04/12/2025
IBD awareness week...
You may or may not know I was given a diagnosis of 'severe Crohn's colitis ' in March 2017.
IBD is the umbrella term for Crohn's disease & ulcerative colitis. It's a s**t disease (pun intended π).
It's not just inflammation of the bowel, ulcers in the bowel, constipation and/or diarrhoea...
They are whole body diseases. Your body is an ecosystem. Everything gets impacted from energy, mood, nervous system, hormonal system, circulatory system... No system works alone.
I have experienced inflammation in my eyes, skin, joints, fascia. Chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression. Abscesses in my re**um, on my skin. Oh and let's not forget the fistula. And they all came at the one time, along with the diarrhoea, abdominal pain and severe weight loss.
I know of people who have died from this condition. I have friends who have nearly died. While those of us living with the condition have a dark sense of humour around it, at times it's no joke.
Thankfully I have found a community through the McEwan foundation, a Scottish charity. supporting those of us living with IBD.
I am passionate about supporting people with lifestyle Medicine to look after their health. To take control of the parts of their health they can control. To understand the responsibility and power they have in looking after their own health.
The health service and medications will only take you so far.
If you are living with IBD I am here for you. If you have a change in your health, your bowel movements have changed, there is blood in your stool, don't suffer or hope it will be ok. Demand tests be done, a colprotectin test is inexpensive.