Ostomy Topics

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 ...

Hi all, newbie here. I've had my ostomy since June of 2023. Lately, I've been dealing with constipation. What do y'all do/eat to get rid of constipation? I also have cerebral palsy.

I have like zero motivation to hydrate. I don't know why. It seems like the only time I hydrate well is after a workout at the gym when I usually drink about 32 oz of fluid. However, in my daily life, I just don't think about drinking. I find that time passes and I haven't drunk anything. I do drink a little at meals to take my medication, but it's not enough. My dietitian has been hounding me ...

Hi friends, I currently have a loop ileostomy due to significant Crohn's inflammation all throughout my colon. I have had my ostomy since this past March, but I feel I have had many complications since then that are making the idea of reversal seem further and further away. Every single day since my surgery I have lower abdominal pain, and I pass bloody mucus through my rectum at least 3-4x/da ...

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and have spent the last two days browsing and getting some encouragement and support for my upcoming surgery. I am awed at the positivity here and how you are all embracing what life has given you.
I am having surgery - total colectomy, Hartman pouch, and permanent ileostomy.
Has anyone had this before that can guide me as to how long the surgery takes and w ...

With the heat and humidity NJ brings us each summer, it just seems we are sweating a lot more and worry if the appliance will just fall off while:
Outside working the yard?
While at parties? At festivals? BBQs...concerts, dancing around?
With a date at dinner?
Sitting in the heat, I believe, is the worst thing you can do when it's this hot outside.
Recently, while working 2 backyards just ye ...

Hi all. I am 8 weeks post-colostomy and am thinking of having sex again with my husband. I know this sounds silly, but I am worried the bag might break if he puts his weight on me.

I have a question for any and all Hollister New Image Drainable Pouch users with the Velcro closure. Do you experience problems with the Velcro sealing solidly after a couple of days usage? I have used this pouch system since my surgery almost 3 years ago and never had a problem with closing the pouch after emptying until about a year ago.
Now, almost every pouch I use I have to add tape to en ...

I have a very irregular-shaped ileostomy stoma and developed a stomal fistula in a V shape on one side. Cutting the opening on the wafer to fit was beyond frustrating, and my skin was suffering greatly. So was my mental state.
I used the stomal measurement guide and chose a size slightly larger than the stoma. I took a picture with my phone. I then enlarged it so the circles of the measuring g ...

My stoma just farted really loudly and scared me!!! I’m alone- can’t sleep, came downstairs and sat on the couch and BOOM !!! I jumped 1/2 way off the couch!!!

When introduce to the ostomy procedures I was more overwhelmed with trying to use the scissors that come with the kit they give you flat flange and a clear bag and that was pretty overwhelming once I found the soft bags with the cloth and the charcoal vent and the velcro everything got a lot easier except for cutting those scissors are awful I don't know who can use them and make a smoot ...

I had an ileostomy. I had it reversed and a colostomy moved to the other side of my abdomen. I am getting a white film on my stoma. I've been told it's from friction from the bag, yet nobody seems to tell me how to prevent this from happening. Does anyone know how to stop this? It never happened to my ileostomy, yet I used Coloplast products then and I use Hollister now. I've found the Hollist ...

I have an ileostomy and since I got it, only 3 times has it been nothing but liquid. It is either solid or soft served, but I didn't think you were supposed to have solid output with an ileostomy. Weird.

Hello everyone. On July 2 this year, I went in for a colostomy reversal and had a cancerous tumor removed. I woke up to a permanent ileostomy and my ass stitched together.
Due to the radiation treatments, I'm guessing the wound won't heal. I went to a wound clinic, and everything they seem to be doing is only making it much worse. Now I have an infection, and their only suggestion was to go to ...

I will be traveling to Scotland soon and have not been on an airplane since my surgery. Does anyone have a good set of guidelines for travel with an ileostomy? And how many supplies are recommended? I'll be traveling for 2-3 weeks.