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Lifestyle

Are you feeling burnt out this festive season? Exit the busy of Christmas & welcome in the calm with our 10 days of self-care.⁠⁠ Starting Wednesday 28th December & running through up to (& including) Friday 6th January 2023, mark your calendars today & be sure to set that important "me time" aside.⁠

With 2022 coming increasingly to a close (where has that year gone?!), we wanted to take the time to thank you as one of our readers for your continued support for another year! We have blogged (with the help of Rachel) and vlogged (with the help of Ant) about many things such as all about stoma supportwear, friendship, ostomy fashion, food & drink, ostomy education, dating & relationships, travel, exercise & more over on our blog

You may worry about how life will change following surgery. For me I was in chronic pain, living off a ridiculous amount of painkillers, and trying to make it through each day wishing the surgery would come yesterday. I was hoping to be able to reduce the pain killers and be able to walk without being in pain. 

Christmas time can feel overwhelming for a lot of people at the best of times, then there's adding an ostomy into the mix! It's fair to say that you are not alone if you are worried about navigating Christmas, but thankfully, there are some top tips in this post from fellow ostomates...

When our son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of thirteen, my initial reaction was one of fear, what would this mean for him, how would his life change? Then disbelief, how could this be happening to our previously super healthy, athletic son? Then guilt, was it something I’d done to cause him to develop Crohn's, was it genetic or lifestyle, could I have done something different to protect him from this wretched disease?

As Christmas draws near (where has that year gone?!), for a lot of people, it's not about wanting material things for Christmas. It's about time with loved ones, making memories and for some, it's even wishing for things that money can't buy or even wishing for things that don't exist. On that note, Amy is going to tell you what 5 things she would put on her Christmas list as an ostomate. 

Winter brings about many changes, some welcome, some not so much. I love nothing more than lighting every candle in the house, my twinkly tree on, the dark nights and watching GoggleBox on the telly under a throw with the family. But what does it mean for us ostomates? As we all know, we are all so different in the reason why we got a ticket to the club, and what impact that has on our wider health. For some the arrival of Winter may not change that much, for others it can present the need to adapt and tweak a few different things. 

Having ostomy surgery can understandably be a daunting prospect and it's perfectly normal to feel scared & unsure.  Today, we would like to be myth-busters (move aside, Ghostbusters) and take you through some of the below myths to reassure you.

You are sore and perhaps bloated from surgery, not feeling quite like yourself. You may be relying on medication, and testing your food tolerances with your new accessory to see what you can and can’t tolerate. With all this in mind, what seemed as simple as going out to catch up with a friend over coffee can bring up many questions: What toilet facilities are there? Do I need a radar key if I need disabled toilet facilities? Will I need to empty my bag there? (You may not have done this in public yet) What happens if my bag leaks and needs changing? Can I have caffeine?

It's getting colder in the UK, which means thinking of ways to keep warm and cosy again! One great way to do this, which is also beneficial to your body, is by cooking something warming and nutritious. Like everything in life and especially ostomy life, it's important to remember that everybody is different. The following recipes and blog post should be taken into account with your personal needs and dietary requirements in mind.