10 choses que vous devez savoir sur la colite ulcéreuse
10 things you need to know about ulcerative colitis
1. I suffer from the chronic illness, which means I have this for life. I was diagnosed over the 2017 Christmas holiday and unfortunately spent New Years in hospital recovering.
2. Its an inflammatory condition of the large colon (the last bit of your digestive system before you poop). It is put under the category of ‘autoimmune’ because the cells in my body attack themselves (in the colon). Ulcers then form on the lining of the colon preventing the lovely organ from being able to do its job.
3. No one knows why it does this and currently there is no actual cure — apart from surgery to remove it. But I’m hoping to never have to come to that.
4. It is not pleasant. The month leading up to getting diagnosed I was on and off the toilet CONSTANTLY. I’m talking blood, mucus and diarrhea. It’s uncontrollable to the point that you will shit yourself without any warning. The cramps can be debilitating, I can’t hold a conversation, I’d sit there with my face scrunched up waiting for it to past. Not nice at all.
5. The disease is in one of two states; you’re either flaring or in remission. Quite straight forward. When flaring you are likely to loose a lot of weight, usually due to lack of appetite but also your body does not absorb the same amount of nutrients because of the ulcers.
6. The first line of treatment is steroids. These make you face puffy, gives you insomnia, makes you shakey, the side effects are endless. But they work by suppressing your immune system so you cells don’t attack your colon.
7. This treatment worked for me until I started to lower my dose to try and get me off them. My symptoms included shitting myself, diarrhea and blood, blood, blood.
8. It’s an embarrassing disease. I think I held my head high with it because of my student Nurse background, I’m open, I see poo all day every day so I’ve been able to see the funny side of it. But I can appreciate how for someone not used to bodily fluids being discussed openly, this can be a shock to the system. Shitting yourself in public with no warning is a hard one too.
9. I am now currently having IV infusions every few weeks, which is the second line of treatment. Its called infliximab. It has worked so far however the biggest side effect is my lowered immune system, I have begun to feel a cold coming on. The room is also spinning as I type this.
10. Lastly, I take pictures of my poops everyday. The doctors love it because they can track my progress. Who would’ve thought Amelia and a poo diary.
