About 3 months after my ileostomy and ureter repair surgery, I had to start working again and could not do anything strenuous. So, I took on a job working the midnight shift in retail (no customers), bathroom accessible any time I needed, light duty work (mostly). With that said, I'd been there over a year and took on a high volume, high stress position, thinking about higher pay and such. We ...

So I’m still pretty new to terminology and such. Back in March of 2024, after a year of my ileostomy, I saw a surgeon at Emory. The original doctor wasn’t able to create a J pouch during my surgery in January 2023. After talking with the surgeon at Emory, we both decided to not try again since my quality of life already was leaps and bounds better than when I had UC. He ended up removing t ...

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 ...

To recap, I have an extremely inverted stoma on a soft belly crease and I had a horrible time with the bag I was using always coming off just enough to let output get underneath the adhesive and destroy my skin. I tried glue & purple stuff & nothing worked. The thing that changed the equation for me was changing the device I was using. Thanks to the Convatec video call, they realized I needed ...

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 ...

Hello everyone, and I'm trying to figure out a few things and just ask a few questions first! Is that okay?
How's everyone feeling? I'm never here, but I came in to say hello to everyone, and maybe we can text and chat about a couple of things on my mind!
1. Does anyone do protein shakes? What do you use? What is your diet? I have issues with everything I eat, and I'm not new; I just haven't ...

Hi,
First post on here so, please be gentle. I was wondering, has anyone found a way of keeping that darn bag out of the way when they are having one of their most intimate moments? I've used techniques such as holding it under a t-shirt, etc... What do you do? It just plain can get in the way sometimes...
Thanks in advance.

Sitting on a park bench enjoying a warm summer afternoon... I dozed off. A little later, an elderly lady happened by and sat next to me. "Wonderful day, isn't it, young man!" "Oh yes," I replied. "An excellent afternoon indeed."
She stretched her legs, adjusted her glasses, and softly hummed a catchy tune.
In the distance, children were busy at the playground. We could just make out their sho ...

Well, that was no walk in the park. I had my surgery, spent about 3 days in the hospital, came home, and started vomiting. A lot. All the time. Every time I ate, when I went to bed at night, when I went to the doctor's office. I went back in the hospital, and they stuck an NG tube up my nose and down my throat. I hate those things. Anyway, they said my ostomy didn't wake up after surgery. That ...

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 ...

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 ...