Ulcerative colitis is nothing to joke about, I know I was that soldier.
In 1996 around the August time I started a journey that was to continue until around 2002, well not so much a journey, rather a nightmare, you see I was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis, a swelling of the walls in the large bowel brought on by a cause unknown to me and specialists alike, and believe me it was painful.
Whilst I will explain signs and symptoms, bye no means do I want to offend or seem gross in my description of this dreadful disorder so if you are easily offended, then "look away now".
It all started one day at work, I remember wanting a toilet visit and the heavy pain in my tummy suggested I would be there a while, well the pain got worse and my tummy sounded like a washing machine, the pain would build up and build up then gurgle gurgle and a flutter would shoot up the left hand side of my tummy only for the process to start all over again, the next time being even more painfull than the last.
The toilet visit ended with relief and me feeling sore and what felt like a high temperature, that must have been the pain, pain can be tolerated up to a point before you start to feel dizzy and sick, hence why I felt the way I did.
A few days had passed before my next chapter, as they always did, I was never regular, sometimes a week would go by and nothing, but at the time it seemed the norm. This time it was a bowling ball, no something bigger, as so it seemed, but on pushing and straining out came what could only be described as marbles, no maybe a little smaller, this is the effect of the inner walls of the intestine inflaming reducing the channel and making what is small seem rather large, not that I knew this at the time but would eventually find out.
Yes, the ailment, disease, condition was evolving, one time loose and the next little balls and hard, it was never a consistent result on the loo.
OK, it had started, but that was the "tip of the iceberg" the worst was yet to come. Blood in the stool was frightening, all sorts of things enter your mind but the logical thing was to be checked out and this was to happen a few days after my honeymoon, yes that's right, I was getting married and had my appointment just after getting home.
My consultation was to be something I would never forget in a lifetime, OK, the consultant confirmed colitis, and explained a few thing, also the next process, the endoscopy, camera up the "you know what" to me and you, but the mystery still surrounded this condition and left me thinking, "what's really wrong here?" and "whats colitis" so taking into consideration I was confused, the specialist, as I was walking out the door and a few steps into the waiting area where there are lots of "people", people who knew as much as I, decided to shout down the corridor, "nurse could you give Robert a leaflet about coping with Colitis", talk about patient confidentiality!
Letting all and sundry know what was wrong with me was not a great problem, the problem was, it was in my home town and soon everyone who knew me could know, but did they know what it was? and did they think it was contagious? oh my god what will everyone be saying?, and so at this point, while I'm feeling sorry for myself, I have to deal with paranoia, and to boot, my legs turned to jelly, I was always a little nervous and with me feeling like a million people are looking at me, well the walls were closing in fast and I needed to be out of here pronto!
My name is Robert and I suffered chronic ulcerative colitis for around five years, for around ten years I have been in remission, I would like to say cured but cannot, it become part of my life and will always be there, but don't forget, never take good health for granted and if you are suffering from Ulcerative colitis, my story, with the grace of god, will be yours.
Next time we meet, "plan your journey."
This article can also be followed at http://www.neckandbackhelp.com
No comments:
Post a Comment