One Year Post-Surgery Living with a Stoma | Hannah Witton 

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 ❤

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

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.

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 💜

You're not lazy, you're tired. Treat yourself with compassion

congratulations on one year!!! enjoyed this Q+A

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

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 !

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!

Mona and Louise Pentland's youngest daughter share a birthday! Happy birthday to Mona The Stoma and baby Pearl!

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!

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.

"just sat on the toilet for 30 minutes screaming" is such an IBD mood i cannot even

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.

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.

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!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONA!!!

Wow, one year already. You're nothing short of amazing and here's to another year of wonderful content and adventures with you, love!

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).

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

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.

Thanks for being open, Hannah! I'm glad you're well!

You've recovered very well and been and example to many. Thank you for existing, sweet Hannah.

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 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!

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!

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 RU-vid for me. Thank you for everything!

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 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.

Thanks for being such a great voice for Ulcerative Colitis and raising awareness for all of us that suffer alike.

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 ...)!

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.

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❤️

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

honestly cannot believe its been a year, thats mental !!! Im so incredible proud of you !! i love you sm xx

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.

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! 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.

I absolutely admire your ability to keep these videos completely clean, it's actually amazing.

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!

you’ve been so generous w/ sharing your stoma journey! you are a model of transparency & demystifying illness. thank you so much, hannah.

It was my 5 year stomaversary on the 7th, best of luck with yours!

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

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 ♥️

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 💛

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!

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.

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!

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.

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 love the wave moving across the screen while you're reading the questions! Love it.

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 💜

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

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

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!

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 💛

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.

Congratulations, Hannah! I really admire your strength, perseverance, and honesty! Best wishes for 2019 😊

Thank you for being so vulnerable

Thank you for being so open!

Your such an impressive and inspiring young woman Hannah, I wish you all the happiness in the world!!

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.

Happy 2yrs Hannah!

Sorry if this is a really stupid question but is there a reason they can't make bigger bags for use at night? That way they can hold more and so can go longer without needing to be emptied. Kind of like night time night time period pads?

Thank you for being so open and honest about what has happened to you, you’re amazing! Happy birthday Mona!

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.

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 💐

In complete admiration at the way you've handled the surgery and new way of life. Keep looking forward 😊 xx

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.

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 😊 !!

I so applaud your for your incredible authenticity and openness!

Happy birthday Mona!! I’ve never heard about stomas before and have learnt so much from you talking about it so candidly, thank you!

As a nurse. I have so much respect and admiration for people with colostomy and ileostomy. So much goes behind the scenes that people don’t even have a clue. I wish you the best I hope you continue to do better and that you continue to be an inspiration and help to many.

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 absolutely love how honest and candid you are. this helped me learn so much and was super interesting!!!

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 are so AMAZING!!!! I Envy how OPEN ur able to be with everything... And that ur able to out a bit if humor to it all! It's so refreshing....!!!! Seeing u doing so well gives Me so much hope!!!! ... But please know how much I appreciate ur brutal honesty with ur situation and ALL THE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS tht come along with it! Thank you for making me feel less alone and for feeling like not such a FREAK after all!!!!! Wishing you all the best Love!!!! Keep the content coming girl!!!! 💕

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.

You rock Hannah! Congratulatiins on getting thru all the obstacles and never wavering against all the challenges you've had to deal with. You're an inspiration to alot of people with your courage and incredible sense of humour. Keep leading the charge. J

so much love for you Hannah 💕 happy one year!

I love you so much Hannah! Thank you for sharing your journey with us and for being so open with your emotions. I hope you know how strong and brave you are.

You are such an inspiration. I'm honestly out of words.

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.

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.

Holy crap I used to watch your videos years ago and you were a super strong individual then. Now you are the biggest badass ever! Thank you so much for sharing your life with us in such intimate ways and we will always support you!

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

Your strength is unreal ❤️ such an inspiration to watch!!!

Thank you for sharing your story! I’m a nursing student (I graduate in June) and It’s both very interesting and very educational for me to hear your story from the perspective of a patient. I now have a better idea of what a patients experience can be like, and I hope to be able to use that in helping and supporting patients in similar situations in the future!

You're awesome Hannah and it's so good to see you doing so well!

Rather than getting up in the middle of the night, I would just open the bag slightly to let out the build up of air. As long as the bag isn’t too full of output; it meant that I was only awake for a minute at a time, would let the air out and then close the bag up and then get back to sleep! I really feel you when you said you feel like you need to cry; I used to get so frustrated at the unfairness of it all! But your body will adjust 😊 great video! Thank you so much for you honesty and for spreading awareness of crohns and colitis! x

So proud of you! you’re so brave and inspirational ❤️

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.

Your spirit and humanity is an inspiration. You are a prime example of humanities adaptability!