Learn with Comfizz

Looking for ostomy education & related topics, helpful hints & real life experiences? Look no further! Browse our blog for support!

#NationalRelaxationDay - 5 self care tips to try

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. 

Continue reading

A mothers mental health - the baby ostomate edition

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...

Continue reading

Navigating the world of after school activities with ALN/SEN children

As soon as your child expresses an interest in going to the same club as their best mate, the search begins to secure a taster session, work out how it will fit around your schedule, and if it is affordable. If your child doesn’t have an additional learning need or special need have you ever stopped to consider the risks in them doing it anyway?

Continue reading

#GiveSomethingAwayDay - Enter to win!

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...

Continue reading

Alex's Story

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...

Continue reading

Lectins Good or Bad For Your Bowels?

  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,...

Continue reading

Stoma surgery expectations versus reality

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.

Continue reading

Mental Health Hospitals and Stoma’s

*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...

Continue reading

Can you eat chocolate with Crohn's?

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...

Continue reading

My J Pouch Story

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...

Continue reading