Going to School and Secretly Suffering with UC

When I was 16 I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). I began exhibiting symptoms at the beginning of 2019 when I was 15 years old.

Hopes for a diagnosis and some answers

It took the doctors a few months to figure out what was going on with me but eventually, my GP asked me for a stool sample and sent me to have a colonoscopy with a specialist a week after my 16th birthday (6 months after the symptoms happened).

Yes that’s right, everyone else was having a fantastic time on their 16th birthday and I was just hoping that the doctors would find an answer. The colonoscopy did show that my large bowel was partly inflamed which brought me some much-needed closure.

Pain, blood loss, and urgency at school

Being unmedicated for so long became a real struggle for me; I started to have dizzy spells as I was losing so much blood and lost a bit of weight.

My stomach was in so much pain and I couldn’t help but endure it for so long. Furthermore, there was the struggle of completing Year 10. I went to school every day with the fear of pooping my pants, which surprisingly didn’t happen.

However, I did experience urgency and terrible cramps (even through exams). Then I finally found a doctor who first prescribed me with Sulfasalazine and then added Azathioprine after another colonoscopy (which to this day I still cannot pronounce).

I know I'm going to be OK

Life has been pretty good after I was medicated. I’m still borderline anemic (I’m 112 and the normal is 115). Yes, I will never really have normal bathroom habits unless I had surgery; but, I have come to accept that I will be living with it all my life and you know what; that’s ok.

I’m ok. And everything will be ok. We all have struggles in life. This one will be mine and I will continue to take it in my stride no matter what (seriously, if I had to have my colon and/or rectum removed I would be ok with that, for the most part).

Opening up to others

If you suffer with UC or Crohn’s disease (CD) please understand that you are not alone. There are so many people who suffer from it and are ashamed which shouldn’t be the case.

Let your disease be known to the outside world tell your friends about your experiences with it. I’m way too open with my friends about it and I won’t change that (We have to suffer from it so if they feel uncomfortable then they don’t deserve to be your friends). Everything you experience is valid. Your pain is valid. You are valid.

My name is Samantha Richards and this is my story with inflammatory bowel disease.