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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...

This week has been national invisible disabilities week and if you have an ostomy you automatically fall into that category as unless you lift your top up it isn’t visible and although you may not view it as a disability it is in fact one as the way you go to the toilet has been changed which can put you at a disadvantage. I believe that although it can be a pain in my redundant bum; I don’t feel that I am disabled as I have more of a life now than I did back then. However that is in no way to say that having a disability means that you can’t live “your best life” as the cool kids...

So you may be thinking what on earth does this topic have to do with a blog about ostomies. Well pregnancy and infant loss is very close to my heart and actually in my mind has a lot to do with my ostomy. Feel free to read on but I understand if this topic maybe too hard for you to read but know that any pain, sorrow or grief you are feeling is completely acceptable and you have every right to feel. So a little bit of background and context first of all; I was told when I had my jpouch surgery I was told my fertility would probably drop by about 25% at the time my ex partner and...

Every year the world comes together to raise awareness for all ostomies, their many diverse reasons, ages groups and hopefully try to remove the stigma one person at a time. We as ostomates aren’t alone in trying to do this; the companies that work within the ostomy sector, charities and bloggers all do something too! Saturday 6th of October is the day where stomas will be everywhere on social media and even out on the streets! The theme this year is “Speaking Out Changes Lives” and it is so true, so many people have this idea people with stomas got them from cancer and are old – which is far from the truth nowadays. I and the many other advocates/bloggers/vloggers...

This month we have Dan from Respond. I met Dan at a Stoma Open day last year before I went to see the Pelican factory in Cardiff, he helped me think of some ideas of questions to ask whilst I was there as Pelican use Respond as their delivery service. What company do you work for?  Pelican Healthcare  What is your job role?  Territory Manager How long have you worked there? 11 years How did you get into this job? I previously worked for Smith & Nephew selling woundcare products. After a break from the industry I wanted to get back into healthcare sales and looking around the opportunity with Pelican came up via a recruitment agency and stoma care looked like it had a...

Do you find you get a fair few boxes once you have used your supplies? Have you ever thought of a use for them rather than just putting them in the recycling? Well I have come up with an idea to make use of them! Now this does have to do with my daughters reception teacher asking for recycling for their “creation station”. I was chatting to her about the fact I have little boxes that my Varimate Wedges and other ostomy “accessories” came in, which she was saying was pretty perfect for the kids creation area. I just happened to mention that my stoma bags come in boxes a bit smaller than shoe boxes and she said they would...

Did you know that our lovely Lorraine had written a book on the bowels, based on her professional background as a dietitian and her personal experiences with her son Samir who has Crohn’s disease. I thought it would be interesting to read from the point of view of someone who has suffered with Irritable Bowel Disease and even though I now have had my large bowel, rectum and some of my small intestine removed; would I be able to recommend it honestly to others before they have surgery as an option? I would like to point out now that although Lorraine provided me with the book to read, she has in no way influenced my opinion of this book and...

Do you have an ileostomy or a colostomy? Have you come across your ostomy appliance filling up with air during the day but mainly through the night and on waking? You probably have it is where your body omits gas and it collects in your appliance and is often referred to as ballooning. It is pretty much my nemesis along with pancaking as both of these are the only reasons I ever suffer leaks anymore since changing to the Peak Medical Varimate bags. But there are different things can increase or reduce the amount of gas you produce. Now at the end of the day before our ostomy surgery we passed gas the normal way and during the night none of us...

This month’s instalment of Reppin’ the Rep’s is the lovely Sam from Coloplast. I have met her at stoma open days in my local area and when she did a talk at The Hambleton and Richmondshire Ostomy Support Group she talked about Core4 and had one of our stoma care nurses on the floor showing us all the exercises! What company do you work for? Coloplast What is your job role? Executive Territory Manager How long have you worked there? 14 years How did you get into this job? I started my sales career 22 years ago in the pharmaceutical industry working with GP’s and nurses. I did this for 7 years then moved into the Wound Care division of Coloplast in August 2004....

I have a guest post this week from Rio; she got in touch with me wanting to share her story and I thought it would be a good idea to share it here as surgery is surgery! Are you thinking about having or a have a jpouch? I don’t have many positive things to say about when I had mine so I thought this post is absolutely perfect and will put your worries to bed! The Beginning My story starts at the beginning of 2009 when I started having symptoms of what I now know to be Ulcerative Colitis. It was my first year of University and I was living away from home in halls. I suddenly got ill with...