My name is Madi, I am 15 years old, and I’m living with UC.
I was first diagnosed when I was just 10 years old.
I’ll be starting my 6th year living with UC in January. When I first started noticing symptoms, I was on vacation up in Canada and out of nowhere I had to run to the restroom. I thought it was just something I had eaten and it was just a one time thing. But 5-10 minutes later I had to run to the restroom again. I had a rough night that following night, so my dad took me to a doctor. Of course, they said it was nothing and to just go home and take it easy. I stayed in Canada for 2 more weeks until my body couldn’t bare it anymore. I had to come back home to the U.S. I visited many doctors and they all said the same thing, that I was fine.
But I knew I wasn’t fine.
I finally went to the children’s hospital and stayed there for 5 days. On the fifth day in the hospital, after having a colonoscopy, the doctors told me I had ulcerative colitis, and that there was no cure. The doctor put me on prednisone for months and it wasn’t helping me. My face got puffy and I wasn’t myself. The kids at school called me chubby cheeks….yeah it didn’t feel so great. My dad came to his senses and we ditched the doctor that had me on prednisone for so long. I met my new doctor, hoping he had other plans. I slowly came off of prednisone and he put me on Lialda. To this day I take two Lialda pills every morning. I guess they keep me stable. Every now and then I do get flare ups, which nobody likes. But I receive small amounts of prednisone and it usually knocks it out pretty quick. Just recently, I had a moderate flare up that kept me out of school for 9 days. On the third day of missing school, I decided I should try to go back because I hate missing work and having to make it up later. So of course I tried going back and the terrible incident of not making it to the bathroom happened. That is probably the most embarrassing thing that can happen, and I’m sure it’s happened to most of us living with UC.
My dad came to pick me up, he brought a change of pants and I left school.
That’s the second time it’s happened in school, luckily, I don’t think anyone noticed what happened. I am better now and slowly coming off of the prednisone from my flare up. I still frequent the restroom, but not as much. If anyone wants to know more about my life, leave me a comment below.
written by Madi
submitted in the Colitis Venting Area
Hey everyone! My name is Madi, I am 15 years old, and I am living with UC. I don’t want to feel so alone anymore, so here’s my story :)
