Today I was given a barium enema to test for reconnection. Everything looks great, so we will be proceeding in May. However, since I came home, I've been passing what feels like bowel movements. It's mostly the solution, but I feel like there was some bowel in there too. If I'm still doing this tomorrow, I'll be contacting my doctor. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi!

I'm still new to having a colostomy bag and trying to figure out my life. I have stage 4 colon cancer and also breast cancer. I currently am feeling fairly normal and healthy, a little tired. Pre-surgery and diagnosis, I was pretty active. I love swimming and had just got this cool paddle board. While I'm still feeling good, I'd like to keep doing the things I love. Any advice? Any good ...

I'm a fairly new ostomate and have been practicing a lot with changing my bags. I've been using Hollister one-piece bags for about 4-5 months but I have a hernia which makes the adhesive wrinkle and it doesn't last as long as I would like. I tried using a sample of the convex Sensura bag but it already leaked after the first day. Looking for recommendations about which bags seem to be the best ...

During my medical adventure in 2022, I was bedridden for nearly 3 months. Hardly ate anything, lost 66 pounds.
Surgery was successful. Got the colostomy. Went home very weak. Three weeks post-op, I regained my ability to walk and returned to work. Gained back 30 pounds and have maintained a healthy weight. A year and a half later, I retired.
I have now discovered I'm in poor physical shape. My ...

It's been a year since I left my colon at the hospital and have been blessed with overall good health. I am very active with hiking, biking, skiing, and embarking on a 3-week trip to meet my son in Nepal for a few weeks of trekking!
I currently use a stealth belt for my activities but wanted to get any other advice on what had worked well for others and travel tips. I have never taken 3 weeks ...

Has anyone had a colostomy because you couldn't expel stool through the ano-rectal passage due to your pelvic floor muscles contracting rather than relaxing when you wanted to poop? If so, has it worked out for you? Any challenges or complications? Did you get it reversed at some point or do you hope to get it reversed? What are you doing to see if you can reverse it? I know it's a lot of ques ...

I had written about a month or so ago asking what people eat to try to lose weight with an ileostomy/J pouch. I've had several suggestions, and I thank everyone for their input. I decided to try the Carnivore diet, but not full meat; I have included vegetables as well. I had the issue where everything was running through me because the things that help me keep it together are things that put w ...

Hi all, I know IRA surgery isn't performed as much as J-pouch, but I still have 10 inches left of sigmoid colon and a current end ileostomy. Last week, I had scopes and was told everything looked great and if I wanted to pursue surgery I should. I saw Dr. Remzi in NYC last year and discussed a J-pouch, but he never mentioned an IRA which suggests to me that he preferred a J-pouch since that's ...

So right after I posted my one-year check-in, I ended up in the ER with an obstruction that night. I was in excruciating pain and vomiting. Again, I escaped the NG tube, thank goodness, but the treating physician said that my CT scan showed that the obstruction was in the small intestine and most likely due to scar tissue. The location of the obstruction was where the small intestine got sucke ...

I was wondering, my former ostomy nurse told me that I need a lot of protein with an ostomy. So every once in a while, I use protein powder in a shake. I also eat Quest Protein chips about once a week. The spicy ones aren't bad. I do not really eat red meat. Sometimes I eat chicken, but it doesn't digest very well, so I don't know how much is absorbed. I was just wondering what others here do ...

GRATITUDE.
The worst of times has got to bewhen first you find your ostomy.You can no longer hide awayit’s on your side and there to stay.
It shakes you to the very coreand makes you feel that you deplorethe very thing that helped you toavoid the brink and then pull through.
In those early days you’re stressedand easily become depressed.After your stoma comes along you start to ...