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Hot weather - you either love it or hate it! However, if you have an ostomy, it can cause problems. Hot weather can and does cause problems in ostomy life, but everybody is different and is affected to different extents. Knowing how to handle hot weather with an ostomy and how you may need to adapt your daily routine definitely helps and also enables you to feel more in control. Read on for some tips to help make the heat more bearable!

Having ostomy surgery can, naturally, be so daunting, then you've got all these life elements to think of that increasingly creep back in as you recover, including your sex life. Being concerned about intimacy is normal and you may have questions running through your head such as "will my partner find me attractive any more?", "will my sex life be the same as before surgery?" and "will having sex hurt me?"

It's been 2 years since my second stoma following age 2 1/2 when I had my first reversed as a baby. I went 30 years without one living with a J Pouch to find myself needing a second during the second lockdown. I count myself extremely lucky that I was given that surgery during the times we were living in.

Let's start this post by saying that drinking alcohol with an ostomy is not the same for everybody, as is the case with a lot of things in ostomy life. It is also different depending on which ostomy you have - ileostomy, colostomy or urostomy.

Carers Week (6th-12th June 2022) was something that was never on my radar until I had a poorly baby. Truth be told, I never thought of myself as a carer, just a Mum until I was made aware that such thing as Carers allowance existed when said baby was almost 2!! 

The person who is most aware of your ostomy's smell is you.  Also, it is normal to smell your ostomy output and gas when you are changing your ostomy bag. As you would if you went to the toilet the standard way to poo, it's natural for it to have a smell... After all, it is waste from your digestive system!

When asked by Pelican to be an ambassador I had been sharing our story for 4 years already. I started my page on Instagram @gutsy.mum with the aim of reaching anyone that may stumble on my page and feel like they are the only ones. Being an ambassador has brought with it so many wonderful opportunities, and for that I am so grateful for. I have learnt some lessons along the way too.

I am rather a sociable being and love the bones of my friends. Having a poorly child will show you very quickly who the real ones are, the ones that reach out. The ones that have the difficult conversations then entertain your anxieties and dramatics in times of hardship. Child-care has always been an achilles heal for us with a child with both an ostomy and a feeding tube. 

On a walk the other week with my children’s dad I realised I needed to empty my stoma and we were in the middle of the moors and there were no bins for miles; for me to empty into a disposable bag and pop it in. So obviously I had to empty off the beaten track which is not my favourite thing to do but I was more shocked at what he said to me when I told him I needed to empty. 

Did you know that GP’s in the UK get less than 2 hours training on eating disorders in their medical degree (sourced here)? It’s simply inconceivable. The topic of eating disorders was something I never had to give much thought about until I had my son, yet now it consumes most of my thoughts. Eating disorders awareness week is a chance to share our stories and connect with like minded people.