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  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...

For many people with Crohn's, chocolate can irritate the the lining of their bowels. If in doubt, I'd say it's best to avoid it in my experience, especially if you aren't in remission (flaring). Chocolate usually contains caffeine as it's contained in cocoa beans. Foods rich in caffeine can often cause Crohn's to become aggravated. Compared to a standard cup of coffee...

If I am being completely honest, I am not the biggest lover of the summer I’m sure many people would be shocked at that as summer tends to be everyone’s favourite but I like autumn best! Sure, I like the longer days and the days out are far more enjoyable (or at least the kids whine less!) I am also more aware of my ileostomy as I wear less layers, I can’t say more dresses because I pretty much live in them all year round. No, it is because I notice my bag being damper from sweat, which has led to skin irritations and rashes and then the base plate being gummier. I generally find this is when it moves...

When you think of reasons for a stoma bag what comes to mind? IBD, Crohn’s or Colitis are some of the first, but have you heard of Hirschsprungs Disease? Presenting in 1 in 5000 babies a year in the UK, this rare bowel disease is a birth defect that can occur with no family history of the disease. The nerve cells that line the intestines that are needed to move stool along into the rectum for toileting (known as ganglion cells), are not present. Your intestines should rhythmically move stool along in a wave-like contraction which when failing to do so cause tummy distention and constipation.

Crohn’s Disease can affect anywhere in the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus. It causes inflammation which can then lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain, fatigue, blood and mucus in your stool, diarrhoea or constipation, weight loss & mouth ulcers.

Eating out for someone with a stoma can be a stressful or anxious time on it’s own; couple this with going out with someone who either doesn’t know about your stoma or even what one is! I mean until I was sat in a room hearing about surgery at 14 I had no idea what one was, and even then it was only because I was the person the stoma was being considered for! Then we have the current situation where there is the fear of; are you going to be questioned for just using the toilet as we weren’t allowed to just enter the restaurant! Roll on the 17th I can say!  I went out for tea with my...

May is National Teen Self Esteem month. As I'm sure many of you can unfortunately relate to, having Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) as anyone of any age, let alone being a teenager, definitely can come with impacts on self esteem to varying extents. That being said, there is thankfully a lot of treatments for IBD and coping mechanisms to put in place to help that, but still, it can be quite the minefield to work through when you're right in the midst of it.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) & Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are two different conditions and it is vital that the right diagnosis is made in order to have the best chance of managing and treating either condition.