that happened before my reversal  is I posted an ostomy pic on world awareness day to my social media. I hadn’t really let all that many people know what was going on with me for all sorts of reasons from I am pretty private in general to the usual amount of weirdo feelings that come along with havin...

After my surgery I had issue with leaks mostly related to my belly button. since then, I started using barrier rings and that helped eliminate the leaks.

I see that many on this forum do not use the barriers rings. how does that work for you? how do you keep the flange from lifting up?

ON MY WALK THE OTHER MORNING, I heard someone coming up behind me.  I recognized him as he passed me.  “Hey, you’re Al Unser Sr.,” I called out.  “I thought you were dead.”  He kindly slowed up to my walking speed and shyly admitted who he was.  “Sorry, I tend to walk pretty fast,” he said.  “In fact, I do everything fast.”  “I guess you do,” I acknowledged.  “He...

Howdy Gang,

  Now that I've gotten my stoma revised it's like a whole new ballgame when it comes to time between barrier changes.  With my previous stoma that was sort of skin level I changed my barrier every other day religiously due to leakage if I went longer.  Now that I have a proper 'rosebud' stoma it's a whole new world.  Sealing the stoma is super easy and my barrier is holding up ...

I have a very thick output and when emptying the bag it is often left stuck together with out put…I empty everything that I can get to the bottom of the bag but the bag remains flattened. Will it still work? My Ostomy nurse said not to change the appliance except every other day. Is this ok thanks for any help Sunshine 

Hey all!

I'm on my 7th day with a bag and it’s in pretty good condition. Is there any reason to change a bag if there’s no reason to?

Sounds like a dumb question when you say it out loud but I’m just curious if anyone changes their bag as routine even if it’s still good?

If I could push each bag as long as possible it’s obviously great on the wallet. So,  I’m interested in optio...

I had an ileostomy placed in 2021 and since then, my 15 year relatonship has ended.  I'm now comfortable enough with my physical condition to start dating again but having some trouble getting started.  I'm thinking that looking to meet a woman with an ostomy also may be a good idea because we already have at least one thing in common, lol.  I'm kind of shy at first, so any input on how to g...

AN OLD MAN WITH NOTHING TO DO could spend an amusing morning in traffic court.  People who go to the trouble to contest their traffic tickets often have no idea what they’re doing, feel they’ve been victims of selective enforcement, have no viable defense, or a combination thereof.  A speeding ticket, for example, is essentially impossible to beat, since the officer that gave the ticket t...

Most people when they think of the word tumescence they think of the Merriam-Webster definition: the quality or state of being tumescent. especially readiness for sexual activity marked especially by vascular congestion of the sex organs.

I'm sure it would not surprise many of you to know that it can also describe the behavior of a stoma particularly right before it begins to flow.

It doesn't...

First let me apologize for naming Queen Elizabeth II as an ostimate apparently I was wrong my source was an ostomy nurse (now deceased) who was a mentor of mine.  So I thought it might be fun to investigate the subject again.  For reasons that should be obvious it is difficult to find out much about anyone famous who has an ostomy as their privacy is paramount as long as they are alive.  In ...

Was wondering if anyone developed a parastomal hernia after a colostomy surgery. Would really appreciate comments/answers to the following:

Were there any bothersome symptoms such as pain at the stoma, tightness and pressure around it, bloating and obstruction of stool or gas? Any serious complications for example strangulation? How did you deal with them? Did you need to have surgery to r...

How do you know when you’ve hit YOUR point of needing to take a break from anything medically related that you can?

I know for me I have to get a better handle on aversion to food/rarely having a desire to eat (sometimes cbd works to stimulate an appetite for me but it can be hit/miss or I have to go up in dosage). The food thing is kind of a necessity. 

I have my one Dr telling me I need to...

I would like to know what is available that will allow me to tuck my shirt and wear a belt with my slacks.