Learn with Comfizz

Now that doesn’t sound so weird as most of us probably had the nurses change it at some point since having our ostomy; heck some of us may have even had a loved one do it. Not me though well except the nurse part as that is a given! 00Steve, nor my family have changed my stoma bag – they have been there when I have done it myself before but other than maybe glancing they  haven’t had much to do with it and that is the way I like it! So who is the person then that I let change my appliance? Well as you may know I work in a building of extra care and support flats for...

Christmas with an ostomy can be a scary thing what with potential visitors, visiting others and the Christmas feast to contend with. However it isn’t something to worry too much over and after your first festive season under your (ostomy) belt you may think to yourself what is all the fuss was about. This is my third Christmas with my ileostomy although the first doesn’t really count as i was three months pregnant and completely off my food. I wanted to share my top tips for “surviving” the festive season with you all – now bare in mind I have an ileostomy so these may not affect you but hopefully at least something is of use! I have in my...

Christmas can be an already hectic time of year for all of us worrying about supplies and having enough could also be a worry so I have compiled a list of supplies and their last dates for ordering supplies although sadly some have already passed. If this is the case please get in touch with your stoma nurse and see if they would be able to give you a box to tide you over. Most of us shouldn’t really need that many extra supplies as the festive season isn’t that long so if you are going to order or grab some more supplies be mindful it shouldn’t be a case of stockpiling items but just what you need. Let’s face...

Now you may be wondering why I am writing about cervical smears on an ostomy related blog but you might be surprised to hear that ostomies more often than the others; urostomies can be formed due to radiation damage from having cancer treatment. For instance cervical cancer can be treated by both external and internal radiation in the pelvic area. Last year I had a long over due smear test and they found high grade pre cancerous cells which if were left over time (up to 15 years) could have turned into cervical cancer which is a terrifying thought. It was pretty hard on my dad as he lost his sister when she was 17 to cancer and his dad...

You may have noticed across social media that this week is Crohn’s and Colitis awareness week; both of these are forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and make up a substantial amount of the ostomates in the world. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about what each one is according to the medical information you can find on various outlets. Firstly we will start with Colitis as more people on social media seem to have Crohn’s and Colitis isn’t mentioned as much or so I feel – maybe this is because once you have an end ileostomy you can’t have active disease or if you have a Jpouch you may go into remission hopefully long term but not...

When we go to hospital for appointments, procedures or as an inpatient we can sometimes feel scared, vulnerable or anxious (scared and anxious are two different stages of the same emotion!) more often than not I would hope we all are treated professionally, with dignity and respect; there can be one person that ruins it for us as in any situation. But what can you do if you have felt badly done by overall or if that one person has crossed the line? There are a few different options you can do depending on the severity of the occurrence or your own willingness:  You can go directly to the source and tell the person how you feel and what they...

There are a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to the flu jab and I just wanted to talk about how I have dealt with the flu jab this week and my reasons for having it. I had my flu jab on Wednesday afternoon after waiting a few weeks to be able to be booked in; which since we are only a small area was quite surprising as when I have had it were I used to live it was quicker to get an appointment and that covered a much wider area. Firstly I wanted to have the flu jab as I suffer really badly when I get a cold and can imagine I would be far worse if...

We often worry about what to take for ourselves in a hospital bag for surgery but what should or could we do for those we love that maybe going in for surgery or frequent hospital stays? Last month two of my fellow co hosts of The IBD and Ostomy Support Show have gone in for surgery and even though it is not their first surgery or admission by a long shot it got me thinking what are things YOU can do for someone else? For starters don’t take in grapes! Skins or peel tends not to be so good as you may know for ostomates (except urostomates you lucky devils) but you can get your friend to look into a sort of...

We all know when we have an ostomy we run the risk of becoming easily fatigued due to a few different reasons; you may have thought to get your iron levels checked but what about your B12? This for ileostomates who have had more than one surgery on their small intestine could be the underlying cause for many issues. So having too little B12 in your system can cause it’s own type of anaemia (there are like 6 types! yeah it was news to me too!) where the red blood cells essentially don’t shrink to the right size therefore underdeveloped. B12 is essential for the making of red blood cells, keeping the nervous system healthy and releasing energy from the foods we...

I asked a close friend, confident and someone I highly respect to write a guest post for what it is like to advocate for people rather than just hear it from me! Read on to hear The Spoonie Mummy give her views. Advocate Noun; A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy A person who puts a case on someone else’s behalf So now you know what an advocate is, what is it like to be one? My name is Natalie and I have dealt with chronic illness my whole life. Aged just fifteen months I was diagnosed with juvenile (rheumatoid) arthritis. Aged seven, I was also given a diagnosis of chronic iritis, a disease of the...