We are so thrilled to be able to share with you this wonderful and insightful podcast series created by Respond user and advocate for the IBD and ostomy community, Amber. For a long time Amber has used her social media platform to help raise awareness and break stigmas of those living with invisible illnesses and disabilities, and sharing her insight on what it is like living with a stoma. We are so happy to be working in collaboration and sponsorship with her on her new podcast series “Inside Out by Amber”. You can read more about the series and listen in to the latest episodes below, and to keep up to date with Amber and the podcast series on social media check out @insideoutbyamber. Enjoy!
Inside Out by Amber…
Episode 16
Welcome to episode 16 of Inside Out by Amber. The podcast where I get to chat about poo and life with bowel issues or stoma bags with a range of wonderful guests. In this episode, I chat to the wonderful Natalie Amber all about the modelling industry, body positivity, self-love, awareness and more in relation to her journey with Crohn’s Disease, life with a stoma and post-reversal.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO NATALIE?
As I mention in the episode, I first discovered Natalie Amber’s story when I came across her modelling in an advertisement for the National Lottery – following her further over the years, I’ve taken so much inspiration from and been touched by her story along with all of her work, there were so many things that I wanted to chat to her about, uncover and share.
Just some of the things that Natalie Amber discusses in this episode are her journey with Crohn’s Disease, a temporary stoma and reversal surgery, her career as a model and a dancer as well as other aspects of her journey that she’s worked on not only to develop her own mindset and attitude but, to help others with theirs too such as body positivity, self- love and all of that good stuff! She also touches on relationships, female empowerment, mental health and her views on disability representation and awareness. In the episode, Natalie Amber also provides an abundance of useful recommendations, & tricks for gratitude, self-love, acceptance and body confidence.
‘I was misdiagnosed for 7 years because of my profession, they said that I was anorexic’
NATALIE’S POO STORY:
Mid way through the episode, not only does Natalie Amber share one poo story with us but… three occasions where she hasn’t quite made it and how she’s overcome those situations!
A QUESTION FROM THE COMMUNITY:
Our question from the community this week for Natalie Amber in which she answers extremely openly is; ‘Have you ever sought help with regards to your mental health throughout your journey and if so, would you recommend it?’
Episode 15
Welcome to episode 15 of Inside Out by Amber. The podcast where, I get to chat about poo and life with Bowel issues or stoma bags with a range of wonderful guests. In this episode, I chat to the brilliant Yvonne Holley, otherwise known as @crohns.mummy all about her experiences of pregnancy and motherhood with Crohn’s Disease and a stoma bag.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO YVONNE?
I was really interested in chatting to Yvonne not only on behalf of my own intrigue but, the listeners too because pregnancy and motherhood with an illness such as IBD and a stoma, are such highly demanded topics for discussion. So, I was super interested in hearing and sharing Yvonne’s experiences having had both of her children with IBD and a stoma.
**As always, it’s really important to point out that we are speaking from experience here and, it’s really important to seek your own, individualised and reputable medical advice when it comes to these things. Each individuals circumstances and contributing factors are so different however, generally, research says that having a stoma in itself should not prevent you from having a ‘normal’ pregnancy.
Just some of the things that Yvonne discusses in this episode are her journey Crohn’s Disease and a stoma, how she balanced her treatments & surgeries with pregnancy, the differences between both of her pregnancies and balancing motherhood with a chronic illness.
‘I’ve never kept my children in the dark about my illness, I’ve always given it to them plain and raw’
YVONNE’S POO STORY:
Mid way through the episode, Yvonne accounts an occasion where her and her husband are in bed and discover a surprise under the bed sheets which lead to an emergency joint bath and bedroom plastered in poo…
A QUESTION FROM THE COMMUNITY:
Our question from the community this week for Yvonne, where she shares some really useful tips is; You share a lot of posts about clothing and fashion now – Have you got any clothing tips or hacks for being pregnant with an ostomy?
Episode 14
Welcome to episode 14 of Inside Out by Amber. The podcast where, I get to chat about poo and life with Bowel issues or stoma bags with a range of wonderful guests.
This week is no exception where I chat to the wonderful Billie Anderson, who never fails to amuse me with her brilliant outlook and the sheer amount that she does for the IBD and ostomy community.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO BILLIE?
Billie, was one of the first people I met from the IBD community about 3-4 years ago. Since, she has thrived in all of her efforts to raise awareness, help educate and empower others both within and, outside of the IBD and ostomy communities. So, I really wanted to chat to Billie to uncover some of her experiences and learnings.
Just some of the things that Billie discusses in this episode include; confidence, dealing with negativity online, dating & navigating the work place.
‘Body acceptance – it’s not really a destination. You’re not going to get to a point and be like
woo I’m now in love with my body for the rest of my life, that’s not how it works.’
BILLIE’S POO STORY:
Midway through this episode, Billie accounts a creative spur of the moment where she created a make shift flange extender with a sanitary towel…
A QUESTION FROM THE COMMUNITY:
This week’s question from the community for Billie, which she answers with some brilliant advice is; What have your experiences of dating with a stoma been like both online and offline and have you got any tips or advice?
Episode 13
Welcome to episode 13 of Inside Out by Amber. This week, I am joined by the wonderful Moeed Majeed where he discusses comparison, ‘swag bags’, fashion and lots more.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO MOEED?
As I mention in the episode, I found Moeed when he was very openly sharing his experiences of undergoing stoma surgery on his YouTube channel. The content was so honest and real and his whole outlook made me wish I’d had a similar series to follow when I was undergoing my surgeries. I was really keen to chat to Moeed to uncover this more as well as other elements of his life since.
Just some of the many things that we discuss in this episode include why Moeed decided to share his journey so intimately & where that has lead him including in his career since as well as topics of fashion, comparison, body image and his experiences of living with Crohn’s Disease and a stoma from a young males perspective.
‘You don’t have to be someone that talks about your condition everyday, you don’t have to be someone that is a millionaire – you just have to do what you want to do. It’s literally just down to you! If you want to be the best ballerina in the world, your stoma is not going to stop you, you are. You can flourish and do anything you want to do.’
MOEED’S POO STORY:
Midway through this episode, Moeed, accounts a close call he encountered with his stoma bag while staying at a friend’s house having had a snack fuelled night while sleeping in dangerously white bed sheets…
A QUESTION FROM THE COMMUNITY:
This week’s question from the community for Moeed, that he answers extensively is; What has been your biggest learning from having Crohn’s Disease?
Episode 12
Every week I am joined by a special guest, but this week I am proud to welcome a particularly special guest… My younger sibling, Poppy.
If you or a loved one has a chronic illness, bowel disease and / or undergone surgery, you’ll know all too well that it doesn’t only affect the sufferer but, it impacts everyone around them in one way or another too.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO POPPY?
Poppy is nine years younger than me and therefore, has only ever known life with me unwell. Poppy really wanted to get involved with the podcast so, I thought it would be great to chat to her and share her perspective of growing up as a sibling of someone with IBD and a stoma. As I’ve mentioned previous, these things impact everyone around us in some way and it’s important to provide support and information for the whole family. Through this conversation, I hope that we can help other siblings and family members who may also have a loved one who is managing chronic illness or undergoing stoma surgery.
WHAT DO WE DISCUSS?
In this episode, Poppy and I discuss a number of areas including what she thinks the best and worst things are about having a sibling who lives with chronic illness and a stoma as well as any possible advice she has for other siblings or family members;
“Everyone in the family needs to be supportive. If there’s some sort of activity that you’re doing and you have a family member who’s got a stoma or an illness – you need to understand that their health is more important than anything… It’s good to go on charity events and support the cause on things like social media and to spread awareness”.
POPPY’S POO STORY:
As I mentioned last week, I have a new midway feature in the podcast where I light heartedly ask my guest if they have any embarrassing poo stories to share. Although Poppy, in her young age doesn’t have any stories of her own to share, she undoubtedly had a number about me. So, instead she accounts a time while we were on holiday abroad and I lose my stoma bag to the sea on more than one occasion!
Episode 11
Hello everybody, welcome to episode 11 of Inside Out by Amber. This week, I chat to the lovely James Conlon about his experiences of Ulcerative Colitis, particularly focusing on topics of advocacy, body image, mental health and dating. Topics that needless to say, are pretty prominent to many of us regardless of our age, gender or diagnosis but, I was really interested in chatting to James about these things from a male’s perspective. I’m proud to share this very raw and honest conversation with James.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO JAMES?
A few years ago, I was at an event held by Chron’s and Colitis UK where an awards presentation was hosted at the end. Although I had been following James online, this was the first time that I had the pleasure of meeting him in person where he received an award for his lifetime commitments to raising awareness of IBD and fundraising for the charity. I was in awe of the condensed introduction given to James and all of his efforts. So, I really wanted to chat to James to delve into these things a little deeper as well as various other topic areas that he does a brilliant job of discussing and shining a light on through his work and presence.
WHAT DO WE DISCUSS?
In the episode, we discuss James’ journey and his advocacy as well as topics of body image, mental health and dating.
I also have a new midway feature in the podcast where I ask my guest if they have an embarrassing poo story to share so, I put this question to James where he shares not just one, but two close accounts that he’s experienced in public. While we giggle and chat about them, he acknowledges how humiliating it can feel at the time.
I also put a listener’s question to James, where the lovely Beck who runs the page @thebaglifeofbeck says that she’d ‘love to know what it’s like to be a male advocate because there are so many wonderful females flying the flag and, leading on from that, do you feel like there could be better support and representation for men?’
Episode 10
In this episode, I’m pleased to welcome another healthcare professional. This week, I chat to Consultant Dietician, Sophie Medlin where she shares a breadth of insight and knowledge in the field of gut health nutrition while answering a host of your questions.This conversation and the questions discussed, will be particularly useful for those with IBD and / or stomas however, provides some great general over all bodily function, diet and gut health related advice and information too.
WHY I WANTED TO CHAT TO SOPHIE?
I was keen to chat to Sophie and record an episode with her because she is such a useful source and beacon of information specifically when it comes to diet and nutrition in the field of IBD, stomas and other gut health conditions. She has a wealth of experience and is so passionate about using it to help as many people as possible gain the correct, research led and clinical advice in a world where it can sometimes be pretty tough to identify what information is true and reliable at times. I too, share similar values and when I created the podcast, I hoped to share as much of this correct and reliable information as possible hence why in this episode, Sophie and I discuss a variety of your questions with regards to diet and gut health.
WHAT DO WE DISCUSS?
Just some of the host of your questions, that I put to Sophie include topics of hair loss, supplements, causes of gut health problems as well as many many more. Of course, we touch on Sophie’s career too and what lead her to where she’s at now with her own company that aims to provide as many people as possible with the correct, tailored dietary advice for their specific needs.
FIND THE PODCAST AT
You can find this episode as well as all other episodes so far with a wide range of guests below, at https://insideoutbyamber.buzzsprout.com, and follow on socials to keep up to date and get involved @insideoutbyamber.
We hope you enjoy this wonderful podcast series, please leave a comment below for any suggestions of topics that Amber could cover!
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