Part of the week of daily blogs for #crohnsandcolitisawarenessweek Read the entire week here. “When they said chronic I didn’t think. They meant every single damn day.” Chronic and invisible. Double whammy. Despite there being so much information out there about the basics of IBD, we as patients still experience misconceptions and misinformation throughout our patient journey. For some this can be the fact that at a primary level, IBD…
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Ostomy Supporting Products – Seals
Disclaimer: The information in this post is based on product knowledge from product information direct from the manufacturer and also personal use of products within my own stoma care. All experiences given here are my own and should not be taken as medical advice. If you require advice or support about any aspect of your stoma care, please contact your SCN in the first instance or your GP. If you…
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Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week – December 4th: Fatigue
Part of the week of daily blogs for #crohnsandcolitisawarenessweek Read the entire week here. For most, tiredness comes when you’re overdoing it – working too many hours, being social, finding things to do instead of sleep. But when you have a chronic illness, the fatigue is a next level of tiredness. I find myself stopping from saying ‘I’m tired’ because this invites so many people to say the same back…
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Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week – December 3rd: IBD and Mental Health
Part of the week of daily blogs for #crohnsandcolitisawarenessweek Read the entire week here. There, I said it. Once you say it outloud, it’s like duh of course it does but that is as far some go. It’s sort of expected for something some internal to affect your mind. And whilst that’s good to recognise, more needs to be done. If there is counselling for a cancer diagnosis, why is there…
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Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week – December 2nd: IBD Stigma
Part of the week of daily blogs for #crohnsandcolitisawarenessweek Read the entire week here. What does having IBD mean? It means talking about poo. It means discussing bodily functions with specialists. It means enduring testings on your digestive system. These are not great experiences, no matter how long you have been diagnosed or how many you’ve had to go through. It means getting diagnosed. It means having a conversation with…
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Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week – December 1st: What is IBD?
Part of the week of daily blogs for #crohnsandcolitisawarenessweek Read the entire week here. What are Crohn’s & Colitis? Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are the major categories of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD affects an estimated 300,000 in the UK. These chronic diseases can run in families and they affect males and females equally. While IBD can affect anyone, Caucasians are more likely than other ethnic groups to have IBD. Yet…
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Life Lately | Let’s Talk About… MY STUMP
** WARNING: graphic details about surgery and rectal stumps. NO PHOTOS just words ** Bear with me, this is going to get technical and emotional. Who would have thought a 30cm piece of my insides would cause me so much damn stress and pain? The Story I needed to have another surgery in August 2016 – my subtotal colectomy – after I discovered just how inflamed and damaged my colon…
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Ostomy Supporting Products – Paste
Disclaimer: The information in this post is based on product knowledge from product information direct from the manufacturer and also personal use of products within my own stoma care. All experiences given here are my own and should not be taken as medical advice. If you require advice or support about any aspect of your stoma care, please contact your SCN in the first instance or your GP. If you…
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Life Lately | The Revolving Door of Feelings
“It’s a shame. It’s awful being a grown up. But the carousel never stops turning. You can’t get off.” Hands up, who else feels like this? I definitely feel this a lot of late. I thought it was just a chronic illness problem; that my life was beginning to be more and more dictated by my illness more than the other way around. With chronic illness, you feel…