A casual Twitter conversation launched me right into this; right back to the moment when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease: How much from the day I was diagnosed with IBD do I remember? I remember the fear. The unknown factor. I remember the hospital trolley I lay on whilst I wanted for my scope. I remember the pain I was in, the unbearable agony my stomach was giving me;…
crohns disease
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Doing Long Distance
A couple of weeks ago, I started a new job. And not just any job; one I was so damn excited to get and actually start. But it meant moving away from home. That was a messy feeling in my head for weeks, which included moving all my patient care for my IBD and stoma as well as packing and getting my head around being away from home. I haven’t…
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Being Medication Free: It’s Effects on My Body
Disclaimer: This information is based on my own personal experience since being able to come off my Crohn’s medications. This is always done with authorisation of my consultant and my medical team, following a prepared plan of action. If you seek advice regarding the medications best suited to your condition or indeed any discussion about changing medications or removing them, please contact your IBD team for medical advice. Let me…
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Happy Surgery-iversary…?
May 12th. It is forever etched into my brain. We’d been able to control, for the most part, my disease with medications and ‘diet’ for the five years prior to that. But, somewhat inevitably, it came down to needing a clinical trial or surgery. I opted for surgery but debated the toss for weeks after choosing. I was going to need testing to predict the type of operation I would…
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That First Week or So…
Feeling all those emotions Most of them good; still some of them are ‘bad’. I started at my new job last week. I have six weeks of training to complete until I am a fully fledge member of the team but already I really enjoy what I am learning and am eager to put it into practice. It has been 15 months since I last worked or was employed. Employment…
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Grateful for my Struggle
“In order for me to get here, I had to go there.” I’ve never really sat down and thought about what having a chronic illness actually means. It means a great deal of things to different people, so there is no one true answer to what having IBD actually is like. The wide spectrum of symptoms, side effects and general wellbeing leads us down very individual paths. My path…
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Life Lately | The Big Move
The heat is on, so to speak. It is a week until I move. One week, a whole seven days and packing is hitting me like a brick. When did I accumulate so much stuff? It is giving me all the anxiety and stress I was hoping to avoid by being proactive these last couple weeks. But delays in finding a place to rent meant I had one week less…
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Advice: How to Solve Peristomal Skin Issues
Disclaimer: This information is based on my own personal experience since my ostomy surgery in August 2016 and is not intended to replace medical advice from a trained professional. If you are requiring advice regarding your own stoma, routines which might benefit you most, or products that suit your needs best, please contact your stoma care nurse for further assistance. 1. Change of stoma size This is important to note in…
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The Last Year of My 20’s
It’s here. The final year of me being in my twenties. The last couple years, I’ve hardly noticed the age I am. Mostly because my age hasn’t really been on my mind or if it has it because people don’t quite believe my actual age when I tell them. Being sick since I was 22 meant that my birthdays weren’t really celebrated like the used to be. I didn’t go…