Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Sam Faiers Diagnosed With Crohn's Disease: A Viewpoint From A Crohn's Patient


So recently Sam Faiers came out and said that she had Crohn's disease. I live in the United States and she lives in the UK so I am not familar with her (although she is pretty attractive) and is a model and reality TV star in the UK. At any rate Sam Faiers is only 23 years old and lost a stone and a half (21 pounds for those in the United States). She started to lose weight and realized it wasn't just a stomach bug. Crohn's actually does affect 100,000 people in the UK. Sam said she couldn't hold food down for almost a month. Currently, Sam is drinking shakes (all-liquid diet for the 6 weeks in order to give her bowels a rest).

Sam has an experience that many Crohn's patients have. When I was in graduate school and got symptoms I had no idea what I actually had. I remember feeling very tired (pretty similar to when I had mono in college) but actually felt tired before the stomach issues started to come up. My father who is a chemical engineer researched everything and told the doctors it was c diff and they told him no it was something else. My GI suspected it was Crohn's and actually confirmed it via a colonoscopy. Catching Crohn's early on can not only help the patient but reduces the risk of having surgery. I have not had surgery yet and continue to take Humira (I started it June 6, 2012) and feel actually like I did before Crohn's (some days I even forget I have it to be honest). Getting the diagnosis for Crohn's or any illness is the best feeling you can get. I still remember feeling a little bumped knowing I would have Crohn's the rest of my life (unless we find a cure). However, the human mind constantly is creative and creating things we never thought possible. Think about it 20 years ago would you have honestly imagined some of the wonderful technology we have today? 

I hope Sam Faiers gets well and gets herself into remission. However, maybe the silver lining is raising awareness about Crohn's which is positive. Sometimes I tell even random strangers about it just to spread the knowledge and awareness. 

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