Ulcerative
Colitis, exercise and nutrition – a personal battle
This blog is something that is very close to my heart. I have suffered from Ulcerative Colitis since
2006, it is
I am writing this blog to attempt to reach out to fellow
sufferers of IBD and to explain that a healthy, fit lifestyle can be maintained
and you can also train probably harder than you thought. When I was first diagnosed with colitis I
found talking about it difficult and I was embarrassed but now I want to help
people so I will explain how exercise makes me feel, what types of training I
do and how I had to adjust my diet to suit my condition. I have also found a copy of a sport and
fitness survey done by Crohn’s and Colitis UK which gave me an insight into how
other people with IBD cope with sport and exercise. IBD does not stop sportsmen and women, there
are a few Olympians, sporting champions and sporting greats that suffer from
IBD and have went on to some success in their sporting career managing their
conditions well.
- Sir Steve Redgrave – 5 time Olympic gold medal winning rower
- Darren Fletcher – Manchester United and Scotland footballer
- Lewis Moody – former England rugby team captain
- Russell Martin – Scottish international and Norwich City footballer
- Henry Tosh - World champion power lifter
- Ali Jawad – Para-Olympic weight lifter
- Rick Parfitt Junior – Racing car driver
Three members of my family have suffered/suffer from
ulcerative colitis however they say that it is not a genetic disorder. As I said, I was diagnosed in 2006 and had a
very rough two years with the condition in the beginning to the point I could
not even gain the strength to change my clothes at 26 - my mum basically had to
look after me. I lost a lot of weight,
became very weak, ill and lost a lot of confidence.
My IBD has seen me hospitalised 2 times since
diagnosis and I am on tablets for the rest of my life. However in May 2013 I have been in remission
for two years so I think I am now in a ‘good’ relationship with my
condition. When I was first diagnosed
with colitis I was unsure whether I could train to the same level I had done
before or what to eat to keep my condition under control I wasn’t really given
a lot of information on the subject and over the last 7 years it has been a
hell of a lot of trial and error.
So this is my attempt to reach people who suffer from IBD
who are unsure of exercise and what to do.
If you don’t suffer from IBD but know of someone who does I would be
very grateful if you could forward this or share this as I would like to help
anyone I can.
The survey which I read showed that it can be life limiting
for people who were previously fit and active who are suddenly faced with this
serious condition be it Crohn’s or Colitis which may require surgery and a huge
reduction in their fitness levels. They
concluded that being placed under external constraints such as lack of toilet
facilities further reduces overall well being and forces them to give up
preferred sports and fitness activities, however I have not found this to be
the case.
I completely understand that
everyone’s condition is different but I still take part in outdoor activities
like 10k’s, half marathons and I embarking on triathlon training so most of my
events are outside. Now I have done half
marathons before where you will find me in the queue for the toilet before
during and after the run so sometimes getting a PB with IBD does not happen
because your time increases waiting on the toilet. But I want to reassure anyone who wants to
take part in outside activities and sports that it can be done and your
condition should not put you off.
As I mentioned I am about to embark on training for
triathlons with the ultimate goal to finish an ironman in 2-3 years. Now I will never say that my condition
prevents me from taking part in events or training, however I feel the side
effects can hinder me slightly. Severe
fatigue, achy joints, the need for the loo and anaemia are probably the most
frequent side effects. I mostly train in
a gym so I can be near a toilet when I need and I try to not think of needing
the loo, if I am fatigued then I will try and rest more in my training, the
achy joints well at the moment I still have no ‘cure’ for that unfortunately
and I take spa tone for my iron levels as I cannot tolerate iron tablet plus I
eat a lot of iron rich foods. However I
still aim to train 4-6 days a week on a good week and some of that is in the
gym, the pool or outside running or cycling.
I cannot stress enough that IBD
should not affect your fitness and exercise in your life, you just have to see
what works for you and how your body adapts to it. I would recommend keeping a diary about your
condition, what you eat and drink, exercise and how you are feeling. Try and keep that for a few months, write in
it every day and you will get an understanding of what works for your body and
condition.
Another reason not to give up on exercise and fitness is it
makes you healthy. I feel if I train my
symptoms are great, I have never had a flare up when I am exercising and when I
am feeling fit it is usually when I am feeling unwell or stressed. But I will point out that over training,
injury and too much training are stressors for me and they will bring on
feeling unwell which may lead to flare ups.
I also eat better when I exercise right and this helps control my condition. I feel strong and fit and I also have more
energy so overall exercise really helps my colitis.
In the survey they asked whether people who have IBD
currently took part in activity and the majority (66%) agreed that they did but
a third stated that they did not. The
people who said they did exercise where then asked how often they managed to
exercise, their answers are below:
- Daily = 32%
- Weekly = 57%
- Monthly = 5%
- Less Often = 4%
- Hardly Ever/Never = 1%
- No Answer = 1%
So as you can see IBD sufferers do manage to do some form of
activity and mostly weekly or daily.
Also the survey asked what type of exercise they take part
in, the answers are below:
- Walking = 16%
- Jogging/Running = 15%
- Gym = 13%
- Swimming = 12%
- Cycling = 9%
- Zumba = 6%
- Yoga = 5%
Some of the above exercises can be outside so exercise does
not always have to be near a toilet for you to take part. Some IBD sufferers I know regularly run and
go to the gym and walk dogs. So you
don’t have to train as daft as me with weights, swimming, cycling and running
you can go for a walk, play golf etc. but what I would recommend is, if you
were well enough bring exercise into your life and your IBD symptoms will
probably be more controlled.
When the participants of the survey where asked how IBD has
affected their fitness 50% stated that their fitness levels had been greatly
affected by IBD and 38% said that IBD had affected their fitness levels very
little. On a positive not 12% stated
that IBD had not affected their fitness.
I feel that it is very individual with your condition and your exercise
so again I would say try it out and see if it works for you. The benefits of exercise are too good to miss
out on with fear of triggering a flare up.
On a very positive side to this a resounding 72% of the survey stated
that exercise makes them feel better but 23% said that exercise can make them
feel worse and 7% gave no answer.
When asked why does exercise make you feel better the
participants of the survey answered as follows: 46% said that sport and fitness
activities made them feel better about themselves and improved their general
well being and confidence, 12% said it boosted their energy levels, 9% felt
fitter/healthier and 12% stated that exercise helped improve their IBD
symptoms, helped their weight control (steroids for IBD treatment can cause
weight gain) and improved their sleep.
Also 4% said that sport/fitness gave them a focus other than their
condition and another 4% said they felt ‘normal’ when taking part in
sport. I completely agree with the last
statement exercising gives me a release from my life and my condition.
Other interesting
questions/answers from the survey:
Why does exercise
make you feel worse?
For the 204 people who stated that exercise made them feel
worse, the key issues were extreme fatigue (41%), exercise increases their need
for the toilet (12%), causes increased stomach pain (17%), increases joint pain
(7%), their IBD slows their recovery times (5%) and exacerbates their IBD
symptoms (11%). I have said that joint
pain is one of my symptoms that is always there when exercising but I feel
changing my exercises/sport helps that, my colitis does slow my recovery down
and makes my body ache longer than for ‘normal’ people but through proper
nutrition, recovery days and keeping an eye on my training load I can work
around this. With regards to the needing
the toilet, most IBD sufferers can relate to this, I have found that if you
keep thinking about it you will need the toilet, I just try and think of
different things and that usually works, however it has taken me a long time to
get into the mind over matter strategy with the toilet and my colitis but if you
work at it, it may work for you.
With regards to diet I have found over the years that if I
eat an almost gluten and oats free diet I feel 100% better. My diet is based on vegetables, salad’s, some
fruits, eggs, beans, fats, limited dairy and lentils washed down with plenty
water. I find that grains, oats and
gluten make you bloated and uncomfortable anyway so I feel as an IBD sufferer I
don’t want to feel uncomfortable in the bowel region and possibly trigger my
symptoms through poor food choices. I also
hardly drink as this just aggravates my colitis. Again as with exercise its finding what suits
you and your condition. However with a
good healthy diet you will reap the benefits of healthy skin, healthy weight
and you will look and feel good and you should be able to control your IBD
better too.
I hope this has helped any IBD sufferers if they were concerned
about exercise, nutrition and the effects on their IBD. An exercise regime and healthy eating plan
will give you a better life and as a by-product should help your IBD. Just go out and find out what works for
you. I feel the worst thing you can do is
to not try to exercise or change your diet for the better. If you have any questions please feel free to
comment.
Email: k.mccraw@fettes.com
Twitter: @kellymccraw
Survey mentioned and answers/questions derived from Crohn’s and Colitis UK – Inflammatory Bowel Disease
(IBD) Sport and Fitness Survey Overview and Key Insights – May 2012
View the full report here
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