The stoma care advice you want

Parenting with a stoma, where do I start?! This is such a wide open question.

I’m not afraid to admit that my mental health has been in the gutter for the last two years due to being bed bound thanks to endometriosis and Buddy the cyst.

Most of you may know me and remember when I had my Barbie butt surgery back in May 2022 after my having my stoma surgery the year prior thanks to ulcerative colitis (UC).

Choosing to get a stoma reversal is an easy yes for same, for others, it can be a dilemma.

My mental health hasn’t been a straightforward journey; for me, it’s had lots of ups and downs.

Not sure I’m the person to be writing about managing anxiety with a stoma, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m managing it at all.

For me I have improved my mental health to a good place, but it always feels like it is just in remission and could bounce back and affect me at any given time.

During your chemotherapy treatment you may find some of your side effects may make you re-evaluate the pouch you are using.

I have learnt to just adapt and be very prepared for my stoma and this has helped to ease any worry I may have had.

When I first got my stoma, it took a while to adjust but very quickly my routine became quite regular.

The tiredness that you have during chemo, you just feel tired. That’s the biggest reported side effect of chemo.

The biggest change that I found with chemo is constipation and diarrhoea just becomes much more extreme.