Ostomy Odyssey

20/08/2024

Apparently Futerventura airport have Stoma toilets, how amazing are they?!?!?

And M&S has bought out their own Stoma underwear that apparently are softer than the prescription ones!

And Coloplast have launched their incredible Halo device which I got to play around with the other day!

It's an exciting time in Stoma land!

And alot of "Apparently's" I'm basically the Gossip Girl of Stoma land XOXO

09/04/2024

Welcome to the club Louise Thompson! Also bbc.... "had a stoma bag fitted" public awareness of stomas is definitely on the rise but I wonder if wording like this confuses what a stoma is and what is actually under the bag (spoiler alert, it's a hole in the tummy with your colon poking out of it, depending on the type it looks like a little 🍆 like mine does or a fleshy figure of 8 ♾️ *for colostomy/Ileostomy, I actually don't know what a urostomy looks like 🤔)

Good luck to her and good on her for sharing the news to break the stigma 🙌🙌

Girls support girls ❤

02/04/2024

Really interesting stoma group today, we got to look at the types of bags used 50+ years ago (and last pic is what I wear now, the black bag is made by Salts who manufactured the thick rubber bags in the first pic and then a Dan Sac stoma cap on my other stoma)

The rubber Salts bag was thick and felt like a hot water bottle kind of material, you'd empty it using a little key to drain it and then wash it and re apply it, none of these bags used adhesive like we have now so it was secured using a belt like the other two. I cant imagine what it would have felt like against your skin and under clothes.

The other 2 bags were like a sandwich bag material, really thin plastic and also attached to the stoma using a belt. Very fiddly and no cover like our current bags have (current bags come in beige, white or black; I go with black as it mostly doesn't show through my clothes like the white ones do)

Found it really interesting and thought some of you might too! I'd love to curate an exhibition about the history of ostomy items and culture through the years 🤔🤔🤓🤓

23/03/2024

Finally plucked up the courage to irrigate my smaller mucus fistula stoma and put a dressing on instead of a bag to rest my sore skin...aaaand I'm allergic to the dressing gah!

23/03/2024

Some niche mucus banter 😂 it is the Voldermort of stoma life in the sense of "he who shall not be named"

03/03/2024

I've been doing some research about the history of stomas and its fascinating (to me anyway haha)

The first stomas happened back in the 1700s on battlefields but we didn't have Stoma Nurses until 1997!!

Looking to do a little project on this once I've finished the Wellbeing research locally. It's amazing hearing what the bags were like even just 50 years ago, and then looking to the future and the development of flanges that ping to your phone when the seal is breached!

13/02/2024

Happy pancake day fellow stoma havers! Pancake has a very different meaning in our world and Colostomy UK have some great resources about how to avoid it (you know I love a resource!)

Pancaking impacts on lots of people living with a . It occurs when instead of dropping to the bottom of the bag, the motion collects around the stoma and may seep between the flange/baseplate and the skin.

On we thought we'd share some of the great advice you've given us on how to tackle pancaking

https://www.colostomyuk.org/all-your-pancaking-advice/

08/10/2023

I've got pins and needles in or around my stoma.... weirdest sensation I've ever experienced with my stoma 😬😂 don't think it warrants any concern but had to share as its so bizarre, feels like a herd of ants are having a disco on it

05/10/2023

When your body is so "unique" that there's no leaflets or resources surrounding your next big surgery, you have to make them yourself 😂
Jokes aside, it's really stressing me out the absolute lack of information available out there, I get that it's a rare surgery but to find literally nothing, despite reaching out to so many different support groups and professionals, feeling pretty isolated and scared right now as the surgical date creeps closer

If you understand my diagram, I salute you!!!

Also..... my body size might be a bit off 😂😂😂

25/09/2023

My favourite time of the week! Choirrrr 🤩🤩

I pushed myself to stand up tonight for the singing (I usually use my wheelchair or sit and use my crutch) stood up singing using my crutch was sooooo nice, singing properly from the diaphragm but my hernia is not a fan and it's now gone massive... constant flipping payoff! Oh well lesson learnt and back (albeit seated) at it next week ready for the concerts 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

Really worried for what this will mean after surgery next month
* how long until I can safely sing again
* how I can I stop it happening to the two new stomas and also protect the hernia repair site and abdomen pack out

Came home buzzing but now I'm a different headspace feeling angry and resentful that the one commitment I have a week results in this, why can I just do something without it having a knock of effect for my body 😮‍💨

18/09/2023

(Clean nudey stoma, first time I've shared an image of it bagless I think!)

I was doing the much hated distal irrigation and after I finish I tend to leave the sleeve on for half an hour just in case.
Doorbell went so happily greeted the delivery driver wondering what he was staring at then remembered I was still sleeving... accidentally raising awareness since 2020 🙄😂