From the 1-7 December, it is Crohn's and Colitis Awareness week. You may have seen that in some of my previous blog posts, I have recently been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, Crohn's Colitis. I was very poorly and was admitted by my doctor and had to spend some time in Peterborough City hospital, but I am so thankful for all of the amazing care I received whilst in hospital. I was able to get my diagnosis and given medication. I am now making a steady recovery at home.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are often viewed as invisible illnesses. This Awareness Week, it's time to make #MakingTheInvisibleVisible.
It is so important for people to know about and understand more about Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Before my diagnosis, I myself didn't really know much about it. I have learned so much over the past few weeks from the Crohn's and Colitis UK website, there is so much information to look at. If you are looking to find out more, I highly recommend visiting their site. You can also follow Crohn's and Colitis UK over on Twitter. I have also recently subscribed to their membership pack which arrived in the post a few days ago. I will be doing another post very soon on this. I have also joined the Crohn's and Colitis UK forum group on Facebook, which I have found really helpful.
"Every 30 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis – the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
At least 300,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with IBD which are chronic conditions that can cause ulceration and inflammation in the colon (Ulcerative Colitis) or any part of the digestive system (Crohn’s Disease).
Symptoms can include diarrhoea (often with blood), severe pain, extreme fatigue, and dramatic weight loss. At present there is no cure for Crohn’s and Colitis, but drugs and sometimes surgery can give long periods of relief from symptoms This means 1 in 210 people are living with these unpredictable, life-long and potentially life-threatening conditions." crohnsandcolitis.org.uk
Here are some of the main symptoms of IBD -
- Diarrhoea.
- Loss of appetite and also loss of weight.
- Tiredness and fatigue.
- Cramping pains in the abdomen.
- Feeling generally unwell.
- Mouth ulcers.
- Anaemia
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A little bit more about Crohn's Disease -
"Crohn’s Disease is a condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system or gut. Crohn’s can affect any part of the gut, though the most common area affected is the end of the ileum (the last part of the small intestine), or the colon.
The areas of inflammation are often patchy with sections of normal gut in between. A patch of inflammation may be small, only a few centimetres, or extend quite a distance along part of the gut. As well as affecting the lining of the bowel, Crohn’s may also go deeper into the bowel wall. It’s one of the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The other is Ulcerative Colitis.
The areas of inflammation are often patchy with sections of normal gut in between. A patch of inflammation may be small, only a few centimetres, or extend quite a distance along part of the gut. As well as affecting the lining of the bowel, Crohn’s may also go deeper into the bowel wall. It’s one of the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The other is Ulcerative Colitis.
Crohn’s is a chronic condition. This means that it is ongoing and life-long, although you may have periods of good health (remission), as well as times when symptoms are more active (relapses or flare-ups)." crohnsandcolitis.org.uk
Diet is something that has been very important to me for quite some years now and even more so now. For quite some time now I have posted different recipes on my blog that are dairy, wheat and gluten free. I also don't use onions or garlic in my recipes. As diet is very important to me, I have recently posted a couple of recipes on my blog that I love to make and cook at home. When it comes to diet, everyone is different, but I have found these couple of recipes to be a great help and they are very delicious. I also have some more recipes coming up on my blog soon. Click here for my Homemade Rice Pudding and click here for my Roast Chicken and Mash recipe.