39-year-old Romy is married to Dennis and works as a healthcare professional in Radboud University Medical Centre’s cardiology unit. She was not diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) until February 2018, but she has had bowel problems almost all her life. Since Romy started irrigating, however, she's been happy and she calls it, “the best gift ever.”
Even from a very young age, Romy had bowel problems. She always worried that it would cause complications later in life since she was unable to properly empty her bowels. Sometimes she would go seven or eight days without being able to go to the toilet.
“My stomach was bloated, and I had pain in my lower back, in my bowel and a lot of air that I couldn't get rid of. It seemed like an allergic reaction to something I had eaten. I was often worn out, tired and sad.”
Romy tried everything from nutritional supplements and enemas to expensive detoxing, but nothing really worked. Then she was diagnosed with MS last year, something she believes is linked to her bowel problems. Finally, she went to her doctor because she couldn’t deal with the bowel problems any longer.
“He referred me to a continence nurse. Initially I thought he must have misunderstood me; why should I go there? I went anyway, partly because my husband insisted. The continence nurse immediately talked to me about Peristeen, which I had never heard of before. But I instantly had a good feeling about it.”
After a thorough explanation at home, Romy took a notepad in one hand and a water hose in the other, and got started while Sandrine, a Coloplast nurse involved in the Peristeen Support programme, waited patiently. She immediately got the hang of it.
“After every bowel irrigation, I feel good. I also like that it is water-based. I also refuse to take medication. I have been irrigating every day for just under six months now. Looking back, I wish that I had heard about Peristeen much sooner. I also recommend it to my own patients, most recently to a patient with a spinal cord injury. In general, I am very open about my own bowel problems. Unfortunately, there is still such a taboo around it. People consider it dirty and tend to laugh it off. For me, though, there is no better feeling than releasing your stool.”
Now that she has started irrigating, she has never felt better. She may have MS, but she feels that she is now in control of her life and that things are finally stable.
“I look much better, feel more energetic. I am much happier and healthier in life. I am no longer afraid of my own body, no longer afraid of pain in my stomach. Before I was diagnosed with MS, I went through 12 intense days because the doctors suspected that I had a brain tumour. I thought I was going to die. But it’s made me embrace life and enjoy it even more. My life looks different now. My pain is gone, all the ‘old shit’ has gone, both literally and figuratively.”
Romy recently had an intestinal examination, and she was told that her large intestine looks healthy. She is now able to be up and about for ten hours without any trouble.
“In addition to my full-time job, which is also my hobby, I have enough energy to go to the cinema with my husband, eat great sushi with my friends, visit my dear mother and go travelling. The Peristeen Support programme is fantastic. They contact me on a regular basis to check how things are going and to see whether I need any help. The employees show genuine interest and really take the time to help me, which is great. I’m going back to Australia later this year for a family visit and the Peristeen Support staff are arranging my medical passport. I didn't even have to ask. And when I send them a question by e-mail, I get an immediate answer. And the newsletters I receive keep me up to date. So yes, I'm very pleased with their assistance!”
