Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy

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

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Tag: surgery

6th May 202127th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Why I celebrate World IBD Day every year

17th Mar 202128th Jan 2026 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Food diary | The impact of different foods on ostomy output

1st Mar 202127th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Colorectal cancer awareness month | Gemma’s story

20th Jan 20213rd Aug 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Series | How my ulcerative colitis impacted my family planning

10th Jan 202119th Jun 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Fitness pre and post-abdominal surgery

3rd Oct 202024th May 2024 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Why ostomy awareness is important to me

11th Sep 20201st Nov 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

How I felt when I found out that I needed a stoma

31st Jul 202027th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Waiting: A Symptom of IBD?

30th Jul 20207th Sep 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Sustaining friendships has been more difficult due to chronic illness

2nd Nov 201927th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Celebrating my achievements since stoma surgery!

30th Jul 201927th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

My stoma favourites – Adhesive remover & barrier wipes

14th Sep 201828th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

The emotional impact of surgery

22nd Aug 201827th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Upcoming Jpouch excision

26th Apr 201824th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

This is a VERY long road I'm travelling

24th Apr 201824th Mar 2023 Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford

Things people don't usually talk about – highs and lows of upcoming surgery

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My #ADHD diagnosis was one week today, and while I’ve spent that time processing, a few things are starting to click into place. It’s a big piece of the puzzle. For a long time, #ChronicPain and #PTSD have been viewed as two VERY separate battles, but some recent research confirms a deep link. My latest blog post, The PTSD and pain link: What the research says, explores how medical trauma from emergency surgeries, hospital stays, or not being believed actually changes our nervous system - link in bio. Since finishing my #reiki training last month, I’ve been following my morning yoga practice with a "strengthening my light" meditation and some mini self-reiki. It’s been a lovely addition to the routine, but it turns out I was much more tired than I realised this morning. 😂 Yikes! 🙈 Spring must be on its way because I was out of the house today, without a hat! ☀️ The increase in people diagnosed with #ADHD in recent years made it impossible not to learn about it, just "in passing". Plus, some people around me have a keen interest in neurodivergence, too. It's not a rabbit hole I went down, but the more second-hand thing's I've learnt, the more I began to wonder whether it could be me. Then I wondered whether everyone thinks that about themselves? If you've ever looked at a restaurant menu and felt like you were staring at a list of potential landmines, you aren't being "difficult". I'm sharing how new research validates the food fear so many of us in the #IBD community live with for #EatingDisordersAwarenessWeek. SOME surgeries can impact fertility, but finding the facts and figures for your specific surgery can be difficult 🤯 It took me seven years after my #UlcerativeColitis diagnosis to finally talk about the emergency surgery, the sepsis, and the complications that followed. When I started sharing in 2014, I was doing it from a place of anger because I was tired of being misjudged. At the time, I didn't have the language for the grief I was carrying, and even the word "feelings" made me cringe. Not much of a roasting 😂😂 I'd love that! 🌿 Grief is a word we usually associate with losing someone, but when you are diagnosed with a lifelong #ChronicIllness, you are grieving too. You are grieving the loss of your healthy self, the person you were in your best memories, and the future you thought you would have. Don't worry, I haven't gone to the "dark side" 🙈
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Sahara Fleetwood-Beresford | Patient Advocacy
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