My Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis

I usually ramble on in my blogs so I have set myself a challenge – 200 words max per blog for Crohn’s and Colitis awareness week! 

Over 300,000 people have been diagnosed with Crohn’s or Colitis within the UK alone!

Some people have a really long and hard journey before they are even diagnosed and for some, it’s one major flare leading to being diagnosed straight away. It can be a relief to actually have a name for what you’re suffering with – and then comes the treatment!

I got sick fast and after just two weeks at home in bed doing nothing but sleep and crap blood and mucous, whilst being treated for IBS, I was admitted to the hospital.

I was whisked for a colonoscopy straight away and diagnosed with Colitis on the spot, in September 2007. After a week in the hospital and no improvement from the intravenous meds, I was taken for surgery to have my colon removed and an ileostomy formed.

I feel lucky in the sense that I was diagnosed so quickly because I have heard many stories of years of pain, wrong medication and false diagnosis’. I didn’t have to spend years feeling like I was not being listened to or like I was making things up like many others have. I do feel I have since made up for this though!