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Not all diseases or illnesses are obvious. There are so many people who
suffer, chronically, without anyone
ever knowing. Just by looking at me,
you wouldn’t even know, but I am one
of those people.
I have had stomach issues for most
of my life. As a teenager, I would be
out with friends for lunch or dinner and
urgently need to use the restroom after eating. I was embarrassed about it,
often trying to downplay it by saying
my parents needed me home. At first
I found ways to cope, like taking lactose pills or watching what I ate, but it
didn’t always solve the painful cramps
or urgency for a bathroom. When I got
to university, I found my symptoms escalated, especially when stress was
high. Things would get so bad that I
wouldn’t eat for most of the day before
an evening exam, and would take Imodium like it was my savior.
After months of this, I finally made it in
to see a Gastroenterologist, a doctor
that specializes in intestinal and liver
diseases. We scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy, a procedure in
which they pass a tiny camera through
your intestines and down your esophagus (separately, of course), to determine what the cause of your issue may
be.
At the age of 19, I was diagnosed with
Crohn’s Disease, a form of Irritable
Bowel Disease (IBD). Crohn’s Disease
is the inflammation of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract including intestines,
colon, and bowels. Mine specifically
affects one section of my large intestine moderately, but the disease does
I have a completely new
awareness of my body
that I didn’t before. I am
much more in tune with
how I am feeling, knowing
when I need to stay