Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy

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

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Tag: Environmental toxins

8th Sep 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Reducing microplastics: My ongoing swap mission and why it matters for gut health

I’ve switched to an anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet recently, but adapting it to suit my specific restrictions (intestinal strictures from surgeries) has been a lot to get my head around! 😵‍💫 Life has been a bit chaotic lately! Between the additional tasks of researching and publishing new articles for IBD Science, doing separate dog walks every morning to work on individual behavioural issues (Loki is a barker and Aragorn is a puller!), and a vet visit for Lady’s cheek infection, my energy has been stretched! https://www.instagram.com/p/Db7xtK1sGss/ When living with a #ChronicIllness, we often talk about getting through the flare, recovering from surgery, or managing the daily symptoms. But what happens after the storm clears? It's strange that it's completely normal to me to start a Saturday with movement that helps manage my pain, followed by a catch up with people I only know because of our shared health conditions, whilst organising my meds for the week. Afterwards, I organised and cut my latest #ostomy supply delivery. Only then did I realise that for a "normal healthy person", this is not a standard day 😂 This is the day of a person who's spent so many years adapting to their chronic conditions, that this is MY normal 💜 I'll give you two ✌️ guesses where this peppermint oil ended up after I'd dropped a few drops 💧 in my #ostomy bag whilst on the toilet 🚽... It's ok to ignore the pile of washing 🧺 in favour of rest. It's very likely that the person judging you most for it, is you. If it isn't, kick them to the curb - you don't need that kind of negativity or lack of understanding in your life 👋😂 28°C in the UK today! Hot weather brings extra challenges when you live with an #ostomy: dehydration, baseplate adhesion issues, and skin irritation. Here, I share practical tips to help you navigate heatwaves safely https://advocatinghealth.com/2018/07/07/ostomies-and-hot-weather/ 💜✨ Have you ever been told that your symptoms are all in your head, or left a doctor’s appointment feeling dismissed because tests came back clear? Living with chronic conditions, chronic pain, and emotional exhaustion can leave you feeling really isolated! 💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/DbL5Xb2sWdC/ 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!
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