Before I talk about the festive season with a stoma I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas, I hope you all get to spend some great time with family and friends and eat great food, and I wish you all a happy and healthy new year, and thank you to everyone that has taken time to read my blogs.
As we move into the festive season it can often be a time of indulgence and over doing things in terms of food and drink. One of the things I love most about Christmas is having family over for dinner on Christmas day or Boxing day, and sometimes even both days! I absolutely love cooking and love cooking for lots of people. I really enjoy seeing people having a good time and enjoying the food I have made. Then there are the Christmas snacks: Christmas cakes, Christmas stockings filled with chocolate, Christmas tins full of Chocolates; the list seems endless. The majority of us will buy these items especially when we are having people over. We have all these lovely treats laid out looking fabulous and inviting! Then after a huge Christmas dinner in the evening we lay on food platters of cold meats, pickles, cheeses, and crackers, along with red wine or other alcoholic drinks! Let’s not forget about the huge bowl of shelled nuts that we fight to open with the nut crackers, the same nut crackers that you moan about every year because they are useless! That is after you have spent hours trying to find them from the previous year!
With all this indulgence over the festive season do I think about my stoma? Yes I do – I think about the impact all this food will have on my digestive system, I think about whether it will cause me pain and discomfort, I think about will affect my ability to have a good time with friends and family if I end up in pain. I also worry that the worst case scenario is I end up in hospital. All of these things start going through my mind from around now, the middle of December.
But will it actually change my routine? Will I do anything different? Will I leave out the food that I know will aggravate my body? The answer to that is yes and no. I feel everything should be in moderation. If I keep everything in moderation I should be ok, if only eat little of the foods I know will aggravate me then I will be ok. However, that is not always easy, sometimes I just can’t help myself and I will over indulge! I absolutely go wild for Christmas pudding with fresh double cream and brandy butter, I know for certain this will cause me problems, it is such a rich pudding and with lots of cream it is just asking for trouble! I know it, but I love it, I need it, I have to have it, I have to over indulge in it! 😂. I know within 24 hours my stomach is going to be hurting and my stoma will be very active, so I just tell myself it was worth the pain. Now, we should certainly not be doing that on a regular basis and I am not advocating over doing things even over the festive period.
You know how your body works, so listen to your body, as I said earlier everything in moderation should be ok. Strangely when I cook for lots of people I actually do not eat a lot myself, I nibble away at little bits and pieces when I am cooking the dinner, so by the time the main event is ready I am not actually hungry, and I know I need to save room for that amazing Christmas pudding with double cream and brandy butter, I cannot wait!
Back to the question of routine, I will ensure I have enough supplies in, and I will make sure I have the Pelican Barrier Cream with vitamin E. If I do over indulge my skin around my stoma can get sore, this cream really helps, this is not a sales ad for the cream, but it does really help my skin. If I have to change bags more often which can often be the case the cream helps reduce the soreness. I will also make sure during these times I use bags that are kinder to my skin if I am changing them more regularly. Overall, not a huge amount changes, it is more of a case of making sure I am prepared and I have everything I need to look after my stoma. We do have to look after our stomas, it is important. Please look after yourselves this Christmas and have a lovely time. Merry Christmas.
