Update

Since the naked bike ride I feel like a new man. Just a few months ago I felt so insecure and uncomfortable telling people about my bag but now I feel comfortable getting it out at the lido, the beach, skinny dipping, wandering around a shared room. I can talk about it without embarrassment and sometimes I initiate conversation about it. On a personal note, I've started to feel like I'm educating the female half of the world about ostomies one at a time ;)
If any of you out there are struggling with your body image and insecurity like I was, I recommend talking about it to safe people and then getting it out as much as possible,  a little at a time.
Regarding the travels, I've been hanging out in Europe, not really travelling around that much but hitting up a few places in between being in the UK. So far I ticked off Estonia, Latvia, Istanbul and Portugal, heading to Spain next then I've booked a flight to India in September. The plan is to 'find myself' there. Updates on that to come!
In the UK I've done a few cool things, went to the purple wings ball and met lots of fellow ostomates, including Stephie who asked me to write for her blog here.
I also did some hypnotherapy, meditation, yoga, an NLP workshop and and a social freedom day to help me be more confident. 

Keeping cool part 2

Met a kazakh guy at the airport who also hadn't booked a hostel yet, and headed to the Koh San road. Found a place called the green house which looked pretty basic but had a bar and looked friendly. I had topped the medicube up with ice from the plane so I figured I could just keep doing the same with the ice from the bar.
Woke up about 6.30am as I had to empty my bag and I saw the thermometer was reading over 14 degrees. So I might have spoiled all that humira already...
I didn't book a hostel in advance because I read or heard that there is much more choice on the Khao San road than you see on the Internet. I'm now thinking that might have been a mistake and I should have booked somewhere that said it had a fridge freezer as one of the facilities.
I'll do that tomorrow

Preparing to Leave

Less than 2 weeks before I fly to Thailand!! Super excited (and apprehensive!)

Here's what I've been up to:

• Got myself a Thai tourist visa
• My flat is all packed up, all my stuff is in storage
• Lots of goodbye lunches/coffees/drinks with various friends
• Received a very large supplies order, containing my new favourite bags (more below!)
• Asked GP for a large prescription of Azathioprine
• Received a large order of Humira
• Spoken to consultant and stoma nurse
• Tried an improv class

Still to do:

• Get Loperamide and Dioralyte
• Travel insurance
• See my Bro
• Do a final pack of my backpack

It has felt very busy!

I saw this great guide from the White Rose Collection about going on holiday that has some good tips and advice: http://www.whiterosecollection.com/Articles/Holidays-With-An-Ostomy. It also links to this article about the World Assist Alliance, which I never knew about before.

I tried using the SenSura Mio mechanical 2 piece bag last week and I was super happy that it lasted a whole 6 days without needing to be changed (and could have lasted longer as there were no problems when I changed it). I think it's because the mechanical part keeps the bag away from the stoma, helping to reduce potential pancaking. So I ordered a few to take with me - if they always last that long I will only need to change 10 times in my whole trip! The only problem I have is that the opening is a bit more tricky (can be a bit messy) then other bag manufacturers.

If I've forgotten anything I need to do, or if you have any tips on Coloplast bags, let me know in the comments.

Medactiv iCool Medicube

  

My iCool Medicube arrived! It looks like it will be good for the job - it has plenty of space for at least 12 syringes, but with the added ice packs it is quite bulky - I've shown it here with a £2 coin for reference. Also it's not very easy to carry it around using the attached straps so it would be easiest to put it inside another bag.

The experiments with Coloplast Sensura Mio bags went well and they do seem to be able to last longer than the bags I previously used (Oakmed) so I will take a few of each with me to Thailand. Getting excited!!

Keeping Cool

Apart from how I am going to carry around 2 months of ileostomy supplies, one main concern is how I am going to keep 8 to 10 pens of Humira cool when traveling on the plane, between hostels etc. (is there always a refrigerator that guests can use in hostels??)

First I had a call with my IBDN a few weeks ago, she said she knew a girl who went travelling who found a really good cool bag, but wasn't able to give me any more details on where it was from, what kind etc.

So I've been looking on Amazon, and I think I've decided on one of the following three choices

iCool Prestige Medicine Travel Bag
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009PMI0AQ/
Pros: looks pretty compact
Cons: might be too small



MedActiv MediCube for transporting temperature sensitive medicine
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B010DG84TE
Pros: definitely large enough, looks pretty industrial in terms of keeping things coldest for longest
Cons: might be a bit too big, expensive


MediGenix CoolMeds 2 - 8°C Bag for transporting temperature sensitive medicine
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00XPPHOI8/
Pros: has a in built thermometer
Cons: might be too small

Also, I'm using Humira pens, maybe I should switch to the self-injections because they are smaller?

Let me know if you have any thoughts/advice!

Pilot

Hi!

I'm Mark, I'm 31, from the UK, I have an ileostomy due to Crohn's disease and I'm going travelling!

I have to inject Humira once a week (has to be kept less than 8°C) and I have to change my ileostomy bag at least once a day most of the time (more if it's hot weather), so backpacking with all that stuff is going to be tricky. Not only that but some countries have 'toilet difficulties' if you know what I mean!
Because of the weekly Humira, I was told by my IBD nurse that I should probably only be away from the UK for up to 3 months at a time, which at least for my initial trip I am limiting to 2 months just in case. After that I will pop back to the UK for a top up.

I thought I'd write a blog with my thoughts, in case anyone else is thinking of going travelling with an ostomy and wants some details on the difficulties/experiences.

My current itinerary:

1) Quit work.
2) Go skiing (probably Austria).
3) Thailand!
4) Japan/China
5) Europe

First thing I need to do is get a cool bag to keep the medication cool on the journey. I will update on this soon.

Let me know any questions/comments or any advice.