When I saw colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy on Mayo Clinic Digestive Health I was so happy. I have so much I need to know and I can share some things. I then had this feeling that I was needed in the bathroom. I am not sure what can be worst than a full bag/pouch/appliance of liquid and air. I had to clean the front of toilet, the floor, the clamp, my hands, and change my clothes. At least I did not hit my shoes. I know we are to empty our bags when it is a third full, but I have not figured out when the bag is 1/3 full, when I have diarrhea my bag goes from empty to full in a matter of minutes.

My ostomy is the results of radiation I had on my lower abdomen over 30 years ago. It took that long for my sigmoid to die. I now have an ostomy, for life, and a third of my GI track is gone. I have not found anyone, yet, who has had lymphoma, with their sigmoid killed from radiation wearing a bag over their stoma.

Learning to clean and replace your bag, once you get home from the hospital, can be an experience, and one not for sissies. Poop is your friend. It is the food you put in your mouth that the body could not use. When we forget it is food we may become fearful of poop and do not want to look at it or willing to have it get on our hands.

What to eat and what not to eat is my biggest problem. With a third of my GI track gone I have to take lots of meds to make up for what my body cannot get out of the food I eat. I do eat a balanced diet and try new things. The diarrhea I am having now could be a reaction to a new med I am taking, but it could be from the new food I am trying out. I eat mostly veggies. I do have some chicken because I am unable to eat beans. Plain Greek Yogurt is my go-to food. Cheese is one of my other go-to. Ice cream is my only bad food, it takes a month for me to go through a quart. Canned fruit with yogurt is much better than fruit in your yogurt. I live by myself so I do not have to cook meals, any suggestions in what to eat would be helpful.

mlmcg