My Name is Courtney, and I have Ulcerative Colitis, POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), and Anemia (Iron deficiency)
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis three days after my 14th birthday. I was told by my doctor that I had been living with Ulcerative colitis with no treatment at all for a year, and that I should of been diagnosed when I was 13. I had been in a lot of pain since I was 13 but I always took pepto bismal every morning before school all year (not knowing it contained aspirin). We had later found out it had severely scared my liver. I had my surgery to remove my colon about a year after my diagnosis, when they saw the UC had spread to my appendix, so they had to remove that along with my colon. After my surgery my surgeon took me off prednisone completely, which caused me to go into adrenal failure. I then went back on prednisone but twice as much as before. I've been on ever medication you can think of, and have had every test possible. I've been threw three blood transfusions and been in adrenal failure 4 times. I was very depressed for a long time, I missed my first two years of high school because I was in the hospital, or in surgery and all my friends completely left me when I got sick and I never heard from them ever again. I've been doing better now, i'm off almost all my meds for my UC and have not had too many flares since my surgery. After everything this disease has changed me for the better, I am more open with people about it and it doesn't embarrass me anymore, it has made me who I am today, and to know that your life can change in seconds. Since all of this I have helped a friend get threw cancer and I have been attending high school and about to graduate in June, I am engaged to be married to my boyfriend of over a year and he knows everything about my illness. Life is so much better now.
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis three days after my 14th birthday. I was told by my doctor that I had been living with Ulcerative colitis with no treatment at all for a year, and that I should of been diagnosed when I was 13. I had been in a lot of pain since I was 13 but I always took pepto bismal every morning before school all year (not knowing it contained aspirin). We had later found out it had severely scared my liver. I had my surgery to remove my colon about a year after my diagnosis, when they saw the UC had spread to my appendix, so they had to remove that along with my colon. After my surgery my surgeon took me off prednisone completely, which caused me to go into adrenal failure. I then went back on prednisone but twice as much as before. I've been on ever medication you can think of, and have had every test possible. I've been threw three blood transfusions and been in adrenal failure 4 times. I was very depressed for a long time, I missed my first two years of high school because I was in the hospital, or in surgery and all my friends completely left me when I got sick and I never heard from them ever again. I've been doing better now, i'm off almost all my meds for my UC and have not had too many flares since my surgery. After everything this disease has changed me for the better, I am more open with people about it and it doesn't embarrass me anymore, it has made me who I am today, and to know that your life can change in seconds. Since all of this I have helped a friend get threw cancer and I have been attending high school and about to graduate in June, I am engaged to be married to my boyfriend of over a year and he knows everything about my illness. Life is so much better now.
