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At the tender age of just over 65 I was diagnosed, through routine screening, as having a large abdominal aorta aneurism (AAA) and given a 16% chance of surviving a year if it was not operated on quite quickly. The proposed operation was to be done under private medical insurance provided by my employer’s group medical insurance. After other tests and a pre-operation assessment some handful of weeks later I was taken by my wife to the area teaching hospital (the local private hospital did not have adequate facilities for this kind of medical work) for elective surgery to have the abdominal aorta aneurism stented to relief the pressure on the aorta walls. It had been thought initially that this could be done using...

Accessibility is something that those with an invisible illness can find challenging. Whether it be accessing a building, funding, benefits or services online, for me it can feel exhausting that you have to prove it constantly. All too many times in the ostomy community, we see stories about ostomates who have been denied access to leisure facilities, or questioned for their use of disabled toilets. 

January 20th is #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay. As a long-standing Comfizz customer myself, I’m sure you have read by now how much I love Comfizz products. In this post, I wanted to talk to other Comfizz customers, get to know a bit about them & what their favourite Comfizz product is & why. Thank you to those of you who reached out to me over on Instagram to get involved in this blog post.

My name is Alex Bolton I'm 28. I've had Crohn's Disease since I was 14. I've had every biological medication there is. I chose to have an ileostomy in February 2019 then a sub colectomy in May 2020. After having my surgery in 2020 my Crohn's is gone, I know what good health is again. I wake up every day feeling fantastic; when you're used to feeling so poorly everyday and that's the norm, you forget what feeling good feels like and that's what my stoma "Norma" gave me, I wish I'd had the surgery 10 years ago 😊 My advice to anybody knew or existing ostomates is: Always wear your hernia belt whilst training at the gym or lifting...

Hey! My name is Charlie, I am 28 and have been part of the Comfizz Team for over 10 years and this is my J-pouch story. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in 2009 which resulted in me having my colon removed and having a temporary ileostomy (for about 18 months) I will not go into too much detail about this as I am here to speak about my J-pouch. I had three surgeries in total, first one to remove my colon, second one to create the J-pouch and the third one to connect everything together. It was not a difficult decision for me to agree to the J-pouch surgery. I was only 16 at the time and felt...

Men's Health Week has nearly come to an end (14th - 20th June). Obviously from my blog posts here with Comfizz, you read a lot about how life is for me as a female with IBD and a stoma. It's widely known that women often seem to be a lot more forthcoming in talking our their struggles & experiences in general, let alone with something so personal, so it's been really nice to hear from Neil, Andy, Lee, Sean & Keith about their experiences. Thank you so much guys for being so open & sharing your stories & tips.

Having a J Pouch can be the result of a bowel condition such as Colitis, Cancer or in my case Hirschsprungs Disease. If you know what a J Pouch is, it will probably be from either having one yourself or knowing someone that does. The surgery (restorative proctocolectomy), involves the removal of the entire colon and rectum. A J Pouch (ileo-anal pouch) is created from small intestine which is folded up along side itself giving it the ‘J’ shape. 

However, I believe it’s important to also focus on the other things that Crohn’s Disease & IBD causes. It isn’t just a “toilet disease” and unfortunately, often due to lack of education on the subject rather than ignorance, people are often quick to judge & think IBD basically means you go to the toilet more & have more upset stomach difficulties than others.

“When I grow up, I want to do something that helps people” that is what I used to say to my young self. I did not know exactly what that would look like, never imagined it would be in the form of support wear, but here we are. It started with Sportswear The original Comfizz established 1998 was a sports and Leisure wear company, one of the first to bring ‘performance base layers’ to the UK. My husband, Nozar, ran the company initially from home with just one designer to help him. Then came the bowel disease The Comfizz you see today specialising in medical support wear emerged in 2004 when my dad Ernie, who had been battling with Ulcerative...

Why Share, Why Blog? Living with an invisible illness is tough and most often we endure silent battles; we may look well on the outside but inside we are suffering. For some, sharing their experiences and stories is tough. I get this – it is personal, private and at times overwhelming. Wanting to share and talk takes courage and it opens you up to being more vulnerable. It opens you up to judgment and discussions; sometimes it’s something we do not want to have to deal with. I have always enjoyed writing. Since my school days, I’ve found writing a therapeutic experience. I never really wrote for anyone but me; that changed in university when I wrote for grades and...