Struggling
I have lived with UC for 14 years. I have no large bowel left and very little short bowel. I have had 14 operations. I have been left unable to have children. This post has taken a lot of courage to write. I am currently struggling with high output, fatigue and generally feeling low. I am attempting to return to full time work but am frightened my health will let me down. I am currently 32. I feel at times there is little point in going on. I have picked myself up so many times but it is getting harder. My relationships all fail due to ill health and I just want to know how people cope and has anyone any advice.
Hi
, first of all, I want to welcome you to the community, and tell you how much I appreciate your openness and honesty. It can take a lot of courage to post and share your experience and how you're feeling, and I want you to know that this community appreciates the courage you showed to post here. I can hear how much you are currently struggling, between the high output, fatigue, and general low feeling. Your frustrations and struggles are valid, and ones that many in the community here can understand. Have you ever mentioned to your doctor, or a mental health professional, about how you've been feeling lately? I ask because oftentimes when managing a chronic health condition, the focus is so much on managing the physical symptoms that mental and emotional health gets put on the back burner, yet addressing these are just as important and critical as managing physical symptoms.
I wanted to share with you this article from one of our health leaders about the emotional impact of inflammatory bowel disease, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living/emotional-psychological and this is another of her articles about hope and help, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living/mental-health-hope-help. We also have this article on mental health and the emotional impact of IBD here, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living-with-cd/mental-health.
Your fears and concerns about returning to work and your health letting you down are ones many here can understand and relate to. It's hard to feel like one can trust their body when their body has regularly let them down in the past. I hope some of our community members with personal experience with these feelings can comment here and share some of their ways to cope and thoughts or advice as well. In the meantime, hopefully the articles can provide some comfort in knowing that you aren't alone. Please don't hesitate to reach out to your doctor about your emotional health as well (if you haven't already). And of course this community is here any time as well. Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
