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So I absolutely despise the term accessory when it comes to ostomy products, because it sounds as if they are items you don;t always need. Yet to some people certain items become essential to having a good seal or be the difference between their skin being health or sore. On Twitter recently a company tweeted about items being called dependable’s and I just shouted YES (internally of course because no-one else would understand in my house!) sadly I can’t remember the name of the company but when I find it I will update this post. I think the items other than your appliance itself come under four categories and what falls in each category is different for each person because...

Have you ever thought about keeping a food diary? This can help with all sorts of issues you may be having when it comes to your output. This is often a really handy tool to keep when you first have your surgery to see how certain foods affect you and how this can change over time. However this is something you can start at anytime especially if you are finding your output is becoming unpredictable. Every food affects us all differently and you could be surprised at what you find out. You may have the need to visit a dietitian at some point for various reasons and keeping a food diary could really be beneficial in pinpointing areas of your...

Having an ostomy can feel like one thing after another and it isn’t always fun and games. We go through the possible minefields of finding out what foods agree with us and wont cause us blockages to trying to stay hydrated enough. The one thing new and old ostomates often find a struggle is getting the right appliance and routine that works for you. On my personal blog have reviewed all the different bags I have tried over the last three years and the main thing I have learnt is having the right items doesn’t always have to be from the same brand or even the same items each time; I have a bit of a pick and mix going...

So as you may know I have two beautiful children – Ra-Ra who was 2 when I had my ileostomy formed and Button who was born after. Both have their own interest in my bag and my stoma, for me it was quite interesting to pay attention to how they both act around it.Ra-Ra (5.5 years old) doesn’t really remember me being sick well as sick as I was before surgery but I remember 00Steve warned her about my tummy after surgery and that it would be sore. She used to bring her doctors bag to my appointments which was super cute especially when asked one day why she brought it she looked at the doctor and said straight faced...

We all experience urgency regardless if it is bladder and bowel; yet when we have surgery and an ostomy formed the urgency changes – it becomes “Oh no we need to empty” or “Oh I need to change my appliance!” Both can be upsetting if we are nowhere near a bathroom or somewhere private. I took to Twitter and asked people where the weirdest place they emptied or changed their appliance was and I thought it might be interesting for others to read. For me I was in Whitby and on a pleasure boat ride on the North Sea and all of a sudden I realised I needed to empty and quickly! I was also heavily pregnant with Button at...

This week has been Mental Health Awareness week and this years theme was body image so I thought I would talk a little about how your body image can change after ostomy surgery.  I ran a poll on Twitter to see if people’s view changed positively, negatively or was indifferent and I ran this for two days; at the beginning of the poll the majority was positive. This sadly soon changed with negative outlook on the voters body ultimately won. The poll received 73 votes and this is the results: It isn’t the end of the world if you dislike the way your body looks after having ostomy surgery but it is sad that people feel like this when it...

Are you new to having an ostomy? Did you know you if you maybe eligible (UK only) to get up to 6 garments a year which usually include underwear, support garments and support belts. In this post I want to talk to you a little about how you go about using this service. Firstly it does sometimes seem to be down to your GP’s discretion as to whether you need to have a medical exemption card or not so you may want to check with them first. The main point that I want to get across is that you don’t want to order lots of things at once because they may not suit your needs or fit. The best way...

So what do I mean when I say “flush”? Well it basically means how close your stoma sits to the skin on your abdomen. You often see people with stoma’s (not generally urostomies) that have quite a protruding stoma and that isn’t because of a prolapse but just the length the surgeon created it to be. I have often found that with people I have spoken too the ones with longer stomas tend to have had a loop surgery. This basically means everything is still attached inside but their stoma is formed whilst their insides are healing, this can be temporary or some people have it like that for as long as they feel comfortable with. My ileostomy is very...

Do you find that some of the products you can get from your delivery/appliance companies to hold your ostomy items seems a bit clinical or not quite your style? Well a new company called Beyond Definition has come up with a new way to carry your supplies that don’t look clinical and are both unisex and well made. I was gifted both their essentials case and the venture case and I think they are really beautiful and look quite classy in plain black leather. The attention to detail is also really nice for instance the company name is embossed onto the case and their logo is on the press studs. It’s the little things that really make an item in...

Hopefully we are getting to that time of year again where the weather shows some promise of getting warmer and with that promise I wanted to talk again about hydration and just how important it is for all ostomates. For years we get told to drink more water or to ensure we are drinking enough fluids and whilst that is true as ostomates we have to be very careful about what we are drinking. I believe that it is something we should be aware of all year round to be honest because in winter we have the heating on and that can also affect our hydration, but we are generally speaking less active and notice it less. Then in the...