Living with Ulcerlative Colitis

My Name is Stephanie- I love sharing my story about living with an illness.


Lets start with what UC (Ulcerlative colitis) is. It falls under two umbrella's, under IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome), and also under autoimmune diseases. Essentially what occurs with this condition is that my own immune system is on overdrive, attacking my healthy cells specifically just in my colon. This causes inflammation in my colon, which leads to ulcers, rapid weight loss, Anemia or blood loss, dehydration, malnutrition, and a whole lot of pain. Let's also add in that the toilet becomes my best friend during really bad flare ups.

I was first diagnosed when I was 14. I do not remember feeling any symptoms leading up to it. I just remember this feeling of intense pain in my abdomen while sitting in my grade 9 Math class. I probably spent 1/3 of the class in washroom, and during lunch break calling my Mom in tears because of how bad my stomach hurt. What we thought was maybe a stomach flu, turned out to be UC. I missed a whole month of school waiting for a diagnosis. The GI team at Vancouver Childrens Hospital did such an amazing job.

The next flare up back on Canadian Thanksgiving in 2013 was probably the worst. I was in my early 20's and threw parties, went to bars. You know typical early 20 year old things. Leading up to Thanksgiving, I knew something was wrong. I kept telling myself that my symptoms would disappear on its own ( I had stopped taking my oral medication for almost a year because I didn't want to rely on them.) Fast forward I dropped from 118 lbs down to 99 lbs in a span of 3 weeks before Thanksgiving night. On Thanksgiving evening was driven to the ER by my parents because I was afraid to eat since it would just go right through me and I was really tired of spending majority of my day & night in and out of the washroom. I spent 3 weeks in the hospital, being poked with needles, fed and pumped with different drugs I never heard of, eating gross hospital food, and waking up to annoying hospital alarms. Broke down when the GI specialist/ surgeon were discussing I might need surgery depending on how bad my condition had progressed ( I panicked because they said if I did have the surgery, I would most likely not be able to have children in the future.) In the end I did get better because of a last resort medication that worked, and responded well with my body. Do I ever want to live through those 3 weeks again? HECK NO.

There currently is no known cause for the disease, nor is there an actual cure. I have survived this long because of modern day medicine. I have to sit with an IV in my arm for a couple hours where they pump a drug called INFLECTRA into me every 4 weeks. What this drug does is supress my very own immune system so it stops attacking my body. However, this makes it easier for me to get sick in other ways either by common cold, infections, even increases my chances of developing Cancer. Thankfully with my choices on a healthy diet or healthy-ish diet (I rarely drink alchol, and choose more dairy alternatives/ plant based options) it has helped me manage my symptoms and definitely prevented my from catching the common flu/ cold. I still enjoy the many things life has to offer, such as cooking, travel, snowboarding, starting a business with my closest friends ect. I will not let my illness define who I am and I refuse to use it as an excuse to not accomplish everything that I want to.

When I do increase my income, I do have a goal to donate money to fund research on the cure for the condition. I want to be around when there is an actual cure discovered. At the end of they day, I am passionate about spreading the message of wanting people to understand... just because a person you meet or know seems completely normal, you never know if they suffer from a physical or mental illness. Be kind to those around you, because your kindness can make their day, or possibly save their life! Also to be grateful for your current state of health. If you're able to eat the foods that you love, breath with no trouble, think with clarity, touch, feel and walk with freedom, you are truly blessed.