Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
For Crohn’s and Colitis awareness week, I wanted to shine a light on these conditions. Today, 500,000 people are suffering from Crohn’s or Colitis in the UK.
An illness is not always visible and understanding the condition can really have a big impact for the ones suffering from it.
There are two types of IBD: Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. Both are long-term chronic autoimmune conditions. With Ulcerative Colitis, the inflammation is located in the colon while with Crohn’s Disease it can happen anywhere on the whole digestive tract from the mouth to the anus.
What is the cause of IBD?
Scientists still don’t know the exact cause but they believe it is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For instance, the pill is known to trigger autoimmune disease. “In fact, there is a 300% increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease if you take the pill” says Dr Jolene Brighten in her book ‘Beyond the Pill’.
An imbalance of gut bacteria, smoking or a previous stomach bug could all have an impact on developing IBD.
As you may have heard this phrase before, I believe that ‘genes load the gun and our environment pulls the trigger’. Definitely something to reflect on…
What are the symptoms of IBD?
As it is a chronic disease, you have periods of remission and you have periods of flares. The length of a flare can vary depending on the individual.
During a flare, the symptoms go way beyond the digestive health.
Yes, there is the recurring diarrhoea and/or constipation with mucus, blood or pus, the tummy pain, the bloating, the nausea, but there is also the extreme fatigue, the muscles and joint pain, the skin issues, the anxiety and/or depression, the sleep issues and the mouth ulcers. It also affects your appetite by messing up your satiety and hunger hormones leptin and grehlin. People with IBD are also more at risk of nutrients deficiencies such as Iron or vitamin D so it can make things even more difficult!
Mental health is a symptom that we don’t really talk about when we go and see our gastroenterologist but it is a real problem.
Indeed, our brain and our gut are interconnected through the vagus nerve. They connect like a walkie talkie. 95% of serotonin is produced in our gut. The hormone serotonin contributes to the feeling of happiness and helps control our body clock. So, if your gut is a mess your mood will be impacted.
What are the treatments for IBD?
I tried many drugs from aminosalicylates to corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. Unfortunately I had severe reactions to pentasa, azathioprine, mercaptopurine, and infliximab.
As medicines were not effective, we started to discuss surgery to remove my colon. Unfortunately, living with an ileoanal pouch is the reality for many IBD sufferers.
But I got lucky and I finally found a drug that worked for me – Vedolizumab, also known as Entyvio.
Can nutrition help IBD?
I think you already know where this is heading…!
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in December 2012 and the doctor told me that food had nothing to do with it. My diet wasn’t the best at the time, after years of eating microwave noodles and nutella on toast at university, and I abused my health. Things got worse and worse until I realised I just couldn’t live like this anymore. I was completely addicted to sugar and I wasn’t eating enough fibre because I was worried it would make me feel sick.
After a few too many trips to the hospital, I finally decided to take back control of my health by changing my lifestyle and my diet.
I haven’t had a flare for over 2 years and I am drug free for almost a year but I know I might need it again in the future so I would not encourage anyone to stop their medication without supervision. It is crucial to keep in touch with the doctors to have colonoscopies, stool tests and blood tests.
Good healthcare and nutrition goes hand in hand.
One last word…
Each story is different because we simply have different immune systems. What works for me doesn’t mean that it will work for another IBD sufferer. This is why personalised nutrition and lifestyle medicine can make a big impact on someone’s health. There is no miracle cure so don’t be duped by everything you read or see on social media. The road to recovery can be long but it is never too late to make some healthy changes.