One Year Post-Surgery Living with a Stoma | Hannah Witton
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
- 14th January 2019 marks one year since my life changing surgery to remove my large colon and have a ileostomy. Here's what life is like now, things I've learned and what this last year has been like.
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End music: Thursday and Snow (Reprise) by Blank & Kytt
My boyfriend had his stoma op 3 days after you so I introduced him to your chanel and it really helped him feel less alone ❤
Holly Rowling that’s why I started watching this channel also, my boyfriend has uc so I wanted to learn more about how it affects him so I can help him❤️from a year ago when mona arrived I feel like if the time comes that he needs to get a stoma i feel like I know partially how to help him in those ways also now ❤️
I had mine done the same time as u . It was a blessing was home in 3 days . Such was the release from the pain
Hi Hannah, thank you for talking about this. I too have a stoma - I hate even writing that word. I prefer to call it the "creature". Yes , not dealing with things too well.
In order to get a good 8 hours sleep I've found the answer.
Do not eat past 7 pm at the latest. I'm usually done by 6. Then before bed take 2 peppermint oil capsules, for the air in the bag situation. It has changed everything for me.
No more worrying about nighttime explosions, and changing bedclothes at 4 am.
I get at least 8 hours and feel so much better in the morning.
It is worth feeling a little bit hungry, and then you can get up and eat all around you. Good luck and please try this. It has saved my sanity on the sleep issue.
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I am dealing with the mental stuff as well if u ever want to talk u can hit me up on facebook. I just started therapy. Hard to grasp all the changes. Im learning it helps to talk about it rather than not be it up & think no one understands.
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It was pretty heart-wrenching to see you tearing up over the trauma you've endured, but I'm happy you kept it in the video! You've always managed to stay strong and stay positive in the face of adversity in your videos, which only emphasized in my mind how much you must have gone through to react how did here. Stay strong and never forget there's no shame in getting all the help you need
Heart-wrenching is a good word for it. I think Hanna is being quite brave revealing all this to help others. She seems just too good of a person to be saddled with pain and suffering like this. I hope she is well rewarded in life from here on.
I never really thought about how you need your core muscles to orgasm. Really interesting! Thank you for opening up and giving me some insight into an experience that's different than mine 💜
congratulations on one year!!! enjoyed this Q+A
Hi Tessa
Still listening to Crush and Sorry I'm Not Sorry regularly.
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД
Congrats! You have a nice figure too!☺️
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД!
You're not lazy, you're tired. Treat yourself with compassion
I had my emergency surgery to have an ileostomy the exact same day as you. Literally sat here with a number one balloon and a birthday cake so dont worry i'm super extra too !
If I were ever in a situation like that, I would totally do something like that too. Plus a cake with the stoma's name sounds like a must.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get emotional like this in a video. From the surface, it looks like you are doing amazing but it’s good to see that you recognise that you need the therapy to tackle this. You go girl, happy anniversary, hope you finally get your 2018 you wanted (you’re a year behind as you say!) you got this! ☺️💕 x
Beth Smith ++
Mona and Louise Pentland's youngest daughter share a birthday! Happy birthday to Mona The Stoma and baby Pearl!
That genuinly made me laugh out loud, thanks for cheering me up!
😂 this made me laugh not going to lie
OMG the phrase internalised ableism is what I needed right now. Feeling really guilty about taking time off work due to chronic illness and just - thanks for talking about this shit Hannah!!
Hi Hannah, I've had my stoma for nearly 2 years, last summer I chose to have my rectum removed because mine was doing the exact same as yours. It was bleeding, I was getting a feeling of urgency and I was in pain. I tried suppositories and various enemas to no avail, and my life was feeling like the days I had UC with the number of toilet trips I needed just for blood!
I had lots of thoughts going round my head, and also like you the idea of 'forever' terrified me. I realised it was exactly the same as how I felt about my UC diagnosis, for me it was medication (and lots of it, mine never really went into remission) forever and that saddened me as I'm only 22, and I was diagnosed at 17.
Once my rectum was removed I came to terms with the fact that nothing had really changed, I still had my stoma I just had less pain and one less toilet 'method' to deal with. I felt like I was going to the loo three different ways if that makes any sort of sense ahaha.
(also in December I ended up with scar tissue and adhesions just like you did, so I ended up with an emergency third operation to remove them and revise my stoma, a third operation I was trying to avoid by having my rectum out instead of a two stage reversal op! Life just likes to throw things at us!)
I'm glad you've settled into stoma life so well and I love hearing your updates!
Congratulations on being so strong and making it through that
Didn't they offer you the option of a J pouch ? Or do you also have UC in your ileum ?
@@whychoooseausername4763 It was definitely an option for me, however personally it was one I chose not to go for. For me, despite research and asking people questions who have J pouches, the risks outweigh the benefits. My body has never been one to behave regarding my UC and my rectum, so going for the J pouch meant the possibility of losing my quality of life again due to the risk of constant toilet trips again! I chose to have my stoma (it wasn't an emergency op the first time round) because my quality of life was SO BAD I had simply just had enough. My stoma saved my quality of life and I wasnt willing to risk that with a J pouch, so I wanted my rectum removed completely to remove the problem altogether! Hope this clears things up x
I have an almost identical story. Plain old rectum removal was the only clear choice for me. I couldn't deal with the uncertainty of.a j-pouch and for me that outweighed potentially not having my stoma anymore. Of course I have moments where I wonder what that would have been like, but they are very fleeting and I have no regrets really. Time also is a healer, I've had my ileo for 12 years now and apart from my proctectomy part way through that it has become so much part of my body I barely even think about it. I was offered j-pouch right from the beginning but they were very good at listening to me and what I wanted and I'm really grateful for that.
I was diagnosed with hirschprungs disease when I was 2 and I’m almost 11 now xx
"just sat on the toilet for 30 minutes screaming" is such an IBD mood i cannot even
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONA!!!
Congratulations for making it a year. May will be 33 years for me. Next up is Thyroid cancer surgery (currently scheduled for January 25 but it may be postponed because I passed out during the pre op check).
Good luck!
All the best m8.
Sending you all the light and positivity! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Charles Rosenberg good luck! Sending you love
Good luck 🤞
Re: the sleep: for most of history, people have slept in two periods during the night. People went to bed quite early though; around 9 I think and then naturally woke up around 3 or 4 am, talked for an hour or so and went to sleep again. So I don't think waking up once would be a big problem, even if you go to sleep at 22h or 23h, unless you lie awake for longer of course. I'd say that feeling tired it still normal, even a year after surgery, since your body went through so much. Thanks for sharing Hannah!
Your so right!
The tv program over here called Adam Ruins Everything tackled the subject of sleep!
Everything you said is true.
So interesting, I had no idea!
Working in the health care system - albeit in a different country in mainland europe - it's refreshing, helpful and a wonderful learing experience seeing you deal with your journey so openly. I hope you telling your story will improve the way I accompany my patients on theirs.
I'm convinced there's tons of people who learn a lot from you and are inspired by your vlogs, you overcoming life changes and obstacles you didn't choose. Stay awesome, keep doing what you are doing! You are definitely making this world a better place!
Great inspiration for people with stomas. My mom had this done (ileostomy) in the US 51 years ago. It was experimental then and she actually lived with it for 50 years. She passed away Mar 2018 (nothing UC related). Keep on educating.
Wow, one year already. You're nothing short of amazing and here's to another year of wonderful content and adventures with you, love!
That moment when she said, it will be forever, I felt it. I don't have a stoma yet. But seeing all of you does make me feel relieved.
It was my 5 year stomaversary on the 7th, best of luck with yours!
You've found the right word.
Yaaaaaas! Stomaversary is perf 👌
In terms of getting up in the night - it sounds like you aren't up for long so I don't think it'll be making you more tired. But the inflammation in the rectum will be making you tired. I had a sub-total colectomy and they left the stump in, and I would say that's the worst I felt. I was tired all the time and I was very in pain passing the mucus. After I had the stump removed, I suddenly felt soooo much better! I have a permanent ostomy now. I know the permanent factor can be weird at a young age, but there's so many things that will happen throughout our lives that we don't have control over (like our scars), I think I just have to accept it. I definitely know what you mean re therapy - sometimes I cry if I think in detail about what's happened to me, but also I would never change it all as it's made me who I am.
You are such a warm and sincere person. I can't imagine the pain you have been through, but you would never know it from how positive and sunny you are in all your videos. I met you in the theatre recently with Lucy and Leena and sort of word vomited at you all instead of saying what I wanted to say. I suppose it was a bit overwhelming to meet the entire Banging Book Club in one go and I didn't want to interrupt your evening - but I just wanted to say thank you, Hannah, for being such a strong and wonderful human. You are truly fantastic.
3 days ago today was the 1 year anniversary of when I had surgery to get a feeding tube, & it’s crazy to think about how VASTLY different my life is now compared to a year ago. Like, I was in the mind set of “if I died right now I wouldn’t even care”, but now I’m basically a normal functioning human again & I have a life again.
Thanks for being open, Hannah! I'm glad you're well!
Happy Birthday to Mona! You had me crying again when talking about your mental health, so you're welcome, but also know you're stronger for coming through it all (and it's also been great for your channel engagement and views, so ...)!
I really admire your courage to talk publicly about your health and medical challenges. You absolutely have every right to your privacy about such things. I am not upset or offended, I just feel the need to respect your right to privacy.
You've recovered very well and been and example to many.
Thank you for existing, sweet Hannah.
I just want to give you a hug and a cup of tea and say thank you for being so open and chatty about things people don't normally chat about. Having lots of tummy issues lately and I really appreciate you and your videos.
Happy birthday, Mona! Thank you for sharing all this, Hannah. I've never been prouder of anyone I don't know in real life, my whole family is kept updated on the Mona adventures! You had me crying so hard of joy, of pride, of relieve that you came the other side, and even of empathy. I spent one night at hospital thinking I could die from a bad allergic reaction, I can only imagine the toughness of your experience and how strong you must feel after not only surviving but owning and doing something amazing with it. Just, wow. Keep it up, girl, can't wait to see what the second year of Mona comes with.
Thank you for being so open!
i’ve said this before but it’s really great that you’re using this as a way to educate and help others. i’m really proud of you, you’re doing a lot of good in the world xx
I don’t have a stoma but to me, the idea of “forever” suffering from UC and it’s unpredicted flare ups and all the blood and pain for the rest of my life is more terrifying than having a stoma “forever”.
I have pancolitis which is the severest form of the disease. I usually get a flare every year but this year the meds suddenly stopped working and I had the worst flare up of my life and I literally tried everything to stay on remission but still nothing seems to work. I was so scared of the idea of surgery and after seeing your videos it made me realize that life with a stoma isn’t so bad and it might be even better. ❤️thank you for being an inspiration❤️
A Stoma can be reversible, so if you don't have bowels removed and want to go back, it's possible. I can completely say with confidence that a Stoma has brought me into remission from years of Crohn's. Good luck and hope you find the right medication.
I am so proud of you Hannah! I know that I will never understand what you went through, but hopefully everyone here can show you that you won't regret it because of how far you have come. I love you ♥️
Thank you for being so vulnerable
Your courage in discussing these problems - especially the mental hurdles - is an inspiration to everyone. May this year be a good one for you and those close to you.
I’m so proud - I can relate to PTSD regarding being in hospital and being sick, but it gets better and you’ve come so far already! Lots of love xo
I absolutely admire your ability to keep these videos completely clean, it's actually amazing.
honestly cannot believe its been a year, thats mental !!! Im so incredible proud of you !! i love you sm xx
Hannah I am soo proud of you! You've been through a lot and you still find ways to keep your light shining! ✨ Love from Germany xo
Thank you for being so open and honest about what has happened to you, you’re amazing! Happy birthday Mona!
i absolutely LOVE how you’re able to talk about this and share this side of your life. honestly, thank you. i had pain for years and finally got diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease last year and its so isolating feeling like your illness is too ‘gross’ to really talk about with friends or teachers so i dont get to talk about how i feel when i’m in a flare up. it feels really good to hear you talk so openly about it, so thank you. glad to hear you’re doing well!
I've watched you for so long and I'm so sorry for the pain you and others are in that are affected by this. I love how honest you are because you're truly one of the most influential people on CZcams for me. Thank you for everything!
Thank you for talking about everything as much as you do. Talking to someone about time in hospital and PTSD around health things has helped me so much. I had no idea. Also, you're just bloody awesome hun.
Congrats on your year anniversary! I'm coming up on my anniversary of entering hospital for depression/anxiety. I'm doing a lot better than I was last year, but I'm finding myself struggling as my year anniversary approaches. I appreciate your honesty about dealing with your health struggles and dealing with the trauma of being sick. Lots of love to you!
You hear this everyday I am sure, but I wanted to say how inspirational and fucking awesome you are. Well done for making it a year Hannah- you are so strong to be so positive about this. This year you have brought awareness and made thousands of people less alone; you've been confident, you ran 5k! You're SUCH A QUEEN. Thank you for exsisting, being so honest, and so brilliant. I love you, I'm so proud to be a subscriber!
I love the wave moving across the screen while you're reading the questions! Love it.
So, when I started having symptoms, I immediately thought of you. It was scary to find out that I was right when I was diagnosed, but it was reassuring to have seen all these videos and know as much as I did.
It's been a little bit more than a year since my body started attacking itself (thereby creating the colitis), but I didn't actually get it confirmed before it had been close to 9 months. It may be the mildest form of it, but having a chronic illness is tiring and scary.
Thank you for sharing of yourself all this time! I always appreciate different points of view from people, so I enjoyed your series. However, I would never have imagined that it would help me personally too. Thank you again.
You're so well spoken about a variety of topics, and it's nice to come to your channel, stay a while, and learn something new each time.
made me tear up when you did, im so pleased to see how much stronger you are now and so proud of your optimism you are truly an amazing woman and i am grateful to have someone like you as an idol, you really deserve the world hannah youre amazing
Stomaversary! Wow this video got me emotional about how far you’ve come in the last year... You’re killing it more and more everyday! You’re so strong Hannah, such an inspiration 💛
I used to watch your videos but never intensively but now, I try to watch every video as soon as its uploaded because you inspire so many of us that have troubled lives to do better. That thing you said about having a positive outlook, its something most of us could never do and I just want to thank you so much for sharing with us your trials and tribulations. And you have our thoughts and respect with you and of course your partner and family because all of you have endured so much this past year. Please continue to share your thoughts because for those of us who do not know where to turn, anyone can watch your videos and feel inspired to persevere and do better. Thank you Hannah Witton.
I just want to give you a giant hug! Your outlook, attitude, openness and positivity are amazing. I don't think I could talk so openly about my disability and health like you and I think of myself as an open person. Enjoy your videos keep it up!
Your an incredibly strong young lady, and I’m amazed you have the ability to openly speak about it. You even made me tear up a little. Can’t wish you enough luck Hannah. So proud of you. X
you’ve been so generous w/ sharing your stoma journey! you are a model of transparency & demystifying illness. thank you so much, hannah.
Damn it Hannah. This made me tear up a little. I've always admired your strength and willingness to talk about stuff as important as this. You are doing amazing, sweety.
Happy birthday Mona!! I’ve never heard about stomas before and have learnt so much from you talking about it so candidly, thank you!
This is so inspiring that you've come so far. Congratulations on your one year anniversary, it's nice that you are so open about it.
As you said it's amazing to see how the human body can adapt, but obviously it leaves marks on your mental health. I really love the fact that you are open about it. I actually did learn a lot this year about my own health (abdominal pains as well) thanks to your content, so keep it up!
This November is the 10 year anniversary of my chronic pain. My ten year Painiversary! I am going to throw a massive party and celebrate everything I've both had to do (corrective back surgeries, getting my spinal cord stimulator implant, PT, etc) and been able to do (traveling to Japan and South Korea!) in the past ten years. It is so nice to kind of take back those years and say "hey, some parts may have been really tough and almost broken me...but the other parts have kept me going and continue to give me a reason to keep going now!"
So, I think a party for your 1 year surgery anniversary is awesome. You have to take the good moments when you can.
Don't worry Hannah, I think very few people get uninterrupted eight hours of sleep. Sometimes I wake up every single hour and at least have to go to the toilet ones every night. If you only have to get up ones at night you are very lucky in this regard. Feeling tired might be related to your trauma. Please don't put therapy off, the longer you wait the harder it gets. I think you have grown so much over the past year. Very inspiring! Thank you
It's been amazing to hear you recount your journey. I am one among the "new" audience who came to your channel after Mona ;) I look up to your positivity and productivity every week. Thank you for candidly sharing and answering personal questions. Wish you well and good health.
This means I’ve been subbed about a year! I remember finding the 4 week hospital video and binge watching all your previous content straight after 💛
I so applaud your for your incredible authenticity and openness!
Wow, it’s so good to see all you have gone through this year and hear how positive you are. Even if your viewers don’t all relate to the actual aroma problems, we all have our hidden problems and internal struggles with body and mental health. It needs to be address as much as breaking stigmas concerning sex! Double up on the relevance of your work Hannah, nice!
I absolutely love how honest and candid you are. this helped me learn so much and was super interesting!!!
I got my stoma just under two years ago, and watching your recovery from surgery videos and seeing you being so confident and open about life as a young woman with a stoma has helped me accept life with a stoma and be more open with my friends and family about my stoma.
I completely agree with your fear over the thought of a stoma being forever, despite day-to-day I don’t mind it at all!
Oh Hannah, when you teared up it made my whole chest tighten. I have absolutely loved watching this videos over the past year, letting you educate me on a subject I knew nothing about before. I know you'll be getting a lot of comments like this, but I'd honestly just like to say that you're so incredibly brave. You never stop trying and that is something worth every bit of intense admiration I have for you 💜
I hope you realise how much you contribute to so many people, you spread knowledge and empathy on so many levels. Please don’t stop we still have so much to learn together. Thanks for being so brave, you are one tough young woman.
Congratulations, Hannah! I really admire your strength, perseverance, and honesty! Best wishes for 2019 😊
Your such an impressive and inspiring young woman Hannah, I wish you all the happiness in the world!!
Thanks for being such a great voice for Ulcerative Colitis and raising awareness for all of us that suffer alike.
Happy 2yrs Hannah!
Hiya Hannah Daniel here. I am Hige fan and just wanted to say keep going and that im in your corner cheering you on. Daniel.x
Wow! I appreciate this so much! Was hospitalized in 2018 and went through several surgeries leaving me with a colostomy bag that can be reversed. But to tell your stories and have someone somewhat similar understand what you have gone through. Love your videos! Keep happy and always smile!
I admire the way you are able to talk about so many things that some people pretend don't exist. You do it well. Good luck.
Frequent watcher, rare commenter here. Been a subscriber for a few years, and before your channel I had no idea what ulcerative colitis even was, let alone that stomas existed and were a thing that people had to live with. I personally have never even had any surgery. Through following your journey, I've learned a lot more about the world and the human body than I otherwise would've had the opportunity to, so thank you for sharing. I'd like to think I'm now a more aware and empathetic human in the world, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Hope 2019 brings you great happiness, health, and success!
Happy Birthday Mona! Thank you so much for sharing your story Hannah. Even though I’m sure at times it’s really hard. I have learnt so much about disability awareness and stoma care, although it doesn’t directly relate to me. I now feel informed enough to be a better support for anyone in my life who goes through a similar situation. Thank you.
In complete admiration at the way you've handled the surgery and new way of life. Keep looking forward 😊 xx
You are such an inspiration. I'm honestly out of words.
so much love for you Hannah 💕 happy one year!
So glad to hear you are doing well!!!
Watching you grow is a thrill, glad you're still alive and kicking!
Happy birthday Mona! And glad to hear that you're doing well and getting back into the swing of things. I hope you take time this year to get therapy and talk about that difficult period.
You're awesome Hannah and it's so good to see you doing so well!
Really appreciate you keeping you tearing up in the video. I think it really helps to drive home the seriousness of mental health and how it can have just as devastating impact on ones life as physical health. Counselling/Therapy very important. No matter how supportive a person is, an impartial person to cry and vent to is so so so important and healthy.
I don't have UC. Nor do I have a stoma. I did have surgery 10 years ago (OMG it's been that long) that changed my life forever. I'll never run again and many activities are difficult. Therapy helps a lot. Just with UC you'll have bad days and great moments. Thank you for sharing with us. Inspired me to make a video about my surgery and what it has changed about my life.
Hannah, stay strong and stay resolute. You are a lovely, exceptional person, who is both inspirational and so very real. Your online presence and the thoughtful sharing way that you bring all sorts of humanized information, thoughts, and feelings to an online community, are gifts to all. The humor, joy and warmth that you share are gifts to all your viewers. So, again, stay strong and stay wonderful. And thank you.
Happy birthday Mona 🎂
Your videos are always just awesome and it’s so refreshing to see such taboo subjects talked about openly and informatively.
May your 2019 be a happy healthy productive one 💐
Hi Hannah! I never commet on videos because I live a rush-student-who-also-has-to-work life, but in this one I feel the need to express my biggest admiration for you and what you do online. I think it is so inspirig to see your videos and your journey with the stoma, I immediately feel my energy recharged after I watch one of them. I also love it when you talk about sexuality, self-confidence, or any topic of this kind in general.
Thank you so much for being so real, so transparent and so open with us!
And, of course, happy birthday, Mona!
So proud of you! you’re so brave and inspirational ❤️
Loved this video. Thank you for sharing everything you do with us! Keep on keeping on!
I've almost had my ileostomy for a year too! I'm about to head back into hospital for my colectomy. Your videos are so helpful, and I feel less alone when I watch them.
Your strength is unreal ❤️ such an inspiration to watch!!!
I remember watching your first video about the time you spent in hospital, last year, right as i was sitting in my hospital bed. I thought to myself, wow, thats a weird coincidence. Anyway, parts of what you've been sharing heal me. You're incredibly strong for sharing. Stay healthy!
I have been following you for a long while and just being fascinated about learning about stomas even if it did not apply to me. This Christmas I fell ill really quick and had stoma surgery a little over a week ago and I can even after this short time relate to much of what you say in this video. Feels really good to not be alone in all this. The not sleeping at night is sooo hard. But I try to keep positive. You motivate me hearing your journey!
thank you so much for sharing your journey, today and always. I am so inspired by you, and I can't wait for all of the amazing things you will do in 2019!
Hey Hannah! Thank you for taking the time to let us know how you're doing with your stoma. It's so amazing to see how far you've come from a year ago. You're stronger now than ever before because of this event. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONA!
if it helps you: before the introduction of artificial light we didnt sleep just once but woke up inbetween. For more info adam ruins everything had smth about it. Maybe that will calm your anxiety (? words are hard sometimes) surrounding this topic
Fresh Arche I was just thinking 🤔 about “Adam Ruins Everything”. Love ❤️ that show
Good idea!
Thank you for this! as someone similar age with UC it's so helpful to hear someone being open and honest about it. I haven't had to have surgery yet, but I'm realistic it could be in my future sooner or later, and following you with Mona has really helped with that.
Congratulations, Mona !! Wish you all the best Hannah. I don't really have something to relate to the story, but for some reason, you keep on inspiring me with your lovely energy. Thank you very very much 😊 !!