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Did you know that our lovely Lorraine had written a book on the bowels, based on her professional background as a dietitian and her personal experiences with her son Samir who has Crohn’s disease. I thought it would be interesting to read from the point of view of someone who has suffered with Irritable Bowel Disease and even though I now have had my large bowel, rectum and some of my small intestine removed; would I be able to recommend it honestly to others before they have surgery as an option? I would like to point out now that although Lorraine provided me with the book to read, she has in no way influenced my opinion of this book and...

This month’s instalment of Reppin’ the Rep’s is the lovely Sam from Coloplast. I have met her at stoma open days in my local area and when she did a talk at The Hambleton and Richmondshire Ostomy Support Group she talked about Core4 and had one of our stoma care nurses on the floor showing us all the exercises! What company do you work for? Coloplast What is your job role? Executive Territory Manager How long have you worked there? 14 years How did you get into this job? I started my sales career 22 years ago in the pharmaceutical industry working with GP’s and nurses. I did this for 7 years then moved into the Wound Care division of Coloplast in August 2004....

I have a guest post this week from Rio; she got in touch with me wanting to share her story and I thought it would be a good idea to share it here as surgery is surgery! Are you thinking about having or a have a jpouch? I don’t have many positive things to say about when I had mine so I thought this post is absolutely perfect and will put your worries to bed! The Beginning My story starts at the beginning of 2009 when I started having symptoms of what I now know to be Ulcerative Colitis. It was my first year of University and I was living away from home in halls. I suddenly got ill with...

This month’s company representative is Julie from Fittleworth, she came to do a talk at the Hambleton and Richmondshire Ostomy Support Group and I asked if she would be interested in taking part, she nicely agreed! Here she is with her other main love in life her dogs this one is called Rags. What company do you work for? Fittleworth Medical What is your job role? I’m a Dispensing Relationship Manager, a posh name for a rep. How long have you worked there? 10months How did you get into this job? Through a recruitment agency, as most reps do Do you have any advice for someone who would like to this or something similar? Make sure you are sure it’s what you want to do,...

As you all know our diets with our ostomies are unique to us. Although diet usually only affects urostomates with colour and odour it can be a whole different ball game when it comes to colostomates and ileostomates. This means it is important to pay attention to what we eat and no that doesn’t just mean how much we chew; although that is very important in itself! You may have had your stoma only a few weeks or it may be years before you notice that certain foods can cause you issues. Now as a rule most but in no way all ostomates tend to not eat sweetcorn or mushrooms for the risk of blockages. Now if they are chopped...

Yesterday our national treasure that is the National Health Service turned 70! That is quite an achievement since a lot of things have tried and are actively trying to tear it apart. It was formed back in 1948 on (obviously) the 5th of July as part of the social reforms after the Second World War. At its launch by Aneurin Bevan on 5 July 1948 it had at it’s heart three core principles: That it meet the needs of everyone, That it be free at the point of delivery, That it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Three years after the founding of the NHS, Bevan resigned from the Labour government as he opposed the introduction of...

This is one for the ladies! As we all know our time of the month can cause more hassle than it’s worth, what with the cramps and hormones to name a few. I conducted a poll to see if it was just me that found I suffered a lot since my ileostomy (I got sick before my menstrual cycle started so I know no different with my Ulcerative Colitis and didn’t find it got worse after my jpouch surgery) I broadened the result options as I wanted to see if having an auto immune disease or having something else affected it too. Like I said I was sick before my menstrual cycle started so I don’t know if mine were...

This week I want to talk about different ways raising funds for groups or charities can be useful not only for yourself but people on the whole. Everyone knows that feeling you get when you help someone or you do a sponsored event, yes having that nice warm fuzzy feeling inside can be deemed as selfish to some but when you know some greater good is coming out of it it is a totally justified feeling! When we raise funds for charities and causes it isn’t just about the raising of money but the hope it gives people that vital research is being carried out, people can be cared for by specialist nurses or just encouraging people to be social...

I met Terry last year at a local stoma open day and it was actually the first time I had heard of Peak Medical He also got the pleasure of getting baby Button cuddles! I asked him to join in with this interview series and he graciously accepted! Over to you Terry! What company do you work for? Peak Medical Ltd What is your job role? Territory Manager – promoting Peak Medical products and services, mainly in the North East, parts of Yorkshire and all of Scotland. How long have you worked there? I have worked for Peak Medical for 3.5 years How did you get into this job? I initially got into this job over 20 years ago; I was a courier driver for Amcare...

Firstly a quick apology for this post being out late as between work and the kids my time has been limited oh and Button’s FIRST birthday; yes where has that time gone?! Being ill for a long time whether it is from childhood or something that has happened as an adult can take a major toll on how you view yourself or even make you feel like you have “lost” yourself. Many chronically sick adults grieve for the person they once were and although I can’t say that was the same for me as I was sick from being a child and it has pretty much been all I have ever known. I asked in a couple of groups on Facebook...