Part 1
About six years ago, in mid April 2015, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The day the test results came and I met my gastroenterologist was a BIG turning point in my life. I didn’t know so then.
First, a bit of medical terminology from Webmd
What Is Ulcerative Colitis?
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease. It causes irritation, inflammation, and ulcers in the lining of your large intestine (also called your colon).
There’s no cure, and people usually have symptoms off and on for life. But the right treatments can help you keep a handle on the disease.
Ulcerative Colitis Causes and Risk Factors
Ulcerative colitis happens when your immune system makes a mistake. Normally, it attacks invaders in your body, like the common cold. But when you have UC, your immune system thinks food, good gut bacteria, and the cells that line your colon are the intruders. White blood cells that usually protect you attack the lining of your colon instead. They cause the inflammation and ulcers.
The main symptom of ulcerative colitis is bloody diarrhea. There might be some pus in your stools, too.
How did it start for me?
Well one fine day, I found blood in my stools. I got a bit flustered and went to my Dr. He prescribed some antibiotics and asked me to come back after a week. Bleeding continued after a week, and he advised me to see a gastroenterologist. Physical examination followed by more medicines for 2 more weeks. Still no cure. He referred to another dr to get a colonoscopy done to examine my large intestine . The colonoscopy was a 20 minute diagnostic procedure, but the preparation was the height. I was given a powder to be mixed with 2 litres of water and drunk in 2 hours. I was told that it would cleanse my entire digestive tract. Little did I know, that it will be like PKS (movie) Abbas getting a stomach wash - nenjula irukara manja soru mothamum vanthurthu 🤣🤣🤣. I was like, will there anything be left to diagnose, especially if my large intestine is going to come out. Next day, post colonoscopy, the dr said give this sample for biopsy to test for cancer. I was shocked. The results they said would come after a week…
The next week was a killer. I couldn’t sleep at nights dreading the results. Thankfully, after a week, I got my results saying no cancerous cells. I took these reports to my gastroenterologist and had a long discussion with him. He said I had Ulcerative Colitis, an autoimmune disease and enquired about family history. I said my dad had arthritis, another autoimmune disease and an uncle had passed away due to colorectal cancer. He said he will start me on medications immediately. Initially, he said, he will give me medicines for 6 months, but I need to see him every 2 months. First few months were ok, but then fun started later on.
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