The Past 6 Months

Hello! I haven’t written anything for such a long time! To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve had the energy to do much; I’ve spent the last six months working and sleeping… and not really having the energy or enthusiasm to do much else.

Around the beginning of January, I was having a really stressful period of time attending university interviews. Luckily, I was successful in my interviews and begin to train to teach Secondary level English in September! However, my stomach had started acting up. At first, I blamed a bug I’d picked up at work; I work as a teaching assistant in a Year 5 class – I love my job, but I catch everything going!

A month later, however, and I still had stomach ache and the diarrhoea (if we’re talking bowel disease, I can’t not use the ‘D’ word!) had gotten worse. At this point, I was taking my practical skills tests and I’d gotten myself so stressed out for the numeracy one that I had convinced myself the reason my stomach was so bad was because of the stress. I remember on the day of the test, I had to get my dad to drive me into Sheffield city centre because there was no way I’d have made the bus journey – we had to stop at a petrol station for an emergency movement and it’s only a 15-minute journey by car! Once I got to town it was another mad dash to the closest café to use their toilet too – we bought coffee to seem polite. How I didn’t have an accident in the test centre I have no idea. The stress and worry was all for nothing; the test wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and I managed to pass first time. But the diarrhoea didn’t stop. In fact, it got worse.

At the end of February, I had a trip to Glasgow to visit my boyfriend, Sam. I’d booked the coach before my illness had started and never even thought about the long journey. Before I left, I made sure I had a doctor’s appointment with the GP for when I got home and I was well-stocked up on Imodium for the journey. After the first seven hours on the coach, my stomach had started cramping. I’d not actually taken any of the Imodium so I was really surprised I lasted so long. Once we got to Edinburgh, we had to change coaches because of roadworks, meaning that it took an extra hour. The coach between Edinburgh and Glasgow did not have a toilet on board and the anxiety made my stomach ache worse. I was so happy that Sam was late to meet me because it meant I could run straight to the loo from the coach! I made it!

Unfortunately, the rest of the trip wasn’t as successful. One night, we were watching a Stephen Fry documentary on Netflix when the urge struck. Sam’s flatmate had been in the shower for a while, something like an hour, and the panic was definitely making the urge worse. After ten minutes of pacing, Sam asked his flatmate if she could finish up in the shower so I could use the toilet (he’d already told his flatmates that I was ill, though I’m not sure they knew the context of my illness). To my utter embarrassment, I didn’t make it. I’d had my first accident, and in front of my boyfriend no less! In true Jess-style, I overreacted and cried and got in a foul mood. Poor old Sam was left to clean my pyjama bottoms and send me off the shower (what I’d do without him, I have no idea). He used the excuse that he’d spilled ice tea on me and that’s why he was washing my pyjamas.

The journey home was not great. I definitely needed the Imodium. A further hour was added onto the coach journey as it broke down about 10 minutes away from Meadowhall (my stop) and we had to wait for another one to turn up. Once I got home, the stomach ache was crippling – it hurt to stand, lay, sit. I just wanted to sleep. But, at least I was closer to my first appointment with the GP – a step closer to diagnosis.

Before my ulcerative colitis, the only reason I ever went to the doctors was to get my contraceptive pill. This normally consists of a quick chat once a year, getting weighed, blood pressure taken, and then I’m given my prescription. This was slightly different – I’d not yet gotten used to talking about my bowel movements with anyone (oh, those were the days!). The doctor made me feel really comfortable and I told her everything I was experiencing (about 20 movements a day at this point, and the pain was making me vomit too). She told me it was probably Irritable Bowel Syndrome and that I should begin a low FODMAP diet to see if that helps. I also gave a stool sample and went in for a blood test a few weeks later.

My blood tests showed signs of bowel disease and coeliac disease and I was referred to a consultant at the hospital for further tests. I waited five weeks for an appointment with the consultant – which consisted of her asking further questions about my symptoms (I was still having very painful and frequent bowel movements, and if I ate after a certain time in the afternoon I couldn’t keep it down, I had also lost a stone and a half) and she booked me in for a combined upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. Fun.

Around mid-May, I began the prep for my endoscopies. I had to drink 4 litres of Klean-Prep. For those of you lucky enough to have never tasted Klean-Prep, it is awful. In the little information booklet, they suggest you mix it with lime cordial to make it more palatable – I do not recommend lime; it does not go well with the sickly vanilla flavouring they add to the sachets. I was really worried because I couldn’t keep the first litre down. I switched to orange cordial for the next 3 litres and managed to drink the lot. Luckily, the three litres I kept down were enough to empty me completely, and I slept like a baby for the first night since 2016. In fact, I’ve not had a better night’s sleep since!

I’d heard from a few people that colonoscopies aren’t so bad, that the sedative you’re given chills you out so much you don’t really care where they’re shoving the tubes. I wasn’t overly worried, until I was given the mouth guard for some reason. I opted for sedative and throat spray for the upper endoscopy. The throat spray wasn’t too bad, it just tastes like a strong banana liqueur, and needles don’t bother me so having a cannula for the sedative was fine too. However, I have a really sensitive gag reflex – even brushing my teeth makes me gag! As soon as the tube went down my throat I threw up (despite my stomach being empty) all over the nurse. I felt so bad! That test didn’t seem to take very long and before I knew it, it was over. Then they turned me round for the colonoscopy. This wasn’t too bad at first, but when the tube was being forced round the bends of my colon the pain was pretty bad. I must have looked in agony, as I was given gas and air and then given extra pain killers (fentanyl) through my cannula. “If you look at the screen, you’ll see that you’re severely inflamed” my consultant told me – I didn’t need to look at the screen, I could feel it! This test seemed to last a lot longer than the first one, and I vaguely remember having a conversation about where I was going to go on holiday with the nurse that I hadn’t thrown up on. I was so happy when it was over.

I was given a prescription for prednisolone that night. I started on 40mg a day for two weeks, and was told to taper down 5mg p/week after that. After the first week, I’d already noticed a difference. I was going to the toilet slightly less, and during the day I almost felt normal. I had also stopped vomiting. However, I’m currently down to 20mg and I’m still experiencing symptoms at night – something I’ll be discussing with the IBD nurse next week.

After a couple of weeks, I received a letter from my consultant with the results of the biopsies taken during the endoscopy. My upper endoscopy confirmed coeliac disease and the lower endoscopy confirmed ulcerative colitis. I began my gluten free diet a couple of weeks ago and I’m still trying to avoid certain foods that are difficult to digest because of the colitis. It’s changed my life completely, and I still have no idea if or when I’ll start to feel like my normal self.