I was 20 years old when I started experiencing symptoms. I was at university at the time, so I initially thought that it was due to my lifestyle and I just put it down to that.
My symptoms consisted of frequent and urgent trips to the toilet. I was initially visiting the loo around seven or eight times a day, which is when I noticed that I had blood in my poo as well.
A week after experiencing my first symptoms, they became even worse. I reckon I was going to the toilet around 20 to 30 times a day; it was unbearable. The more time that passed, the worse it got – day by day.
About a month later my symptoms were still getting worse and I was losing significant amounts of weight, so much so that my friends started to notice it.
The weight was just falling off of me. At this point I’d lost around 20kg, but there was no explanation as to why this was happening to me.
Tony
Living with Ulcerative Colitis
After thinking enough was enough, I decided to visit my local walk-in center, as I wasn’t registered with a GP whilst I was at university.
I remember providing having blood tests and giving them stool samples, but nothing seemed to be happening fast. If I’m honest, it felt like I was a bit of an inconvenience and there was no urgency around getting the answers I really needed from them.
I decided my next best bet was to go to A&E. I was immediately turned away as my symptoms were not deemed to be an emergency and I was told that I needed to go back to the walk-in centre the following day.
Had it not been for my mum coming to pick me up and driving me more than a hundred miles south to the nearest hospital to my family home in East Surrey, I dread to think what would have happened.
That hospital took me in straight away and instantly hooked me up to a drip which is where they provided me with some pain relief. At last, I felt like my symptoms were being taken seriously.
Due to their urgency and after multiple tests, I was given the news that I had Ulcerative Colitis. I remember this being a massive relief in some ways. After all this time I finally had an answer.
After being told my diagnosis, I was kept in hospital for a number of weeks as the doctors tried out various medications to see what would work best for me. I remember my specialist at the time saying that my case was one of the worst examples of Colitis he had ever come across. I have now been taking Azathioprine for the last 11 years, which has luckily kept my flares at bay. So much so, that I’ve been able to cycle from Wembley to Germany!
Ironically, the first question I asked my specialist when he gave me the diagnosis was whether I would ever be able to play football again. Now look at me – I've cycled all the way to Germany. You really don’t realise what your body can do sometimes.
My advice to anyone in my shoes is simple: Inflammatory Bowel Disease does not define you. Yes, living with IBD can be really challenging, especially when you’re trying to navigate it at a young age.
I know it’s easier said than done, but staying positive and reminding yourself of the good things you have to be grateful for in life really does help. I had a fantastic support system around me.
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