Throughout 2016 and 2017 I had been building up the distances I was running and had completed a number of ultra distance races. The ultra was a type of race that I was enjoying. I enjoyed the challenge of running the distance, the varied scenery that you’d see along the way, the friendliness of the runners and the overall sense of achievement.
Read moreHow Not to Swim with a Colostomy Bag
I’ve been swimming with a colostomy bag for quite a few weeks and have been getting on ‘swimmingly’ with it. After surgery I wanted to start getting fit again and it was the first type of exercising that I started doing. Wearing a colostomy bag in the swimming can come with some risks and it was only inevitable that I would experience one of them.
Read moreFollow Up Appointment With Gastroenterologist
Today I had a post-surgery follow up consultation with my gastroenterologist and the aim was to review how I’d been getting on with the new bum and to review a blood test after restarting Azathioprine.
Read moreNine Weeks With A Stoma
Surgery seems like such a distant memory. In the nine weeks since I had the proctosigmoidectomy having a colostomy bag has become a normal part of my life. Changing it is not an issue, having to clean up poop from around the stoma is not an issue and people seeing it is not an issue. One issue, however, is wind. The stoma is can be quite vocal!
Read moreRunning with a Stoma
I used to love running. I used to love getting out on the trails, running back and forth to work, participating in races, running everything from parkruns to ultra marathons and my favourite of all, running night races! Then Crohn’s Disease, my arch enemy for the best part of two decades, decided to rear its head and cause a big flare up.
I made the decision to have surgery to help sort things out and have a temporary, but hopefully long reprieve from the disease. This would mean that I could return to running but how would I get on running with a stoma?
Eight Weeks With A Stoma
Two months have passed since surgery and I’m feeling great. Everything appears to be falling back into place and I am now returning to doing the things that I enjoyed doing prior to the flare up. And even better, I get to enjoy them without any of the side effects of Crohn’s.
The Ken Butt continues to be the main source of issues at the moment and even though it is very, very slowly healing I have had an infection that needed fixing.
Read moreSeven Weeks With A Stoma
Seven weeks after have my stoma and more and more I’m forgetting about it. Of course there are plenty of opportunities for it to remind me it’s there such as filling up with gas overnight or decided to let out wind during the quiet part of a film!
Read moreThe First Mile with the Colostomy Bag
I wasn’t going to have a run just yet but after a very comfortable brisk 5K walk this morning and reassurance from a nurse that the little niggle I was experiencing was related to the suture (most probably an internal stitch or two), I decided to hop on the dreadmill. I just had to scratch that itch!
Read moreHow My Running Club Helped Me Battle Crohn’s
It goes without saying that during times when you are struggling with illness your family and co-workers are there to help support you but I’ve also found that the running community that I’m a part of has also proved to be a great benefit during the times when I’ve been struggling with Crohn’s, the lead up to surgery and during recovery.
The club which I joined in October 2016 (Parc Bryn Bach Running Club) has become an integral part of my life and I’ve made many good friends in the time I’ve been a member and in a way I’ve got to know even more members through having Crohn’s.
Read moreSix Weeks with a Stoma
It’s six weeks since surgery and my new bum is becoming less new and more normal – it’ll still be called My New Bum for some time though.
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