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September 4th is #NationalWildlifeDay so I thought I would take this opportunity to talk to you about how my relationship with the outdoors has changed since my stoma surgery in 2011. Rewind to pre 2011 & pre surgery Especially when flaring with Crohn's Disease, I experienced...

I have spoken a lot about how following social media pages of ostomates leading up to my surgery last Summer really helped me feel prepared for life with a stoma bag. For all the negativity that social media use is spoken of, the positives have more than outweighed them for myself. I started my account to share life as a mum with a baby ostomate, then not having a stoma personally. I used the platforms to connect with other parents in the same position, and look for practical advice where life experience from others provided answers that the medical world could not. Life experience is like a precious diamond. A small call for advice on a closed parents group on...

In an ideal world you would leave hospital with your baby (poorly or not), and the leaflets fall into your lap about support whether it be practical, emotional or financial. For me a lot of what I am about to share had to be found as I went along. Unfortunately there are disadvantages according to where you live in the UK, as to what access you have to some of them. That is why I felt it so important to keep the conversation going in the hope others will find out this information much quicker than I did. 

Following my recent stay in a mental hospital I am now temporarily staying at my parents. This throws up some issues of it’s own but when it comes to my ileostomy it comes with some spanners to throw in the works. Some of you maybe able to relate to these if you have stayed at family or friends at any point after your stoma surgery. For those that can’t relate maybe it is something to keep in mind for stays with family or friends in the future. The first thing is trying to find somewhere easily accessible and private to store my supplies. Now of course everyone in the house or that comes to the house knows I have an...

National Relaxation Day aims to promote stress relief through practicing relaxation techniques. This is turn can lead to being able to develop a calmer & clearer sense of mind, which can help us hugely in our lives, especially when dealing with chronic illness. Like myself, I'm sure there are times where you find relaxation impossible and wonder how actually is it even possible the way you are feeling?! Take it from a professional over thinker, it's okay if it doesn't come easy & it's not something to beat yourself up over. 

I started blogging about having a little one with a stoma in 2016. I used Instagram as a platform to share my story in the hope of helping in the way many had for me by sharing the highs and the lows of having a baby with Hirschsprungs Disease. The bowel disease which affects 1 in 5000 babies a year in the UK, is caused by the nerve cells in the intestines needed to move stool along into the rectum for toileting (known as ganglion cells) not being present. This causes the body unable to remove its own waste, with the tummy starting to distend and very little to no poo being passed.   Surgery is essential with bowel washouts...

Good morning my lovely Comfizz readers! I hope this blog post finds you all well, & if not, I send healing hugs your way. You've got this! This post is a bit of a different one to usual & will probably be quite short & sweet in comparison. 15th July is #GiveSomethingAwayDay. *Scroll down to find out more & how to enter!* You could be in with a chance of winning Comfizz' giveaway which consists of: Up to 3 Comfizz garments from level 1 & 2 waistbands, boxers & briefs only (winner will be contacted for size preference) 1 x Unisex Etsy Deluxe Spa Gift Box including the following: 1x Natural Charcoal Detox Drip-Free Sheet Mask1x Anti-pollution with Glacial Alps...

  What are lectins? Lectins are a type of protein found in many foods, but which are difficult to digest. One of the Lectins most people have heard of is Gluten. They are a kind of built-in defence system for plants to make themselves less appetising to animals that might eat them. Also, their seeds (due to the lectins in them making them indigestible) can pass through the animal or birds digestive tract unaffected, so the animal/bird can become a good means of dispersing the seeds far and wide. Some would term lectins as an “anti-nutrient” due to the attention they have received through popular media citing lectins as the cause of obesity, chronic inflammation, GI problems, leaky gut syndrome,...

I had the phone call a few weeks in advance for my ileostomy surgery last Summer during lockdown. We had to isolate as a family for 10 days and I was in no means mentally prepared. With Covid I didn’t expect to have the surgery anytime soon giving us all quite the shock! A few weeks is much more than some people get with many stomas formed as the result of an emergency surgery where patients wake up to find one without even know what a stoma is.

*Trigger warning: contains reference to suicide*  I have recently been admitted to hospital and for a change it wasn’t a medical ward it's for my mental health and I thought it might be interesting to share my experiences with staff who aren’t expected to know about stoma's. However I thought I would also talk a bit about hospitals in lockdown and why your mental health is important to keep on top of. I have always suffered with mental health problems and I have been through various therapies and tried various medications along the way. Nothing really ever helped but that could be because I hadn’t found the right combination so please don’t think that it won’t help you; the most...