Inflammatory Bowel Disease

I suffer from IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD is often confused with the problematic but less severe IBS Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome. IBD in my case it is Ulcerative Colitis which affects the colon or large intestine and bowel. Other IBDs include Crohn’s Disease however there are other less common forms of IBD.

The symptoms of Ulcerative colitis I have experienced are:

• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Blood and pus in the stools
• Abnormally frequent bowel movements very often diarrhoea
• Rectal pain
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Mouth sores (ulcers)
• Nausea and severe fatigue

I was first diagnosed in October 2005 and spent a time in hospital early 2006 getting it under control. It has been kept at bay since then by immune system suppressants and other medication. Just after the new year 2012 I had a massive flareup of the colitis and had to spend some time in hospital again being treated with very large doses of intravenous steroids to bring it under control. This time it was slightly different in that it is affecting my lower bowel and is less extensive but more acute with some diverticula disease present in my lower bowel. The worse part of this disease is the treatment of immune system suppressants which leave your body open to infection. I have 5 times managed to contract a very nasty virus infection that causes immense head ache and vomiting for 36 hrs since being discharged from hospital in the middle of February that is pretty much once per week and is not pleasant.

The reason for this blog post is that when people ask me about my IBD I can point them here to see it in black and white or glorious colour if you look at the pretty (gross) pictures.