IT'S A START
Bringing comfort and clarity to the what, why and how of an impending ostomy surgery.
JOURNEY STAGE
NEW WAY FORWARD
The first 90 days. Helping hand, with you through recovery, adjustment and easing back into being and feeling yourself.
TO A BIGGER LIFE
Settling in. Support, ideas, encouragement and experiences all on offer. Lifetime members welcome!
FEATURED ARTICLES
To a bigger life
Introducing: A Bigger Life Community
We have developed a new ostomy community on abiggerlife.com to create the opportunity to connect with other ostomates, clinical advisors and share experiences about living with a stoma.
A Bigger Life
Video: Living a bigger life with an ostomy
We’re here for anyone around the world whose life has been touched by a stoma, offering support, advice and encouragement. Whether you have impending ostomy surgery or you’ve been an ostomate for 50 years!
Keith
A positive outlook makes anything possible
I’m lying here tonight and I’m so thankful for our wonderful NHS. Just over seven years ago a surgeon skillfully removed my colitis ravaged bowel and gave me a stoma for life. It’s a quality of life I could only have dreamed of when I was so ill.
Clare
Weighing the pros and cons of revision surgery
I have a very irregular shape to the base of my stoma and I have always had trouble cutting the wafer hole correctly. If I manage it the odd time, I need it to be placed absolutely correctly. How does everyone else manage who have strange shapes? I know that I need further surgery for stoma revision but am quite anxious about the outcome. I have some pros for stoma revision but also a few cons.
Andy
Needing the toilet when you are out and about
At some point after the birth of your stoma, you will want to venture outdoors – it’s totally natural and expected that you will be anxious about being too far away from a toilet. A public convenience can often have small cubicles, making changing, emptying or cleaning up difficult. Here are a couple of options for anyone in the UK that might help you feel more confident when you are out and about.
Latest Articles
Andy
Getting rid of odour- a review of what has and hasn’t worked for me.
I’ve gone through many different fresheners so thought I would share what is available and what I recommend to use.
Read More
Clare Mee
Toilets – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Having a stoma means toilets play a big part in our lives. I have used some really lovely clean ones, but also some dreadful ones that I really didn’t want to use but had no choice.
Read More
Dennis Kent
Meeting the right people
Testing products helped me find the right ones for me improving the quality of my life.
Read More
How medication can affect your stoma pouch adhesion
Medications can have an effect on the management of your stoma, mostly on the output of your stoma which can cause problems with your pouch adhesion.
Read More
Lauraine Clarke
Say NO to Dr. Google!
Google is great for many things but if, like me, you have anxiety issues, I would strongly repeat what my consultant said 35 years ago, leave the doctoring to the doctors.
Read More
Clare Mee
The Pre Surgery Nerves
When you have a surgery date you feel relieved but then as it gets nearer you nearly talk yourself out of it.
Read More
Frequently asked questions about stoma support belts and hernia belts
There are many questions surrounding stoma support and hernia belts, we have created a handy guide to answer the most popular questions to give you a little bit more guidance.
Read More