So my journey started way back in the early months of 2023 when I started loosing blood in my stools and on exploration the hospital discovered I had a polyp in my bowel, this was swiftly removed and all confirmed as benign. However bleeding continued on through the yr and the words from the surgeon when i was having it removed ‘I’m not sure I managed to remove it all’ lurked in the back of my mind. I kept going back to the drs who seemed to just brush it off with it’s still early days/your still healing/it might be piles etc but I eventually went for a colonoscopy in Jan 2024 to check and they discovered a rather large polyp had regrown or continued to grow from the part the dr obviously hasn’t got. I was told it was too big to remove via colonoscopy this time so would need an operation. It seemed like forever waiting for an operation date- still bleeding along with many other side effects from the polyp like nausea/back pain/dizzyness. The day finally arrived and after starving myself and pooping for England after bowel prep I went under with a sigh of relief and anticipation things would get better after this. Sadly waking up in recovery I was told the operation hadn’t gone to plan and biopsies had been taken from the polyp but it still remained in tact- my heart slumped. I then waited a further 7 long/anxious months to get another operation date with a more specialised surgeon and went through it all again. This time removal was successful however again more complicated than expected so I had a ileostomy. Obviously this is a massive change to a 44 year old mother of 2 boys who is normally active and a social butterfly but I will get back there. I’m only week 1 post op so still feeling tender and getting used to (after a friend suggesting I needed a name )Sid the stoma. I have everything crossed that biopsy results due in a week or so will finally be positive and put the fairy on top of the Christmas tree for me this yr!
Any fellow stoma wearer advice, stories etc are most welcome here
Thank you
Hi again Char Cad
Good to see you here, and welcome to our group.
We chatted in your blog, so I’m just going to say hello again in my role as community champ for this group and let some of the other group members come along to say hello and share their stories with you. I hope you’ll enjoy being part of this group and get lots of support and advice!
Sarah xx
It’s really good to hear you’re keen to get involved in the group, Charlotte, and we’ll help you as much as we can. No question is ever too silly to please never be afraid to ask things. This is very new for you right now, and things take time to get used to, but we’re friendly and helpful here and willing to share our tips and things which have helped us.
Sarah xx
Hey there.
Love the name Sid.
It helped me too, I named mine Whoopi
Her avatar is above though now she’s sleeping as I was reversed But believe me when I say she’s still causing attention at times like if I eat sweetcorn Then I get a can of Whoopass 
That’s banned with an Ileostomy and it ate me out as I love it
Theres so many here and some names are hilarious!
i was at a loss in the beginning and this group really helped me. I was eating out staying away then off to Spain having no issues with my stoma once it settled
Keep chatting here if you need
Best wishes
Ann
