It's World IBD day tomorow
May is IBD awareness month, tomorrow is World IBD day.....which got me thinking about the past 15 months.
Up until February last year I had little idea about IBD and I had no idea what colitis was... I knew loads about ibs, but that was where my knowledge stopped. Soon after my daughter was born my doctor had diagnosed my symptoms as irritable bowel syndrome. I was on fybogel and various pills during flare ups. Fine.... Generally life was ok. I could manage the flare ups most of the time.... but when it got bad I struggled....as did my husband and my little girl.
Most mornings I would spend on the toilet, maybe going 8 - 12 times before leaving for work. Sometimes I would have to leave the classroom and hope I made it to the nearest loo in time. If my little girl woke in the night I would have to get her up, take her to the toilet, QUICKLY, then sort her out! One of the worst experiences was our first ever camping holiday. Even though our tent was only 100m from the toilet block it was invariably too far, especially in the middle of the night, having had to throw clothes on first! Brought a whole new meaning to walking as if I'd shat myself!
Every few months I'd go bak to the doctor who would tweak the meds, but that was about it. I got scared by those ads on the radio about bowel cancer, so told the doc about the blood. She didn't seem worried.... It was haemerroids! Allegedly! My little girl was growing up well acquainted with loos. I had forgotten what normal bowel movement was, but life went on.
Christmas 2011 I was fairly healthy, I was training for a 5 Mile run round the Olympic Park on March 31 2012. We went on our new year holiday to Benidorm and it was good. I ate well avoided too much cream, took the meds and was in pretty good shape. However almost as soon as we got back I got another flare up. As it got worse I went back to the doctor and reluctantly she gave me a referral to a gastroenterologist. With that in the pipeline I carried on training, teaching and being a wife and mum, and being very well acquainted with toilets. As a family we stopped going out much, even to town because of the toilet concerns! Then I got really sick....
It started as February half term started. I felt ill all day, I put it down to the bugs that were going round and thought with a few days rest I'd be fine...... I was ill all holiday. Quite a challenge with. 3 year old! We managed a few activities, but had to rely on people coming to us. I was barely eating, but still going to the loo up to 20 times a day! I didn't go back to work after that holiday.... I was in bed with severe stomach cramps, throwing up any food. Every time I contacted the doctors I was put on a we concoction of drugs! Eventually enough was enough and I asked my husband to take me to hospital where I stayed for the next 10 nights.
Fortunately, because of my bowels I had a private room and toilet / shower room.... Not that I ever made it that far. I became very well acquainted with the commode that was positioned one pace from my bed!
I have never donated so much blood to research! Nor stools samples, in fact they analysed everything. It all came back negative, which I guess was good. I think the original IBD diagnosis confused them. Eventually they gave a general IBD diagnosis and sent me off for an endoscopy! Most unpleasant, but they looked for the shortest possible time to see the inflammation of ulcerative colitis.
On to the steroids I went.....
That Friday was possibly the worst day I have ever had. The consultant did her afternoon visit, poked and prodded and left. The next thing I know a surgeon walks in.... What are you doing here? Did they not tell you? We might have to take your colon out!
Clealy that was not a piece of information the consultant felt I needed to know and needless to say I went into meltdown! Surgeons are not great at dealing with displays of emotion so he left and sent a stoma nurse to come and see me.
Finally after 4 days I had some one who took the time to explain uc, the op and everything else to me and my husband over the phone! It started to make sense, not necessarily less frightening, but....
Well I had a
Christmas 2011 I was fairly healthy, I was training for a 5 Mile run round the Olympic Park on March 31 2012. We went on our new year holiday to Benidorm and it was good. I ate well avoided too much cream, took the meds and was in pretty good shape. However almost as soon as we got back I got another flare up. As it got worse I went back to the doctor and reluctantly she gave me a referral to a gastroenterologist. With that in the pipeline I carried on training, teaching and being a wife and mum, and being very well acquainted with toilets. As a family we stopped going out much, even to town because of the toilet concerns! Then I got really sick....
It started as February half term started. I felt ill all day, I put it down to the bugs that were going round and thought with a few days rest I'd be fine...... I was ill all holiday. Quite a challenge with. 3 year old! We managed a few activities, but had to rely on people coming to us. I was barely eating, but still going to the loo up to 20 times a day! I didn't go back to work after that holiday.... I was in bed with severe stomach cramps, throwing up any food. Every time I contacted the doctors I was put on a we concoction of drugs! Eventually enough was enough and I asked my husband to take me to hospital where I stayed for the next 10 nights.
Fortunately, because of my bowels I had a private room and toilet / shower room.... Not that I ever made it that far. I became very well acquainted with the commode that was positioned one pace from my bed!
I have never donated so much blood to research! Nor stools samples, in fact they analysed everything. It all came back negative, which I guess was good. I think the original IBD diagnosis confused them. Eventually they gave a general IBD diagnosis and sent me off for an endoscopy! Most unpleasant, but they looked for the shortest possible time to see the inflammation of ulcerative colitis.
On to the steroids I went.....
That Friday was possibly the worst day I have ever had. The consultant did her afternoon visit, poked and prodded and left. The next thing I know a surgeon walks in.... What are you doing here? Did they not tell you? We might have to take your colon out!
Clealy that was not a piece of information the consultant felt I needed to know and needless to say I went into meltdown! Surgeons are not great at dealing with displays of emotion so he left and sent a stoma nurse to come and see me.
Finally after 4 days I had some one who took the time to explain uc, the op and everything else to me and my husband over the phone! It started to make sense, not necessarily less frightening, but....
Well I had a
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