My diagnosis has changed my life so much. I started college
and had to leave after three months because I had been off
so much with not being able to get out of bed some days.
The one thing I could eat however I felt was arrowroot biscuits.
They are just like rich tea but lighter on your stomach.
There are so many great support systems and I could
probably talk forever about how amazing they all are, but the
best four support systems I have found are one: my family
who have been there every step of the way from when all my
first tests started to the abdominal pains to my operation.
However upset or annoying I may have been, they have always
been there and been great support the whole way. Two: my
IBD nurses and dieticians at the Royal Liverpool hospital.
They work so hard to try and get you better and are always
thinking of you even if you have not phoned and talked to them
for awhile. Number three would have to be Crohn’s and Colitis
UK. They are amazing with all the information they send you
when you first sign up to be a member. They send you all things
from medication and diet to newsletters about fundraising and
latest medical ideas. Also, my local group Crohn’s and Colitis
UK Mersey group are brilliant with their newsletters and gave me
the opportunity to be in their organisation team, so I now get to
be a part of raising awareness for this amazing charity. Lastly
has to be my IBD family, or all my brilliant friends on twitter.
They are always there to help you
through good days and bad days
and it’s someone else who you
can talk to who knows exactly
what you are going through.
After I was diagnosed, I was
put on steroids and antibiotics,
and just 3 weeks after my diagnosis, I was taken into the
hospital with a blockage and therefore put onto a liquid
diet for three weeks. After the steroids and antibiotics
finished, I was put on azathioprine and infliximab. I was
on these for 6 months and because they never worked,
my last option was an operation. I had to get myself to
an alright weight so the operation had a better chance of
being successful. I was given a feeding tube. I had the
feeding tube for 12 weeks, and I wasn’t allowed to eat
while I had my tube.
The medications I have been on are: steroids, antibiotics, calcium tablets, azathioprine
and infliximab. The liquid supplements I have been on are: ensure, fortisip, modulen (to
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