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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.

Living in the United Kingdom I have to say hand on heart that I feel so lucky and appreciative of the NHS and the varied services it provides either free or at a lower cost. Having a “bag for life” in so many countries around the world is incredibly costly and many don’t have the choice in what products they use. I am aware that over the last couple of years we had a roll out where unless absolutely necessary items were being swapped to cheaper alternatives to bring the cost down around ostomy products. I have talked about this numerous times on different platforms about how certain products aren’t essential but are just nice to have; these items should...

With April coming up, which is Bowel Cancer Awareness month, I felt it would be a good time to write a post on the importance of getting checked if you are worried about changes in your bowel habits. Personally, I know my body so well so have a good idea of spotting when something just isn't right for me. It doesn't take me long to reach out to a doctor if I am worried & I think it's so important to remember that nobody deserves to feel in pain or struggle with their health. It's also important to remember that there are so many treatments available out there for a wide range of health problems & often, the chances of...

Hi I’m Stephie; I have four chronic health conditions and work in the community as an adult support worker – so being safe and protected has been a huge thing for me and my family. I’m however not medicated so I wasn’t required to shield as per government guidelines; I have also worked at least five days a week since the first lockdown began, not to mention homeschooling last year when my husband was on furlough. I’m classed as a key worker yet I have had the biggest fluff on when it came to getting my coronavirus vaccine. Within my job I look after the elderly and vulnerable and the last thing I want to do is catch something and...

Seeing your child ill, whatever age, is never easy. As a mother, I felt I'd failed Amy, It was my fault she was born with this illness. Amy had frequent problems which intensified as she started Junior School. She had school work sent home many times as she was so weak she couldn't attend her classes.

Dating has been something that has always been a worry for me, even before I had my stoma surgery in 2011. Having Crohn’s Disease, frequent accidents, wind & a lot of pain meant that I never felt super confident with dating or intimacy, but it was something I always pushed past because Crohn’s wasn’t going to take everything from me or leave me powerless, no matter how hard it tried. I’ve been in several relationships in my life & seen people in between for a few dates which haven’t gone anywhere. I’ve been on dating apps, met people online, met people through school and common interests & also through friends.

I have written many times on my personal blog and on here about the fact you don’t have to keep using the same ostomy appliance as you were sent home with from hospital. You don’t have to stick with any bag etc that doesn’t suit your needs and there most certainly is a bag out there for everyone! Sometimes we just have to look a little harder for them. I am having issues with peristomal skin and leaks; the leaks are causing contact dermatitis and I am having a really crappy time with it all if you can excuse the pun. My stoma nurse has been fantastic sending me samples, doing house calls and thinking about me after hours and...