I Have Crohn's Disease...And This Is My Life.

She’s a blogger, a media pro, a 20-something... and she’s living with Crohn’s disease. Loïs Mills, the voice behind the site Gut Instinct, is here to show us what an average day in her life looks like - proving, as always, that life does not need to be placed on hold because you’re diagnosed with a bowel disease.
For more information about Crohn’s disease, visit thoughtcatalog.com/tag/crohns/.

[@GeorgiaKev]

Glad you’re doing better. I lost an old girlfriend to Crohn’s disease several years ago (she had a very severe case), and I know that preparing for a colonoscopy is no fun. I hope you continue doing n the road to improvement.

[@nayanamalar]

Hope you find the cure soon and recover fully ❤️

[@thoughtcatalog]

We love her story and positive outlook! Thank you for your kind words 💛

[@josiethecrohnie6520]

there is no cure, just treatment to help keep it managed

[@Megan18.]

I love your story I have the same disease i would love to share my story with you

[@StrayChoom]

Yeah I’ve had crohn’s since I was 10 (18 now) it’s very jarring…
(Warning rn this just turns to me ranting about having Crohn’s disease):
Especially when I finally have my physical and mental health sorted out, those tummy aches still come back to ruin my day.
Go into a extremely stressful period? Hahaha feel pain that no one will know… how literally gut wrenching it is, that’s 10 times worse if you’re stressed.
I still look in the mirror and see that skeleton looking 10 year old sometimes, and it makes me feel so insecure. Wasn’t strong enough to stand up for more than like 20 seconds…
Life is hard enough w out the disease… I’d still have a LOT of trauma w out it.
But having this disease just makes everything worse.
And on top of that, when I’m happy, I’m scared bc it reduces lifespan and could also mess my life up at any moment.
Also azathioprine can cause blood cancer… and I found this out after SEVEN years of being prescribed it.
Being immunosuppressed also just sucks, whenever I take the medication like I’m supposed to… I feel weak and get a permanent cold or generic illness. I choose not to take it unless I have to…
Also being forced inside for 4 months, and unable to leave my house due to covid AT ALL when previously I was the happiest I ever was sucked too.
Yeah sorry this turned into a rant, this disease is just so bad.
And telling someone: oh well I just get tummy aches loads and need to take a bunch of pills… As my only way of explaining it, never really captures the nature of how much damage this disease has done to my life.
Literally I’d have tummy aches so I wouldn’t be able get up, my ex (who I dated for 2 years) would literally yell at me:
“you don’t care at all, you’re lying, you never cared ab me at all, you never put any effort in!” even though I said I had a crohns tummy ache and was in too much pain to get up 🤦‍♂️
The only ppl who ever gave me sympathy or even empathy, were the ppl who saw what it did to me the first time it made me sick.
When I eventually got healthier and puberty turned me into quite the muscular young man, no one would ever care. No one does. Even now.
Boohoo ur a big strong tall white gender conforming guy, what could a little tummy ache do to you? Oh wow your life is sooo sad. People said it, but I still hear it. Even now.
Oh wow it’s not like I have loads of mental issues w out the disease, eventually succumbing to drug abuse… driving me insane and requiring therapy and antidepressants from the damage that caused.
And oh god none of those drugs have been clinically tested in conjunction w crohns what have I done 😔
Sober for 4 months let’s goooo
The disease has also started to cause other issues like now I got so much scar tissue, even though the inflammation isn’t active… my intestines are so narrow when I eat sometimes gas can’t get through so it goes the other way… it’s painful and I burp which is embarrassing but it’s not like I can control it 🤦‍♂️
And oh yeah I live in a permanent state of discomfort…. :/
Again sorry for turning this into a rant 😂
It’s just sooo triggering and next to no one knows what it is.
There should be more awareness of it.
Like my mum died when I was a baby, I don’t really care ab that bc she was never in my life since I was like 16 months old.
And people always say sorry and look at me w grievance.
I barely care. I don’t need pity for that, bc it doesn’t directly affect me. Sure like I have to deal w the impacts of it. It makes me cry. It saddens me. But I don’t feel that pain everyday.
I get the same reaction from the RARE ppl who have relatives or friends w crohns or ppl who died from it.
Crohns does directly affect me every day, but that gets looked at like it’s not even a thing, it’s a non issue.
Even when I’m constantly happy for a time, I will always have that anxiety that it’ll be taken away from me. By this stupid disease.

[@thoughtcatalog]

You are not alone ❤️ Please never forget how loved you are.

[@rapunzelmaala1338]

What is your medication

[@sweetness2689]

What has your diet been now after your diagnosis?

[@josiethecrohnie6520]

diet is usually recommended to be low fiber. not sure why she said she was only low fiber for the day before her colonoscopy