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Tomorrow is World Ostomy Day and I just wanted to take a minute to talk about what it has been like for me over the last 4.5 years of having a stoma both the good, the bad and the ugly. This is by far my favourite image because falling pregnant with Button was just such an uncertainty especially after losing Bean just a few months before; knowing I could get to this stage in pregnancy was so amazing and also terrifying as anything can happen with pregnancy.  My ileostomy has given me so many opportunities that I couldn't have dreamed about such as: falling pregnant twice even if Bean didn't make it they gave us hope being able to run...

So I have mentioned before that I may have to have further surgery on my ileostomy as it has retracted a fair bit and causes me a lot of hassle in my day to day like which is draining mentally and physically. This was originally mentioned back in November last year and was only briefly touched upon as due to surgical emergencies my appointment was running really late and I had to catch a bus. I have been ruminating on this since then and I was originally supposed to have had an appointment at the beginning of March to discuss everything. As we all know far too well the global pandemic of COVID – 19 happened and soon put a stop...

I spent a very long time being poorly and adjusting to life from a preteen being exhausted and thinking about where the nearest toilet was. Most people that now have an ostomy for whatever reason I’m sure have experienced that as well. Even though after my first surgery I had a little bit of remission I wasn’t able to fully enjoy my life as I went from having constipation to diarrhoea. I wanted to appreciate some of the things I can do now with toilets being the least of my worries!     Enjoying time with my kids; okay so Button came along after my ileostomy but Ra-Ra didn’t and she didn’t have much of a mum for those 2.5...

Pet therapy is a well known concept and I wanted to talk about how it has had a place in my life and to introduce my new dog Kobe! So I have worked in health care in a variety of settings for all my adult life and I have seen first hand how this kind of therapy can help many people be distracted from the pain they are in. Around the time that I started getting sick my parents got our dog Maxie she was a much loved little tart who loved a belly rub; she was never going to be a good guard dog although being a yorkshire terrier cross jack russell she knew how to bark. She used...

My opinions on my surgeries have changed over time and I certainly don’t feel the same way about ostomies as I did 12 years ago. Why 12 years ago? Well that is when I went in for my first bowel surgery and at 21 years old I had no idea what a stoma was, let alone there was the chance of having one.  The surgeon I saw decided he could do the jpouch surgery in one fell swoop which give him his due he did do and I often think now but at what cost? My newly formed pouch wasn’t given a chance to heal by not having the ileostomy which would have been a temporary measure. This popped up...

Tuesday 19th May is World IBD Day. With this coming up, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about Comfizz and the impact they have made on my stoma journey. How I got my stoma At age 7 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s Disease can be anywhere from your mouth to your bum, but a lot of people typically have it in the small intestine. This was where it was diagnosed with me. Being scared as a young child of having scopes (endoscopy/colonoscopy & I still am now, I can just push myself through it), I didn’t undergo tests to keep an eye on things as frequently as you maybe would with an adult with bowel...

Last year I chose to speak only about one special woman and it was our very own Lorraine but this year I have decided to change it up a bit and talk about some women within the ostomy world who aren’t just ladies I have the privilege of calling my friends but they are the epitome of strength and resilience. They each have their own vulnerabilities of which they share with the whole world via their social media channels. So without further ado here they are: Amy – @ibdwarriorprincess  Amy is my fellow blogger here on Comfizz and is the first person to check in when my mental health isn’t that great. She has Crohns and an ileostomy; her blogs were some...

Today March 8th is International Women’s Day and this is going to be a little bit different to what we usually talk about on our Friday post’s but today I wanted to celebrate our Big Boss Lady Lorraine and why her like every other woman in our life needs to know that they are important and that we recognise that.  Lorraine as you may know has had lots of experience around Inflammatory Bowel Disease what with her Dad having Ulcerative Colitis and her youngest son having Crohns disease. She and her husband Big Boss Man Nozar started this company after Ernie had his ostomy formed and there wasn’t really any support wear available that wasn’t just as I put it...

Welcome welcome! Happy New Year from the whole Comfizz team! How crazy is it that we have entered into a new decade? I know to some that probably isn’t anything special but this is the first decade since the millennium that I have actually paid attention to that!  As I mentioned in my last post I spent the week between Christmas and New Years down with family in Cornwall and the holiday itself was lovely – we took our nephew along with our two to the castle’s at Falmouth (Pendennis) and St Mawes plus St Michael’s Mount. I’m a history buff and I don’t care! My stoma had however other ideas and from the drive down to the day we drove back...

Myself and the Comfizz team hope you had a lovely Christmas Day and Boxing Day!! I am currently in Cornwall for a few days in between Christmas and New Years Eve, this is our second time doing this since having my ostomy and this time we at least don’t have a 6 month baby to think about. It is Button’s second time in a hotel the first being when we stayed in the Lake District for Ra-Ra’s staycation birthday weekend. Last time we stayed in Cornwall we were able to stay at 00Steve’s Dad’s but they had visitors so we are 3 miles down the road. Even though I am no stranger to the whole staycation thing and have gone...