Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy

Inflammatory bowel disease, ostomy, chronic pain, PTSD, and mental wellbeing.

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Tag: beauty

20th Mar 20261st May 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Can you lie on your front with a stoma?

It's been a slow start kinda day. I imagine it'll stay slow 🐌 Having been involved in the original research and the creation of this new #stoma resource, I’m so excited to see it move into the testing phase! Dating with #IBD or an #ostomy can feel like navigating a minefield. You might be wondering when to mention your health, how to handle the anxiety, and whether you're worthy of connection while managing your condition. It's scorching here right now 🔥 If you're living with #IBD or have had bowel surgery, staying hydrated isn't as simple as drinking more water 💧 Today is a much better day, so I thought I'd better share the celebration! I wanted to share a little update following yesterdays post about trying to reduce some of my pain medication, and that this week has been worst than last, despite the dose being the same. ​I am trying to reduce some of my pain medication at the moment. Today is the birthday of the NHS! As someone who has survived seven abdominal surgeries, sepsis, C-diff, and years of managing #UlcerativeColitis and #fibromyalgia, my relationship with healthcare is deep, complex, and incredibly personal. Looking in the mirror when you live with a #ChronicIllness like #IBD or fibro can be a really complicated experience! For a long time, when I looked at my reflection, all I could see were the visible reminders of what my body had been through: the scars, medication side effects, and #ostomy bag. It’s so easy to focus entirely on the parts that feel altered, scarred, or broken. I've started a new little project, and I'm excited to share it with you! It is called IBD Science for Patients. July is #DisabilityPrideMonth, and it got me thinking about how we define that word. For a long time, I didn't think it applied to me, even while managing #InflammatoryBowelDisease and living with an #ostomy bag. When your illness is mostly hidden behind closed doors, it is so easy to downplay your own reality! Ever since I became active in the online #IBD community back in 2014, I’ve regularly struggled with seeing people I care about going through sh*t, and feeling like there was absolutely nothing I could do or say to fix it.
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