SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU

This week's post is something a little more personal. Some of you reading this will know that I have an illness known as Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease also known as IBD. For me, it affects everything from head to toe. People with Crohn's suffers differently, some maybe worse than others but EVERYONE with the disease suffers, and even if it's not as severe as others, it isn't an easy illness to live with. I was diagnosed with Crohn's when I was about six years old and have been living a nightmare ever since.

My name is Alisha, I am 19 and as well as having Crohn's Disease I also have an ileostomy bag. 

I am going to tell you about my life and living with Crohn's. The things that have happened to me and what I have been going through for practically all my life. How it affects me on a day to day basis.

From being diagnosed right up until now, I have had a total of;

•Ten teeth removed due to acid

•20 ulcers in my mouth at one time

•A cut on my lip stitched 

•Five major operations

•Roughly around ten endoscopies and colonoscopies

•Five feeding tubes

•Ten types of medications and treatments, both oral and intravenously 

•Three fistulas and abscess's on my stomach

•Altogether spent almost 8 months, maybe more, in hospital

• Numerous different scans e.g CT scans, ultrasounds, X-rays both of mouth and stomach, MRI and a barium

Crohn's can cause abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, tiredness, weight loss, mouth ulcers as long as many other long-term problems. I experienced all of these, day in day out; I weighed not much more than 2 and a half stone when I was in secondary school. There were weeks at a time where I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything at all and had to be fed through a drip on my arm.

I often had people tell me to stop moaning; it's just a bit a stomach ache you'll get over it. Well, Crohn's is a lot more than that, all of this happened throughout my childhood. I had no energy to play out with friends after school, spent most of my life in and out of hospitals on various medications to try and make me better. I often got bullied in secondary school and only had few friends.

When I was first diagnosed, Crohn's wasn't a well-known illness at all, but over the year's people are becoming more aware which is great. 

Despite everything that happened to me, I had an amazing family and a mum that was nothing but loving and supportive through it all. I still got to go on holidays and was given a great life.

Now I am on just one form of medication, still have my ileostomy bag which I have had for almost seven years. I soon have a consultation with the surgeon to talk about reversing my bag. I haven't had a flare-up in 2/3 years, but I do sometimes, now and again have them days where I just feel rubbish due to my Crohn's. I still have a supportive and loving family, and also have the best boyfriend who isn't fazed about my Crohns's or bag.

Well, I hope that you got to know a bit more about me. I didn't want to make it too long and write everything day by day as it happened otherwise I would be here forever. This was just a little in site on what I have been through and to raise more awareness.

Thank you for reading

A x