Ostomy Topics

I just had an ileostomy reversal yesterday. Today, I started having watery stools that were a brownish red. Now, I am going every 30 minutes and it's just blood. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this? My anxiety is super high and, of course, it's in the evening and my doctor is gone.

New to ostomy. Woke up with one about a month ago after a visit to the ER (perforated colon). Things have been going well and fairly smooth until I had a leak. I was making a 2-hour drive when all of a sudden I could smell it. Investigated as much as I could while driving 70 mph - it was a leak - blowout. Pulled to the side of the road and cleaned up. I didn't have another bag with me (dumb - ...

I have an ileostomy and am wondering if anybody would have ideas on jeans. I wear Lee's 32-32, but they're tight around the bag. The jeans are fine on the legs and waist.
Thanks!

Okay, so here I am with another problem I would like to hear all of your advice on. Showers. I prefer to schedule bag changes around showers, so I take off the bag when I am showering. I used to shower in the late afternoon, several hours after lunch. "Marvin" had a tendency to poop in the shower whenever I took one then. So then I started taking a shower first thing in the morning before brea ...

I have an ileostomy and I have a two-piece system that I change the wafer and bag every 2-3 days. I've read where people make their wafer last 10 days. How is this possible? After cutting out the stoma shape, the plastic around the stoma breaks down after 2-3 days so I change it. It just doesn't seem possible to me to make the wafer last much longer than that. It seems to me that the waste wou ...

Hello. A few others have posted their recent reversal updates, so I thought I would take a minute to do so as well since I am now 4 months post-reversal!
I was a bit emotional last week because just before Memorial weekend last year, my colon was perforated during a biopsy after a cancer diagnosis, and I spent almost a month in the hospital fighting for my life. I came home with a colostomy - ...

I've been having trouble finding a job because of my ileostomy. I don't go around telling jobs I have one, but I definitely need to take a few more bathroom breaks because of how it's always going and need to constantly drink water, which some jobs don't let you have a drink with you at all times. My cousin, who is a store manager, was trying to get me a job where she works. She had a boss wit ...

It's classic night. "Forrest Gump" on the silver screen. Got my small popcorn, peanut M&Ms, and..... Root beer soda.

Remember: Ostomy life is like a box of bags, ya always know what you're gonna get.

Hello all - I have two questions and would appreciate any help or advice on both. First one - has anybody with an ileo been able to eat popcorn - it's one of my fav's and I need food right now that makes me happy - I had a small handful the other night and nothing bad happened but I am scared to try anymore. Is it the small hard brown part of the kernel that could cause a blockage because I ca ...

I work, and always get embarrassed when my stoma farts. To the point I won't eat all day until I get home. I also am embarrassed to go out much. Any suggestions?

Does anyone have any advice on how to prevent my colostomy bag from exploding on one side? I feel really limited on where I can go. I want to go back to work but I'm terrified of having an explosion. I've been drinking smoothies with flaxseed and chia seeds every day but it makes everything very watery. Any advice would be helpful.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, I thought that having to sit through my geometry class was about as much pain as I could stand. I had no idea. Today my neighbor is in the burn unit of a hospital dealing with extensive burns that he suffered when his propane tank exploded in his RV. All of us on this site have known the pain that ultimately necessitated our ostomies. Being here now, having survived and rec ...

I just had my ostomy surgery a few months ago. I'm starting to eat again as I used to. What is your experience with popcorn? Does it cause any problems?

Hello, my name is Izzy, and my daughter Tui is five years old. She received her ileostomy bag on March 28th. When I asked our wound nurse about organizations that cater to younger kids, she said, unfortunately, there is not one—they seem (from what I've learned) to cater to the older kid crowd. While I would love for my daughter to meet someone older to show her that she can live a normal li ...

Hi everyone!
I was told when I got my ileostomy in 2017 to never eat anything with a casing (hot dogs, brats, Italian sausage, etc.). Does anyone here have any input on this subject?