I get often get asked, “do I wonder about life without IBD?” and my answer? Sure I do! I think it’s somewhat natural to wonder about life, in general. The path taken versus the path not taken. Unfortunately, when it comes to chronic illness, there is no ‘path not taken’, we did not do this to ourselves. So while I do wonder about my life if I hadn’t had my…
2021 question
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“What does fatigue feel like?”
What exactly is fatigue? fatigue | noun 1. extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness. We all experience tiredness at times, which can be relieved by sleep and rest. Fatigue is when the tiredness is often overwhelming and isn’t relieved by sleep and rest. There are three types of fatigue: transient, cumulative, and circadian: Transient fatigue is acute fatigue brought on by extreme sleep restriction or extended hours awake…
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“Is it tough taking lots of medications?”
The one thing I really struggled to grasp was just how much medication I could end up taking for my IBD. It’s early morning on the ward and the formidable drugs trolley is making its rounds. When it gets to me, I’m surprised to get two small pots of medications. Inside is a plethora of tablets for me to take. All of which have a very individual job to do.…
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“What does surgery feel like?”
As many of you know, I’ve had a few surgeries over the years. In fact, it was almost one per year. And I didn’t particularly have a terrible time of suffering from my Crohns disease, but I had issues with healing and other subsequent problems cropping up. You can read about all my surgical journeys here. But I do get asked how surgery actually feels so often by family, friends…
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“Does your scar or stoma ever hurt?”
I remember sitting in my surgeon’s office back in 2016 as we discussed my first IBD surgery – a resection. I had a ton of questions, most of which focused on pain and the scar. Looking back, being worried about the scars seems so trivial but it was a big thing to me at that time; it would be the first time I’d ever have surgery and I was really…
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“What do cannulas feel like and how do you deal with problem veins?”
Tricky IV access. We’ve all be there at some time or another, right? Some people are great and “lucky”, and some people always struggle to get cannulated the first time, and the same can be said for blood tests too. I struggled to become confident enough to tell the phlebotomist that I was difficult to get blood from, despite my own efforts to “bring my good veins” with me. Initially,…
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IBD Questions to Ask On or After Diagnosis Day
There are so many different paths to an IBD diagnosis. Some people will find out through a length period of feeling unwell and under going several tests. Some people will find out after a few weeks of being severely unwell. Some will find out suddenly, through an emergency admission to hospital or requiring emergent surgery. IBD does not discriminate with who gets it. There is no rhyme or reason to…
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“What does a blockage feel like?”
So blockages. They are one of the big things stoma nurses and surgeons talk about before and immediately post-op to patients. Because you need a) a warning and b) they can be really tricky if your body doesn’t adapt to your new plumbing. There are two types of blockage: Partial – when a small amount of liquid can make it round the obstruction. Full – when nothing can pass around…
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“Does consuming alcohol affect IBD?”
Hands up, who likes a drink to help them unwind at the end of a trying day or week, or to celebrate milestone moments? Sometimes society can revolve around the pub (or at least it did, pre-pandemic) or going out for a cheeky drink or two. But what happens when you have a chronic illness that can manifest with chronic diarrhoea, medications which can affect your digestive system, as well…