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How do you get over feeling like you smell like poop all the time??? I just can’t get the stench out of my nose/self… I feel like I always smell…. It disgusts me

Amazingly, In Japan you can rent people for uses beyond sex-professional guests, for instance, and whole rental families. Shoji Morimoto for a small fee will be there for you but do nothing. His memoir 'Rental Person Who Does Nothing' explains: " In one of Aesop's fables, a character longs to tell a secret and so tells it to the reeds. I'm just there, like those reeds." His jobs are simple like...

Last night I got up to use the bathroom and splat, shit on the floor.  I grabbed my pouch and ran to the toilette where I discovered my bag had come open.  I usually don’t have much output during the night, but must have eaten something that caused diarrhea. Im just back from a trip and am dealing with time change and a cold, which could have something to do with it. I’m also pretty consc...

Hello all of you magnificently beautiful people. I've been reading the forums and posts for months now and I just want to say what a bunch of awesome folks y'all are. I had emergency surgery April of this year, diverticulitis, perforated colon, septic, adhesions galore, almost died, had to have total hysterectomy as well as sigmoidectomy, hence the good ol bag. I can honestly say it has changed...

Was out for my walk this morning plugged into Deezer and listening to my "walk mix". I am a big fan of get up and dance rock & roll. It helps me keep my preferred pace regardless of aching joints. So, I thought I would ask y'all a question as to who be your favorite rock & roll band/performer. I'm talking rock & roll here. Hard driving, get up and dance rock & roll. In my opinion, this leaves o...

Just wondering if anyone has the same problem that I do. When I change my pouch, nothing flows out for hours. It's like the stoma is shy and everything stopped working. I always change first thing in the morning and within a half hour I have a light breakfast as always. But nothing seems to come out for hours. I don't know if the air gets to it or what happens?

I say lots of stuff I can not put on here. It bothers my wife but what does one say when there is shit all over the place?

Well, front actually. But then, the pun is lost. :-) The other day, I was in the supermarket and noticed this Bob Evans mashed cauliflower. I never really thought about mashing it, but I do like cauliflower. So, I bought one and ate half of it that day. Hoo boy! I was not quite prepared for the consequences. I eat a lot of potatoes, but the thickness from those are nothing like what I experien...

I am 10 days post colostomy surgery, and I am really struggling. I am also battling ovarian cancer and thought I was doing really well until I ended up with a bowel blockage. I am used to being very active and now have another obstacle to overcome. My blockage was high in my colon so my ostomy is above my belly button on the left side. Basically, it’s impossible to hide. I’m a golfer and ...

Can I swim in the ocean (NOT pool or river) without my pouch on?

Greetings All. The answers I need are related to restrictions when you have your rectum removed and your butt sewn up I am facing up proctolectomy very soon. Some of you know my story. I have had an ileostomy since 2016 and in the course of 6 years I continue to bleed my doctor was hoping for a reconnection so he left the stump and that stump over the years has Crohn's now. The medications�...

Okay so here I am with another problem I would like to hear you all's advice on. Showers. I prefer to schedule bag changes around showers. So I take off the bag when I am showering. I used to shower in the late afternoon, several hours after lunch. "Marvin" had a tendency to poop in the shower whenever I took one then. So then I started taking a shower first thing in the morning before breakfas...

After everything stoma people go through. I was wondering has anyone had a tattoo around their's? Is it an obvious no, no. How did you stop stoma from leaking whilst having the surrounding tatoo'd. Did you cap it? Or not eat for several hours so output was zero? I am 8 weeks post surgery, have an ileo, on Chemo for x3-6 rounds, so whilst I'm waiting I can design a tattoo, if this is viable, and...

What is the new button 'OstoAl' for?

Hot off the press..........this one could help a LOT of people......and make a lot less ostomates!  If you're too lazy to read it the link is to an article just out about a new vaccine (yeah, you know I'm no big fan of vaccines, especially after this whole COVID vaccine BS......but I'm glad Fauci's own emails have now proven him a lying bag of shit, since he WAS funding the gain of function re...

I've now sent Henry two private messages with no response, which is not normal. I've also sent two messages to administration asking them if they can contact him to let him know there are members who are concerned for him. I have received no response from administration, not sure what to make of that. I'm honestly worried that something has happened to poor Henry, but don't know where to go ...

A perfect place to reveal your little buddy's name. And share humorous stomal events as we navigate this life we affectionately call:Post op.

Okay, so I have noticed when I stay on a regular eating schedule my ostomy is predictable and the output is very average. But if I skip a meal or eat later in the morning then my ostomy goes nuts for the rest of the day. Like today I had fasting lab work and didn't get to eat breakfast until about 9am. For the rest of the day my ostomy (Marvin) was just liquid and high volume. (1,400cc just in ...

Just a quick question since I’m new to all of this but my stoma output sticks to the stoma and doesn’t always come down. It doesn’t really “pancake” just doesn’t all slide down and a bit is stuck right on the stoma. I drink a ton of water with my meals which helps. Does anyone have the same issue? Is this common and ok to stay like that until the next bag change? I’m afraid of inf...

Does anyone here go swimming? If so, first off what type of swimsuit do you wear? Second, how do you keep your ostomy bag secured? Thanks, Lee

I used to love eating corn on the cob and it's in season now in the UK. I have thought about trying it in earlier years but am afraid of ending up with a blockage. I could puree it, but it's not the same as gnawing on freshly cooked cob with butter.For perspective, I love black beans and have eaten those (home cooked with seaweed) with no problems - sometimes, if I ate a bit fast, a few beans h...

Our annual balloon fiesta is happening this weekend. I was wondering if anyone with an ostomy has ever gone up in one. And what was it like? Did the air pressure, etc affect your pouch?

Can you confirm if I'm doing the crusting technique correctly for my mom?? I dab a barrier film pad on the irritated skin, then put some powder over that and blow off the excess, then dab the pad. I end with the pad and let dry before putting on wafer. I just want to confirm, am I supposed to let dry between the pad and powder and pad again? I only let dry as the very last step.

Is there any way to stop the splattering from your Ostomy?

Hello everyone, I recently lost my Medicaid due to leaving my abusive husband. I no longer qualify as being one person and they say my income is too much to qualify for one person.  I had to go on the healthcare market place and the problem is that my doctors do not accept the new insurance from the marketplace. 
I will no longer be able to see a stoma nurse. No other hospital system in my ar...

Hello good people,  Before I start, I know we ostomates can do pretty much anything we want to, if we put our minds to it.  But….can we safely take a karate, taekwondo, judo, etc. class?  I would like to know how to protect myself, in case a fight broke out at the supermarket, church or Walmart and/or there are no weapons available at the time to use.   But, I also realize one kick to ou...

Hope your day is going great, happy birthday.  

I had a colostomy reversal June 8th. 1 year and 2 days to getting my colostomy from emergency diverti ulitis bowel perforation, sepsis, c.diff....you name it I had it. 1 month in hospital and significant weight loss. My recovery and side effects are very different from this reversal surgery?? I was in hospital 9 days and recovery went well, successful. But almost 3 months later I have some u...

Hello! Does anyone with a colostomy have first hand experience with flights that are more than 14 hours nonstop? I know from my pre-colostomy days, those flights cause digestive issues such as bloating, dehydration, indigestion and constipation. Does having a colostomy worsen those and add other issues? If so, any suggestions for how to minimize and manage them? I'm hoping to travel to Australi...

  There are so many scenarios as to where HenryM has gone.  The great mystery now is will we ever know?  I certainly enjoyed his posts although I didn’t always agree with him.  I was entertained by his observations, opinions and tall tales.  Beyond these daily posts his longevity as an OstoMate  never ceased to amaze me. Without research (my laziness) I am not sure how long he provid...

I'm scheduled for a reversal in a couple of weeks, but the doctor wants me to have higher albumin level - eating higher protein food and drinking a high protein drink. I've been drinking Boost but find it bothers my stomach and causes loose output. Any suggestions for a high protein drink that doesn't do that? Thanks.

Yesterday, my surgeon did a sigmoidoscopy to check things out. Result was that I have 15 cm of rectum left and things look good in there. He thinks I am a good candidate for a reversal and has scheduled such for the 10th of October, less than 10 months since my colectomy. And he is confident it can be done laparoscopically. This is all the best news I have heard this year, although I will hold ...

My surgery to create a colostomy was two years this November 8. Until now I have been using a Coloplast convex transparent bag because I like to rinse it and make sure all is gone. I just recently went from a one inch to a 1 1/8. I've lost 13 of 15 lbs gained at beginning of pandemic. For some reason my stoma became a tad larger and my precut  25 was too tight. When I  talked w Coloplast rep...

Hi, today's news included an incident on a plane that was returned because someone had diarrhea. Apparently it got all over the plane and was pronounced a biohazard. It's my worse nightmare on any flight I take ... what if I have a leakage or 'explosion ' from my bag. I hadn't even imagined that it would be called a biohazard and cause the plane to be rerouted. Don't misunderstand,  this perso...

That’s me.. :)  8 months out from what I thought was the worst moment of my life. As we all know, going through the trauma before and even after surgery, can be hard to recover from.  I haven’t been on here in a while but figured I’d swing by for an update.  Since the big day I took a few months off to focus on recovery. I followed the rules, didn’t lift anything heavy, and kept ...

Hi! New to this site. My husband has a very deep stoma and we have been using an eakin to seal wafer. This worked over the winter. It’s hot and now the eakin just melts and he leaks. Any suggestions? Note: he works outside all day

Hi everyone . Has anyone on here had a colostomy while having cirrhosis. My husband has this and also rectal cancer.we have been told that the operation has a 1 in 4 survival rate, so obviously we are terrified. We have also been told that if he survives the operation the recovery from the anal closure is going to be a problem healing. We just wondered if anyone has any help for us . Thank you...

Hi everyone! I have skin irritation and am trying the 2 piece pouch based on my nurse's suggestion. The wafer has a material feel to it that is unlike the one piece. Has anyone showered with the two piece? I'm really new to this so thought I'd ask because I'm still scared to shower without a pouch.

Good morning y'all. Is everyone's little buddy behaving this morning? Hmmm? I wanted to share something that cracked me up. Yesterday my son turned 12 and he has been SO good with all of this bag stuff, always trying to make me feel better about it (when I first showed him, knowing I couldn't/shouldn't hide it from him), he very matter of factly looked for a minute and says profoundly "Ok. Ok, ...

Hi there! I had my lar loop ileostomy surgery on June 2/23. It was open surgery so I have a 15-20cm vertical incision.

I'm looking for a hernia belt to help prevent hernias. I've been back the gym for a few weeks now lifting light weights with no issues but the cardio class last weekend with the jumping made my stomach area very uncomfortable to the point I stopped and did step outs.

The belt th...

I have recently been struggling with skin break down under my ostomy appliance. I have had my ileostomy for 40 years and just recently started having problems. It is a battle I am un familiar with until recently. Any suggestions?

I had my permanent ileostomy surgery 7 weeks ago due to Crohn's disease and I've been talking about getting intimate again with my husband and he doesn't seem interested at all.... it almost seems like it makes him nervous and turned off...it just makes me feel worthless and I don't want him to be grossed out by me and not want me anymore. I just feel sad because I was worried this would happen...

Hello everyone: Tomorrow will mark one week since my ileostomy reversal. The week has been really difficult. Constant diarrhea, a butt on fire from all the liquid stool, and some pain where the stoma used to be. Just when I get cleaned up from a stool explosion and apply ointment to my skin, I have another blast of poop and have to start the whole process again. We're talking multiple times per...

It has really struck me, reading many of the posts of many Ostomates.  A husband or wife decides to leave.  Wedding vows are spoken as part of the wedding ceremony.  At the time  most of us are younger and distracted by the wedding itself.  I really didn't give alot of thought to the vows. For richer or poorer, in sickness and good health, forsaking all others, till death do us part (hope...

Hi! I'm 4 weeks colostomy postop and am having difficulty finding a comfortable sleeping position. I'm used to sleeping on my left side but now the stoma/appliance keeps me from rolling on that side, plus I'm scared to squish the bag. I'm tired of sleeping on my back..... Anyone have any tips or suggestions? I'll try anything to get some real sleep.Thx for listening!

This past March 2023 I had my reversal and was pretty scared after reading a lot of post and the horror stories, i'm a 57 male who had a ostomy first on my large intestine and then on my small due to a colaspe of my colon and went through three operations, My reversal was the easiest of them all, after the reversal operation i was able to walk to my hosiptal bed without help, i had to use the b...

Hi, I’m now 5 weeks postop for diverticulitis, have a colostomy (had open surgery twice back to back) and wondering if anyone has/had hip and pelvic pain after their surgery? I didn’t have hip/pelvic pain until this week… I was doing well and started noticing waking up at night with hip/pelvic pain but mostly it’s after walking. I think it’s the way I’m sleeping, could be arthritis ...

I carry a small squirt bottle with me to use to rinse my pouch. My pet peeve are those faucets that have to be activated by motion or the ones that are like a shower. Makes it extremely difficult to fill up my bottle.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and very glad that I found this forum. I was wondering if someone had a similar situation - I have a temporary colostomy bag and my whole lower stomach is slightly more bulged out from the rest of my stomach since I had my surgery. And if I try to suck my stomach in, I just cannot do that to that part of my stomach. Nothing hurts, everything is soft to the touch, but I...

I ran into an issue with Hollister bags. I have been using the 2 piece system since my surgery almost 4 weeks ago. The last 2 bags leak at night when I’m lying down. The area that leaks is out the white vent. I wake up a mess in the morning. Is this a common problem or faulty bags? Company is closed Saturdays. So can’t call them.