Being diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease can be scary – it’s not a subject I had ever learnt about in science and it’s not an illness that has enough light shone on it elsewhere. To be told you have Crohn’s can feel like a different language and the questions that come alongside that revelation can feel never ending: What is it? What do I do? How will it affect me? Is there more I should know?
It has been a little while since I’ve posted on here, something that fills me with annoyance as this is the one space where I can truly reach out to people and express myself. But life can sometimes engulf you and spit you out in the other direction, which has left me feeling somewhat demotivated.
These last few weeks have brought a whole new issue to light to do with my illness but also to do with a lot of illnesses people suffer with. To be short, I am sick of being called ‘lazy’. That sentence is all fucked up – really, it should be: I appear ‘lazy’ to you because I am sick.
Tablets, meal-replacements, steroids – the list seems to be endless when you’re battling with Crohn’s Disease. Like many of you, for a long time I have been on a cocktail of pills and on and off different types of medication as the Hospital team try to work out what’s best for my body.
After a massive flare up in December that ended up with me being taken via ambulance to A&E, I was recommended to start Azathioprine – an immunosuppressive therapy that had previously been mentioned to me. As I was on my third course of steroids in 12 months, it was clear that simply taking Asacol was not a sustainable medication course for me. Continue reading
I feel like there is ofter a misconception that making an effort with your appearance makes you arrogant; that girls who wear more makeup are less insecure about how they look or that people who seem confident carry fewer issues in life. I’ve always been concerned with the way the world sees me – as a young girl, this was channelled through shyness and self-consciousness, slowly evolving into vanity and paranoia as I got older. Although anyone who’s crossed paths with me might argue that my confidence is unquestionable, I have always struggled to accept myself or be happy in the skin I am in. Continue reading
Since starting GUT INSTINCT, I’ve spoken to loads of amazing people who have shared with me similar experiences or stories and it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to learn and connect with so many people both in this country and across the world. Recently though, a conversation I had stood out to me as particularly important and something I felt compelled to share with you all – if there is a chance for me to help spread the word or raise awareness about an issue, especially something as serious as Pulmonary Embolisms links with IBD, then I will do it. Continue reading
My hair has always been my staple – it’s been my crowning glory, literally. Throughout my life I have always experimented with cuts, colours and styles, leading my 10 year obsession with hair and even at one stage influencing my desire to become a hair colourist. Yet now it has become my daily anxiety, something I am constantly paranoid and worried about – and yes, you guessed it, I can thank my good mate Crohn’s for that. Continue reading
The last 7 days have not been ideal. I have been the perfect cliché of an IBD sufferer; keeping up appearances and a social life, whilst also dealing with a multitude of health implications that have left me feeling less than amicable. Living in this way is a genuine struggle, but one that can often be put into perspective – yet tonight, I am finding myself being the epitome of ‘at breaking point’. Continue reading
“Are you sure you’re not just hungover?”
The beauty and also the curse of having an invisible illness (like Crohn’s Disease) is that it very often gets misunderstood. Where it still feels relatively unspoken about, the level of knowledge that surrounds it in daily life can be depressingly low, a result of which can be being the brunt of both hilarious and insensitive remarks. Continue reading
The constant link between Diet and IBD is unavoidable. Whilst I have been advised that there really is no evidence of direct correlation between what you eat and developing Crohn’s Disease, there are a lot of people who believe that an autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s can be aided by a change in the food you consume. Continue reading
