Hi I’m Poppy! I'm 20 years old and I have been living with Crohn’s Disease for the past 5 years. When I first started showing symptoms, I quickly made a GP appointment, worried about the pain I was experiencing. It wasn’t however, until things got a lot worse, and I ended up on a trip to A&E where I started my journey to being diagnosed. Initially I was diagnosed with IBDU, which meant the doctors were unsure if I was suffering with Crohn’s or Colitis. However, since moving towards the adult wards they diagnosed me with Crohn’s.
The symptoms I suffer with most on a day to day basis are stomach pain and fatigue, but I can also have loss of appetite and urgency to go to the toilet.
Crohn’s Disease is very unpredictable. You can’t ever really know how you are going to feel when making plans for the future, or even later that same day!
Poppy
Blog Co-Author and Person Living with Crohn's Disease
For me, my pain can come on suddenly with no warning, so this can be hard to plan around. Luckily, I have a very supportive network of family, friends and my work place is very accommodating. The Crohn’s symptoms that affect me the most other than pain are fatigue and a loss of appetite. This causes me to experience extreme fatigue and weight loss when I am in a flare.
Currently, I am still in a flare which started last December, but I am 1 month into taking biological medicines which will hopefully bring my condition back under control. I have heard great things about these medicines, so I am really looking forward to seeing how these fair at getting my life back to some kind of normality! I am currently studying to be a teacher at University and I have just finished my second year. I'm very excited for my last year at university and getting my own class!
Excitingly, I have just won the title of Miss Brighton 2023 which means I will be competing in Miss Great Britain in October.
There are a few things I am hoping people will take away from my appearance in Miss Great Britain. I am wanting to show others with IBD that is doesn’t have to stop your life or prevent you from taking part in activities other people can do. For me, I think I have accessed more opportunities since my diagnosis because I wanted to take back control of my life and not let the Crohn’s take over.
You are not defined by your disease; you have the disease. You have the power to navigate it in whatever way your body allows, embracing every opportunity that comes your way.
I think it's really important to share the symptoms I've experienced, just in case someone sat at home following the Miss GB competition hears me and decides they should get tested for IBD to. If I can raise awareness of some of the symptoms and that prompts even one person to go to their GP and share their symptoms, then I've achieved everything I set out to do in this competition.
I also want to campaign for everyone living with an invisible illnesses, to try and portray how difficult it is to live with these conditions whilst still looking well!
My one tip to anyone else out there who is living with this condition would be, once you're well enough and if you have the courage, tell your nearest and dearest about your diagnosis. This will help them to understand why things might have changed in your life, and how they can help you. Also, like I mentioned earlier, I know it can be a challenge but try not to let Crohn’s completely take over your life. Still try to do those activities you enjoy so that it doesn’t completely change your life. Personally, I still enjoy doing lots of yoga as this can be done at home or in studio and is low impact and can be as tiring as you want it to be!
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