Because everyone is different, we must make our own path….jb
suspect this one could be Beachboy jb

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 ...

Hi Guys,

New here. I've had one question on my mind that I've been unable to find any answers on. In November I was finally relieved from Ulcerative Colitis after failing a few medications and throwing in the towel. I went into surgery explicitly wanting the bag and the bag I did come out with (loop ileostomy with a constructed j pouch, step 2). My surgeon is already pushing me to finish up ...

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 ...

Just saw the PA who assisted the surgeon with my revision and discovered the reason that I have both an innie and why they didn't repair the parastomal hernia - they could not find the fascia that they would fasten it to! Guess my fascia was really torn up during the emergency surgery in 2023 that started my saga and has basically gone into hiding Anyway, I am healing, but she wants to see me ...

So now waiting for my OP to remove the rest of the Ol' plumbing.

Been told about 4 months but also sooner if there are cancellations. Can't wait to draw a line under the whole UC saga and recover and move forward. Only problem is it's causing me a slight anxiety because I keep expecting the phone to ring :P

Once this is done I can concentrate on enjoying life and hopefully someone to enj ...

The Big Scare
At church today, Mrs. B suffered a terrible calamity. One that rendered her temporarily speechless. A church friend behind me reached over to wish me a happy Easter and shake my hand. I leaned over to bid him holiday wishes too. Mrs. B nudged my leg. She was pointing toward my pants zipper. Hmmmm. Did I forget to pull it up? Nooo.
Then she hissed, "Your thingy is showing." "Thin ...

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?

New member/colostomy recipient (5/25/21) here. Hi!
My doc said that my remaining 4" of rectum would collect mucus. Shortly after I got home from the hospital, a blob of mucus landed in the toilet, but only that once.
Frequently, I have a powerful urge to eliminate normally from the rectum, but no means to do so. It feels like I'm going to soil my drawers, but nothing ever happens. Is this norm ...

Trial and error has led me to a system of emptying and cleaning my pouch that makes everything feel better. I saw another post about using warm water in the pouch after emptying to wash it out. I will say it takes several times of doing this (put water in, holding the pouch up, swish it around, then empty) to get it clean. I do this until the water runs clear when coming out. I also use a deod ...

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 ...