Guest Writer - Vicky

Positivity and IBD

What's that I hear you say? Positivity and IBD in the same sentence? As an IBD sufferer I know you may think I've lost the plot, I haven't - honestly!

Vicky

As mentioned in the Dealing With Your Feelings earlier Blog post, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), is a very individual condition. This means that we don't all feel the same, even in remission there are those of us who do not go symptom free (unfortunately), but if you are newly diagnosed this can maybe seem like a never-ending cycle of illness. It's not.

Trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Obviously it can be a quite a shock to hear that you have a chronic (long term) illness, particularly when there is uncertainty within the medical profession even about how and why it develops in individuals. For some of us, finally having a diagnosis is a relief. For others, it can be more difficult to deal with, especially if there are periods of uncertainty regarding future treatment.

It can be a lengthy process from diagnosis to getting a treatment plan that works for you, but it is always worth the wait. When you get to that stage of remission, it is a wonderful feeling.

My first meeting with my IBD nurse taught me a valuable lesson. She said to me 'You have to control it, don't let it control you'. Obviously at times this is easier said than done, but once you are on a treatment plan it becomes easier, and things become possible that you didn't think were perhaps six months previously.

It's important, of course, even in remission not to overdo things. I've been guilty of this myself, getting carried away by the feeling of feeling 'well' and going out when I should have stayed at home resting. But it is possible to work or study, even if you only start off part-time and work up to full-time hours. Going out with friends, gentle exercise, all of these things can be achieved, with care. It's important not to try and rush yourself into remission just so that you can go to a gig, only to have a relapse. It's not worth it!

Through all this it's important to have friends around you. I have learnt the hard way that only real friends will understand when you say 'no', but don't feel guilty about using that word, as I often did. You may lose some people along the way, but I feel that they were not true friends to begin with. Those who truly know you will understand and try to help.

I also find it helps for me personally to write things down, I find writing my blog very therapeutic and I like to try and keep up to date on IBD research and events - anything to raise awareness. This helps me to keep positive that I'm doing some useful, and maybe helping to give something back to the IBD community.

Although it's obviously important to try and stay positive, we all get our 'down' days. I think during this time it's important to have friends and family around to talk to who understand your condition. These people are worth their weight in gold. After a period of remission you may find that flare-ups are more difficult to deal with, it's important to not lose sight of how far you had come previously.

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Vicky, 29, was diagnosed Ulcerative Colitis in 2011. She has a great blog - If You'd Only Make Up Your Mind and also did a video for us.