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Aug 07, 2011

Adventures and Misadventures of a Poo Bag Blogger

This topic is about a blogger sharing her humorous experiences while living with an ileostomy and dealing with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She talks about her attempts to pitch ideas to Coloplast, a company that makes ostomy products, and shares some everyday mishaps that come with having an ostomy. Here are some highlights and advice from her story:

- After feeling bold from taking Tramadol, she emailed Coloplast's marketing director with ideas for more stylish and environmentally friendly ostomy bags. Her suggestions included denim-look, pastel, or holiday-themed pouches, and softer wipes. Unfortunately, her ideas were turned down due to "low profit margins on prescription goods," and her messages were redirected to customer feedback in Denmark.

- Not deterred, she took matters into her own hands and decorated her beige pouches with blue felt-tip pens.

- A funny misunderstanding occurred with her 14-year-old daughter, who mistook a bottle of lactulose for urine, leading to a family joke about "urine therapy."

- She had an embarrassing moment with a new "rustle-free" but larger pouch that leaked, causing her to mistakenly accuse family members of stepping in dog poop.

- On a lazy day, she skipped using the black disposal bag, and a gluten-intolerant friend accidentally found a used pouch in the kitchen trash, which ruined everyone's appetite.

- On the medical front, she received concerning biopsy results, which might prevent a stoma reversal, and she is also worried about a large parastomal hernia.

- She humorously recalls a pre-surgery emergency where she pretended to be pregnant to use a staff restroom, highlighting the desperation of dealing with uncontrolled IBD.

Additional insights and advice from the community include:

1. Maintaining Humor & Mental Health
- Many people find humor to be a great coping mechanism for living with an ostomy. They encourage writing, blogging, or even creating an audiobook or DVD to help others.

2. Pain-Medication Experiences
- One person shared that long-term high-dose Tramadol caused erratic behavior, and they found success in tapering off gradually, similar to the blogger's method.

3. Workplace & Disability Interviews
- It's important to clearly explain stoma-related limitations during "fit for work" assessments, as people often underestimate the challenges of leaks, fistulas, and multiple abdominal wounds.

4. Concealment & Disposal
- Many fear that pets, wildlife, or sanitation workers might scatter used appliances. Tying pouches in the supplied black bags is recommended to avoid embarrassment.

5. Product & Design Requests to Manufacturers
- There is a desire for more stylish ostomy bags, such as those with denim prints, pastels, Christmas decorations, lace trims, or animal prints. Some members question Coloplast's "no profit" claim and suggest coordinated email requests to push for these options.
See full discusison
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