Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week
From the 1st-7th December, it’s Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week. In February 2014 I was diagnosed with a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease called Ulcerative Colitis.
There are a few posts I’ve written about my journey with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but to summarise…
Personal Update
Over the past three and a half years, I have had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve tried different oral medications. Had to go in for 3 colonoscopies. And now, moved on to “biologic” medication. Which I administer through an epi-pen.
I’m currently flaring and have been since February. They believe I now also suffer from proximal constipation. I do have an update coming early next year once I have more answers but this illness has completely changed my life.
I’ve developed really bad anxiety and depression. I’ve unfortunately lost jobs, lost friends, genuinely feel a lot of guilt day in and day out. This disease has not only affected my life but of those around me.
Raising Awareness
With this post, I wanted to share some articles from Metro. Just to note, this isn’t sponsored by them. There are those with IBD who have written some amazing articles.
- 10 Pieces Of Advice For A Newly Diagnosed IBD Patient
- 10 Thoughts Everybody Has When They’re Diagnosed With IBD
- 10 Healthy Issues Linked With IBD That Would Probably Didn’t Know About
- 8 Things Nobody Tells You About IBD
- Here’s What It’s Like To Live With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- 13 Horrible Truths Of Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- 12 Fears Every Person Who Suffers With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Frequently Have
- Men With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Answer Questions On What It’s Like To Have A Stoma Bag
- To All People Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease, You Are Not A Burden
- 9 Ways IBD Ruins Your Social Life
- Please Stop Telling IBD Sufferers That You Can Cure Their Disease Naturally
- How To Support A Friend Who Lives With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
With all this information, shockingly, more city centres are closing public bathrooms. More cafes and restaurants are not letting you use theirs without purchase and disability toilets are not only dwindling in numbers, but they are not as equipped for various disabilities.
How can people get around to not only socialise but shop with this current toilet situation? There are some places or parts of my local town I cannot go to as there are no public bathrooms close by.
I hope that you read some of the articles and maybe understand the illness a little more. It’s classed as a chronic illness or invisible illness. Because it’s lifelong and you cannot see anything physically. Yes, you can drastically lose weight but most days I can dress nicely and physically seem fine. Even when in excruciating pain on the inside.
It can be because of someone’s physical appearance you find others don’t take the illness seriously.
As always, thanks for reading…