FAQs of IBD, Life after Surgery and Stoma care | Expert Patient Matthew Timmins

In today's video, I interview Matt Timmins, our expert patient who has very kindly agreed to share his experience of IBD, PSC, surgery and living with a stoma. Today Matt provided us with a number of questions that were sent to him by his online community which includes patients at various stages of their IBD journey. We specifically answer questions that other had regarding going back to work, getting yourself ready for surgery and what life looks like after having a stoma. Thank you once again to Matt for his and his wealth of knowledge and experience.
The questions are time stamped below:
00:45 - Q1 What do I need to tell my employer regarding my condition and will I be able to return to work?
05:20 - Q2 Does it get better?
06:26 - Q3 Will others notice that I have a stoma bag?
08:22 - Q4 In terms of stoma equipment, do you have to stick with the suppliers that you started with? And how do you contact stoma nurses if you have any problems?
11:12 - Q5 What advice do you have around diet and exercise after surgery?
15:14 - Q6 Is there anything I can do before surgery to help my recovery?
16:41 - Q7 What are your thoughts on joining support groups and where can people find these?
17:52 Q8 - What can you share about the frequency of changing a stoma bag?
21:20 - Any other final words