The Social

Will be taking a little break from this site for a little while … but just wanted to express my thanks and gratitude to people on here who have been supportive and kind within my own journey , it’s been a great help and I’m really pleased I joined this site for several reasons … I am sure I will check back in soon but for some personal reasons I am just taking bit of a short break , w ...

Greetings.

I'm amazed to see I've made over 3,000 posts on MaO. Alas the day has arrived for me to stumble off into the fading sunset.
I've got many adventures ahead.

A return to the Galapagos Islands. An amazing experience when I was there in 2005. Very well maintained and protected by Ecuador.

Another visit to Moorea and Bora Bora Tahiti. Our favorite South Pacific getaway. B ...

I named mine Sylvester Stalloma, he’s now my ring man fighting through this labyrinth called life.

for the most part he’s well behaved apart from the odd battle cry he lets out at 2am some nights, startling me into action in the darkness, I think he does it just to remind me that he’s still there fighting my corner.

I NEED MORE BOOKSHELVES as my book collection continues to grow. “Get rid of some of them,” my spouse suggests, all the while knowing full well that’s not going to happen. All those books, they’re alive, and the authors are alive too inside of them. All I have to do to converse with them is pull their book off the shelf and open it up. I look for the places in the pages that I mark ...

Hi, I'm new here and thought I would introduce myself. I'm Carol from Texas. I have had my colostomy for 7 months now. It is permanent.. in October of last year I became very sick. Thought I had the stomach flu. Couldn't hold even water down. It began after my doctor advised me to drink magcitrate for constipation. I had a lot of abdominal pain as well. I was rushed to the ER by ambulance on d ...

Is anyone else planning to attend the UOAA Conference in Orlando this year?

YEARS AGO, WHEN MY DAUGHTER LIVED in Brooklyn, I flew from Utah (out of Vegas) to NYC to visit her. There were a couple of places that I wanted to go while there and we took the subway. I’ve never lived where there are subways and she decided that she needed to coach me on my behavior. “Don’t look at anyone, don’t talk to anyone,” she advised seriously. As a film fan, I’ve seen ...

Hi,
Just wondering how people feel less isolated living with ostomies? I don't have a lot of friends, and the ones I do have are far away, some very, very far away. I'm on a very limited income, and so I only really have my mum close by. I don't own a car, although I can drive.
There's not really any support groups close by either. I don't really feel comfortable with work colleagues; we get o ...

New to a colostomy had an ileostomy last year, hoping to meet people in a similar situation for relatability sake. Feeling so much healthier this time around .

My name is Cindy. I have a colostomy for 2 years. It is still hard to accept having this. I would be open to having any comments you might be willing to share with me.

WE ALL HAVE OCCASIONAL CRAVINGS. I had two yesterday, glutton that I am. We headed for a local seafood restaurant, hungry for shrimp. Being Sunday and not long after local churches disgorged their worshippers, the place was packed. Even though we’re both vaccinated, eating in a crowded restaurant with a bunch of unknown, unmasked & jabbering strangers was too much for me, so me ordered take- ...

Hi! I'm a new ostomate (colostomy) since 12-2024. May i ask a question? I like my bag to stay flat against my tummy so not to be a obvious. But when my stoma puts out, it's rather stiff and protruding (depending on diet and Miralax dosing.)

I usually press it to flatten back down, but I've noticed it seems to make it more smelly! I've been using bags with full filters. Is that my problem ...

Hello,
Doug Burns, retired Commander, USN. Had colostomy in 2021; living with the inconvenience ever since.

These are the Horoscopes for the week of May 26, 2025
#CardDivo #ZodiacSigns #horoscopes
https://youtube.com/shorts/pyOOxsj0Sac?feature=share

Hello

Two years ago I had my surgery and have an ileostomy. I’m still learning how to live with it and most recently I went on my first vacation and started to go out and try to live my life again. I’m still filled with fear and anxiety but I’m trying, I would love to get to know people who have similar experiences as I do and help when I can. Thank you for excepting me in this wonder ...

Had my surgery in November 2024 and was presented with my stoma friend. I call her my ugly little friend who periodically either erupts like Vesuvius or spews like Old Faithful. I have tried different manufacturers of ileostomy bags and so far haven't had much luck. Would like to hear from others and their experience with bags.

THE BUDGERIGAR
It is native to Australia and at the height of the feeding season they can be seen in flocks of thousands.

The are all green, other colors are man manipulated by special breading. If you buy one get a Green one only

Regards IGGIE

Thanks to all of of you for making yesterday a great day and for the next 4 years of MAGA. I knew you’d all come to your senses.

I was rushed into emergency surgery on Feb 23 this year. At first, I didn't think I could cope with the mess. I have found products that make it easier. At first, I cried constantly. Now I can shower without a tape covering.
I still hate the ostomy, but I'm not crying all the time. My family has been wonderful, helping with everything. The backup support is vital.

At Alamitos Marina near Seal Beach today. Looking at the boats... this caught my eye.
Ahoy matey

New to the site, 7 weeks post op. Still about a stone down on my weight, appetite back so eating my way back to it

My mother had an emergency Colostomy in summer of 2024. She had suffered with Ulcerative Colitis for years in order to avoid a Colostomy. However, due to blockage, she went into surgery at 79 years old to receive a Colostomy. First of all, she did not have time to mentally and emotionally come to acceptance of this and since she fought for years not to have one, you can imagine how she felt af ...

I'm new to this site I've had a colostomy since 2012 and I'm here to make friends and more information/tips

I HEARD SMASHING as I approached the corner of Walk & Don’t Walk the other day. There was a distinctly sodden aspect to the noise, as if someone was pounding melons with a sledgehammer. And so it was! It was Gallagher, wielding his trademark weapon of choice, splattering watermelons that were stacked next to a little sign that read “FREE.” “I thought you were dead,” I told him. ...

Out for a coffee today as the weather is just perfect for it and whilst I do love my own company and people watching, I do miss just chatting with someone .

Hi Everyone, my name is Pat and I’m from Louisiana. I’ve been dealing with my ileostomy for nine months now and it’s been quite a trip. I am glad to have found this site and hoping this will help me out!

Hi everyone…

Does anyone have a success story or a positive statement they would like to share? I am in the thick of my testimony I see the light, but I am not there yet. I love the support and networking these sites have to offer, but sometimes I get scared by the unsuccessful stories.

I could use some positivity right now

Hi everyone, let me start off by saying I am the husband talking on this forum because my wife is having a very hard time dealing with having a colostomy and a ostomy bag. She got cancer and they removed her bladder and part of her intestines, she woke up from surgery and our life changed. That was in February 2023. Here we are in 2025 and nothing is better. She had a lot, go on in that time. ...

These are the Horoscopes for the week of May 19, 2025
#CardDivo #ZodiacSigns #horoscopes
https://youtube.com/shorts/OLa2tamcQhQ?feature=share

FOR SOME REASON I get cold when my wife isn’t. I don’t know if it’s a metabolism thing, or male/female, or whatever, but I’ll be reaching for a warm throwover while she’s comfortable in just a simple top. “What’s the thermostat say?” she’ll ask me. “74.” “And you’re cold?” she’ll wonder. “Yeh, it’s cool in here.” “Well, you know what Steven Wright sa ...

Today I saw that someone was referred to as "sea kelp", as well as other people telling her to grow up and stop being a spoiled child - however I have never heard anyone called this, and I was wondering if anyone knew what this 'slang' means?

THIS PAST WEEK I WATCHED, for the umpteenth time, the Millennium trilogy. It consists of three interrelated stories: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The novels, by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, were received with general acclaim but, having them available on film, I’ve never read them. The two primary characters ...

WE ALL HAVE INTERESTS that we enjoy pursuing and, likewise, things that we avoid doing. Just as you might look for an excuse to do what you like, avoidance techniques employed to NOT do stuff can get fairly inventive. “Anything not worth doing,” said Elias Schwartz, “is worth not doing well.” I am very good, for example, at not mowing the lawn. I am willing to pay someone else jus ...

MY GRANDPA’S MEMORY was too good. He never forgot anything and his teeming old man’s brain was filled from crevice to crevice with trivia that would bore a seminarian. He was so chock full of details from his past that they clogged up his remembering mechanism like a bad drain. He couldn’t distinguish between events worth retelling and commonplace crapola that no one could care two wi ...

I TRY TO AVOID the guy who lives around the corner. Unfortunately, I encounter him every once in a while when he’s walking his two poodles. He’s one of those people who, when you greet him with a ‘How’re you doing?’ he thinks he has to tell you in excruciating, long-winded detail. If you’re unfortunate enough to get trapped into being in his presence for anything longer than a h ...

I have double ostomies. I started pole a year ago, and I've just started aerial. For 16 years, I did nothing. I'm due for my 35th operation in October, but I'm not allowing it to stop me anymore. Thank you to those who believe in me every day, even though I don't. I'm so lucky to have a supportive partner who also has an ileostomy. Be bold, believe, and fly

I just had to have a colostomy. I'm nervous about a lot of things and would love some "make my life easier" advice!

My friends and I are planning a 3-4 day horse ride in the Snowy Mountains of Australia. We will probably be staying in cabins at night with bathrooms and toilets. Phew!
My question is... how do I manage my ileostomy while riding all day through the bush with no toilets? Do I take a small shovel and dig holes?
I wonder if anyone has other ideas. Thanks.

A REUTERS REPORT on May 7 creeped me out. Four men were caught in Kenya attempting to smuggle thousands of ants out of the country. Wildlife experts refer to it as biopiracy, a new word for me. These guys had roughly 5,440 giant African harvester ant queens concealed in syringes. Apparently a market exists among ant worshippers who maintain large transparent containers called formicari ...

Hi folks. Creative, Actor-Teacher-Choreographer.
Ileostomy since emergency surgery Jan 1 2025. Very new to this.

They tell me its probably reversable. So I’m in it for the LOLs.

tim

So I went for a coffee date yesterday; everything was going great (or so I thought). We talked about all the generic stuff that you do, etc. And then we got onto the subject of my stoma (bearing in mind I make it clear at all times to do research or ask me questions before a date). Well, suffice it to say it rapidly went downhill from there. It turns out not only did she not do much research, ...

NEVER GO TO THE GROCERY STORE when you’re hungry. In our favorite supermarket, I am like Oscar Wilde, able to resist anything but temptation. If I walk down the aisle displaying cookies, I pick up Nilla Wafers or animal crackers. The candy aisle then beckons me where Caramel Cremes await my eye. Two minutes later, an entire community of snacks and chips puts out a siren call that catches ...

These are the Horoscopes for the week of May 12, 2025
#carddivo #zodiacsigns #horoscopes
https://youtube.com/shorts/B02lkHbLd7g?feature=share

GROWING UP IN FLAT FLORIDA, I always dreamed of seeing the west. In 1974, I almost made it. We were set for an exploratory trip until my wife discovered that she was pregnant. Many years later, we drove around Arizona, then New Mexico, then Utah, with which we fell in love. We moved there, and I started reading ‘western’ writers. Wallace Stegner wrote Beyond the Hundredth Meridian ...

"Whispers of the Wooden Realm"

In the veil between worlds, where shadows dance,
A cupboard whispers tales of old romance,
February's moon, a silvery eye,
Witnessed our bond 'neath the star-studded sky.

Ancient oak, keeper of secrets untold,
Your grains map journeys both brazen and bold,
Angles askew, like time's crooked path,
Defying the straight lines of mortal math.

In corners where re ...

Since we can't be like "able-anal-ed" folks and "take a dump," we need a saying of our own. "Draining the bag" just doesn't cut it. Some candidates to consider:
Trapshooting. Has a nice ring to it. Imagine: "Hey Sally, back in a jiffy... gotta do a little trapshooting."
Turboturd. For the ostomate in a hurry.
Dash-of-splash. Similar to turboturd, but with some recoil.
Easysqueeze. When you kno ...

FRISBEE IS THE TRADEMARKED NAME for a plastic, concave disk used in catching games between two or more players who spin the disk off into the air with a flick of the wrist. As I was walking through a local park the other day, I saw some kids tossing one back and forth. Their throws seemed effortless and the flight of the Frisbee floating through space from one to the other was almost mesmeri ...

Wit and wisdom, with a side of cocktails.. its Flabby. Helping the lovelorn and just plain stoopid.

With a flare for irrelevance and a healthy appetite for bubbly... Flabby at-cher service.
Let's rummage through the ole mailbag. Ha! A letter with the stamp upside down. Winner!!

I'll label this missive.... Stomal Magic

Hey you GOAT Flabby!

Yeah... you BE to me..Greatest Of All Time. But enough about you. Let's dig into my man trouble.

Chet and I met on a blind date set up by ...

ODE TO A NURSE
Sick people turn me on,

They get my care-a-lot juices flowing

And I learned early on

That caring is my Camelot,

My special place, I’m glowing

When I’m making patients better,

I’m a real go-getter

With needles, bandages and gauze,

I do it because

It makes me feel good

And hopefully them too,

So I can cope fully

With the pain I see.

I’m ...