After a really long time of being an ostomate, I stumbled upon MeetAnOstomate.com. I was like “oh hey, I could meet some others, who know maybe even help some people down in the dumps”. Yea…not so much.
The first thing I noticed about this website was the structure and function of it, is HORRIBLE. I mean impossible to find anything. I did a few searches and didn’t really find anyone in my area, but that was no biggie. So I just left it alone for a while…well…they email you about every five seconds. I was getting boat loads of emails and other things, so in my little brain I was thinking “oh great, people I get to help”. When in reality it was more like “oh great, another creepy old man”. My experience with MeetAnOstomate.com was like a scene out of a lifetime movie. It was boatloads of creepy old men sending me weird emails.
They have this little ticker on the left hand side where it shows you who is online and their age and sex. I kid you not, I never saw anyone who was under 40 and maybe one girl every few days.
So I let it go. I was like, “you know maybe there are a few diamonds in the rough”. Wrong. Creepers all the time. I finally cancelled my profile. All of the people who contacted me said they too had ostomies, but I’m skeptical. People are weird.
hahahahahahaha. sorry jackie, i should have warned you about that site. i have a few stories about that site too. i joined with well intentions. i too got creepy old man email, they were a cross of chat ruellette and stoma sex solititaions.
I too am looking for people in my area to talk to. I don’t know anyone in person that had this surgery so i really appreciate your blog and joined your ostomate family on facebook. (im 33 from pennsylvania and NO im not looking for creepy men of any age, happily married) You have been an inspiration for me. Thank you for all you share!
I just had my Ileostomy (removal of WHOLE large intestine/colon).
I go see my surgen on Tuesday for my follow up.
What are some good questions to ask? What do i need to know about? And yes i will be asking him about a jpouch take down so any questions on that too?
Whoever you are Jackie you should be ashamed of your post as i have been a member of that site for a fair period now and have not experienced anything remotely similar to what you are talking about.The people in charge quickly discharge anyone operating in the manner in which you speak and I honestly question the integrity of your post here.
It is a shame people stoop so low as to feel it necessary to write such trash.
Well Ken Thomas, I’m sorry you feel that way. But I have no shame, and I didn’t stoop low, and frankly its not trash. That is EXACTLY what happened to me. If I’d kept them, I’d go back and find the messages I got from people on that site that were totally creepy and inappropriate.
This blog is powered on truth. I won’t let me readers make mistakes that I made, and that website was a HUGE mistake that I made. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but thats the truth.
Yes, as Thomas said – you should be ashamed, Jackie!
As I said before, I’m not really sure what I should be ashamed about. I wasn’t knocking ostomies, I had one at the time I wrote this. I was looking for companionship. As Ron above me wrote, this is not an uncommon thing that happens. I have had that confirmed on other sites where I talked about this too. The shame falls in the creepy people preying on ostomates.
And as the banner up top reads, I don’t update this site anymore. If you’d like to explain the “shame” that I should have, for whatever reason, please feel free to take it over there or on my facebook page.