Hi Bruce, Getting started on the ostomy trail can be frustrating. One thing Vegan Ostomy has been designed to do is give information guidance and discussion. If you don’t know ask all questions welcome. So welcome and very best wishes 👍

Welcome @bruce . While it's been an unfortunate set of events for you, I'm glad you found us. 

Please feel free to post any questions you might have in the appropriate forums and we'll be more than happy to share our experiences. 

Welcome, Bruce - VO is such a wonderful place, full of great information. We are so thankful for all that Eric has created here. I spent many hours learning when I first found the VO site; it was informative and enjoyable, and what a lovely group of people on the forums. I continue to learn new things all the time here.

It is an adjustment, a stoma is, for sure - but the adjustment is certainly do-able. Best wishes to you. LL

Hi Bruce

Welcome to Veganostomy. You will find a wealth of information here and a great deal of support. I am sorry to hear of your circumstances concerning your ostomy, but I promise you, things will get easier for you.

Many of us have permanent ostomies and have adjusted to our new life style. I had colorectal cancer and my colostomy is forever, but when I consider the alternative, I am truly grateful for mine. 

Concerning BCBS, you were wise to find a new advocate. I was fortunate in that mine was extremely supportive. BTW, do you have an ostomy nurse? He or she will be your best resource for the first few months. 

Again welcome and good luck

God bless,

Stella

Welcome Bruce. I too had a perforated bowel and became septic. Fortunately I didn’t need a respirator, just lots of IV antibiotics. My colon was perforated in 2 spots so they had to take the whole thing out, so I have an ileostomy. And in October they found some holes in my small intestines so they removed a bit of that too. 

I hope you find the same support here that I have. 😀

Welcome from me too, Bruce.

There is a bit of a learning curve to this new thing, but you will get there. Its hard to believe now, but it will become the new normal.

This is a great place to ask questions... and answer some too.

Heal up.

Hello Bruce and Welcome to VO!  I'm sorry for what brought you here! You have certainly been thru a lot!! but your on the right path & more likely to learn earlier then the 8 yrs. it took me stumble across VO & discover that I could actually "choose" which pouch I wanted to wear!! I think my fav. discovery thru Our Eric was learning about the Osto EZ Vents. A must have if your on the airy side of foods....lol! 

All the best Bruce!  Thanks for chiming in & by all means do not be a stranger! We were all new with an ostomy once in our lives. Please know that No question is a dumb question and needing support of almost  pretty much any kind can be found here. 

Be As Well As You Can Be!  

@mikeleen

Welcome, mikeleen. You will find a great deal of help and info here. The videos and articles are priceless and the support is amazing.

Stella

@mikeleen Hi and a warm welcome. You will certainly get help and life changing information. Read, discover and ask 👍

@mikeleen Welcome to the forums. 

Feel free to post an introduction if you are comfortable doing so. You can post it HERE if you choose. 

Posted by: @mariedianels

Hello. I am new here. here is any topic related to digital marketing? Thanks in advance

@mariedanaiels

This is a forum for Patients and caregivers of those living with an ostomy, so a digital marketing topic would be odd, unless you're referring to VeganOstomy digital marketing. In that case, you could likely ask about it in the Lounge or Meta forum sections. 

@mariedianels

Since this is a website dedicated to ostomies, there would probably be little need for a thread about beauty products.