If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I live with an ileostomy – a type of stoma formed from the small bowel – after losing my colon to Crohn’s disease. Read more about my stoma and my journey here. Now having a major organ removed isn’t exactly easy. Nor is it straightforward. The surgeries performed to create stomas aren’t quick or without their complexities. But hopefully the…
stoma life
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Christmas and the Festive Season with IBD
It’s been almost four years since I made anything about Christmas, the festive period and how being chronically ill can make this time a little different to others. My past four Christmases have been pretty varied, from working during the period to being able to go home and celebrate with family. We’ve travelled home for the period, cooked our own Christmas dinner and actually forwent it once when I was…
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Silicone – Is this the next Frontier in Stoma Products?
Disclaimer: Paid Partnership with Trio Healthcare Do you ever take off your stoma bag and wonder what exactly happens to your skin underneath? There is very little time when the skin directly around your stoma and immediately surrounding it is without something sitting on top of it when you live as an ostomate. But how many of us know what condition our skin is in? Or how our skin responds…
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“Does your scar or stoma ever hurt?”
I remember sitting in my surgeon’s office back in 2016 as we discussed my first IBD surgery – a resection. I had a ton of questions, most of which focused on pain and the scar. Looking back, being worried about the scars seems so trivial but it was a big thing to me at that time; it would be the first time I’d ever have surgery and I was really…
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“What happens in a stoma review?”
Take yourself back to your first few weeks with your stoma, did you have regular appointments to see your nurse; to ensure your bag was cut correctly, the products were right and you were okay? If the answer is yes, that was a very basic stoma review. I have covered Appliance User Reviews (AUR’s) previously here, but whereas an AUR is a document that goes to your delivery company (DAC)…
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Intimacy After Stoma Surgery
Yes, it is possible to continue to have a healthy sex life – or even improve upon it – after ostomy surgery. But sex is rarely discussed with patients before ostomy surgeries, even though it’s a significant issue and can have a profound effect on a patient’s life. If you feel comfortable enough, you can bring this up with your surgeon or stoma care nurse as it is one aspect…
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Stoma Life – YEAR FOUR
What I’ve Learnt and Achieve in the Last Twelve Months with my Ostomy Year Four with Priscilla has been quiet, compared to other years. She settled down into a new routine after proctectomy surgery and wound day surgery. She even remained calm when I came off my medication and we came into 2020. Then COVID happened and well, I got some bad news. But what did the next twelve months have…
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When Does Having an Ostomy Fade into the Background?
Inspired and a follow up to my 2017 post “When Does Having an Ostomy Feel ‘Normal’?” and my 2019 post “This is Not My First Choice“ In a very similar vein to my post on ‘when does having an ostomy feel ‘normal’?’, today I want to talk about how it feels to have a stoma bag; and if it can ever fade into your subconscious. Now, #stoma101 – a stoma…
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Fibre with IBD
Hands up who has been on the low residue diet in the months after diagnosis or surgery? There would be very few people with their hands down because it has become the go to diet for those suffering from active inflammation of their condition. Rightly so too; imagine the red, irritated and painful lining of your bowel as you allow rough and fibrous food through it. It isn’t going to…