The quick answer is yes. But if you are in the middle of an all out flare up at the moment, especially if its gone on for weeks and months, it is most definitely hard to imagine.
They classify UC as an auto-immune disease. To some people that means our immune systems keep on responding and attacking over and over again. And even though there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people worldwide living with ulcerative colitis, the disease is still difficult to understand in any definite terms. Doctors and scientists agree and disagree on all sorts of aspects of UC from how it is triggered, to how best to treat people living with the disease. You have probably found yourself caught in the middle of different ideas on how to move forward too. And yes indeed, that is difficult, but don’t feel alone. There’s more people living with UC than you probably realize, and it does get better.
What has really helped me out since my diagnosis back in October of 2008, is talking to others about my disease. And I’m not talking about online, facebook, chat rooms etc… I’m talking about face to face, in person communication. My know you will feel the benefits as well. You don’t need to write stories on this website, or even post comments on here, that’s not the point. I’m talking about simple conversations between you and people you come into contact with. Maybe a close friend, or maybe your roommate, neighbor, heck, maybe even your mailman. That is up to you. But the big idea I hope you take away is that by talking about your UC with other people, it will make you feel better.
What’s one of the best things about talking about your UC with others? THERE’S NO RULES.
- If you want to talk about your symptoms in great detail, go for it!
- If you want to talk about the nose hairs your up-tight doctor has, go for it!
- Maybe you want to tell someone about the experience of getting violated by the colonoscopy snake, go for it! (People who have not had it, want to know what it’s like, strange but true…???)
- Or who knows, maybe you want to tell somebody how depressed you’ve been feeling since your bleeding just isn’t going away, GO FOR IT!
It’s a great thing to do. Get out of the closet, or bathroom for that matter, and start talking about your UC to others. ESPECIALLY if friends or family members ask you questions. That means they love you and want to know what you are going through.
Once again, you don’t have to follow any rules on any of this, there’s no prescription you need to follow three times per day. It’s just going to make you feel better. So start today, or whenever you’re feeling like crap, and let some outsiders know what UC is all about. Who knows, you may end up talking to a fellow UC’er. Or, you may end up talking to someone who actually knows someone else with UC. Maybe they can introduce you. Sounds random right…well, it happens all the time.
-Adam Scheuer
I started site shortly after being diagnosed in October of 2008 with severe pancolitis (when my whole colon was inflamed).
For me, it was a very rough start with severe symptoms. Getting bounced from medication to medication was not easy or too helpful. But, I did meet another UC’er, changes several parts of my diet, and of course the rest is history.
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