Preparing For Surgery

Living with a stoma usually means getting on with life, doing the things you enjoy and, most of the time, not having to think too much about your bag. However, it also means being prepared for the occasional moment when things do not quite go to plan. A stoma bag might begin to leak because […]

Getting a Stoma? Why Positioning Matters Before Surgery If you are going to have a stoma, where it ends up on your tummy might seem like a fairly small detail compared with the surgery itself. But afterwards, you could be looking at, emptying and changing a stoma bag around that position every single day. That

If you are facing surgery for ulcerative colitis, one option you may hear about is a J-pouch. But what exactly is a J-pouch? Who might be suitable for one? Who may not be suitable? And is it an option you should explore with your colorectal team? I have lived with a J-pouch for more than 16

Before my J-pouch takedown, there were three things that caught me off guard: passing mucus despite having a stoma, preparing my body for reversal, and the mental challenge of waiting. When you are living with a loop ileostomy and waiting for your J-pouch takedown, it can feel as though there is nothing to do except

In today’s post, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about one stage of the ulcerative colitis to J-pouch journey that often gets overlooked: living with a stoma. If you are on the UC to J-pouch pathway, there is a good chance you may live with a stoma for a short to medium period

I have had a lot of comments from the Pouch Heals YouTube channel from people facing decisions on surgery – whether to have it, what’s it like, does it work, and so on. Having surgery is a huge decision to make, as it’s a one way journey. Once your colon has been removed, you cannot

As you get closer to your stoma takedown surgery, you might find you start worry about what will happen. When my time for takedown came, I started to think about how it would go. On my Youtube channel Pouch Heals, I received a few comments from viewers expressing their worries as they approached this stage.

If you’re on the journey to a J-pouch, you’ll probably experience a couple of different types of stoma — an end ileostomyand a loop ileostomy. You might be wondering what’s the difference between them and how it will impact you in the real world.We’ll answer those questions now. Understanding the End Ileostomy Let’s start with the end ileostomy.

For anyone living with ulcerative colitis, the thought of surgery can feel like the last resort — and one of the toughest decisions you’ll ever face. For me, deciding to go ahead with surgery was without doubt the hardest choice of my life. It wasn’t a quick or simple decision. I lived with UC for

⚠️ This post discusses fertility and family planning after IBD surgery. It’s a sensitive topic, but an important one — and being open and informed can make a big difference when facing surgery decisions. When you’re preparing for surgery for ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, it’s natural to think about more than just recovery. For many