"So It's Like A Stomach Bug"

One of the things that annoys me the most is when I can't explain what it's like to have Ulcerative Colitis or pouchitis.  I have a difficult time explaining exactly what I'm feeling so it comes off minor compared to what I'm actually going through.  So many times the response from other people is "So it's like a stomach bug" or "I understand.  I have IBS."  Well it's not like a stomach bug, and I wish it was IBS.  I don't want to minimize these conditions because they are rough for the person who is suffering from them.  So here's my best attempt to describe what it's like to be in a flare.

First is the pain.  There are two types of pain when flaring.  One is the crampy pain usually associated with diarrhea.  This is the easier of the two pains.  The other is a sharp pain.  I have heard it best described as rubbing sandpaper on a sunburn.  Or as I like to put it, raking knives throughout your insides.  This pain can get very high and has stopped me in my tracks and kept me from bending in any direction.

Next is the fever.  When I flare I always get a temperature.  I don't know how you all feel when you have a fever, but I get body aches and chills.  My back kills me and I can never get comfortable.  Since my fevers always come late in the afternoon and evening, I usually have a hard time getting to sleep because of the fever. I'm a big baby when it comes to a fever, and this was always one of my worst problems when I had a flare.

Now it's time to talk about the diarrhea, everyone's favorite topic.  Remember the last time you had the stomach bug or ate something that didn't agree with you and you were in the bathroom every 15 minutes.  Well image how you felt then days on end, and with the diarrhea comes excruciating pain and spasms.  I can remember spending forever in the bathroom huddled in a ball, sweating bullets, praying for the pain to end.  I would finally feel able to leave the bathroom, but find myself needing to return just a few minutes later.  Day after day after day after day.

Well we have talked about the pain, the fever, and the diarrhea.  Now it's time for the biggest culprit and that's fatigue.  I can't find a way to describe the fatigue.  My best way is that it's like living in jello.  Every movement is so difficult and takes 5 times the effort.  When fatigue sets in I'm asleep by 8:00, needing to brush my teeth while sitting down (too tired to stand), and I can't walk more than 10 steps without getting out of breath.  Since the fatigue comes from so many places; blood loss, lack of nutrition, dehydration, and just your body fighting itself, it's hard to help battle the fatigue.  Resting doesn't even help.  It just leads to more need for resting.

I could go on with more of the symptoms of the flare, but they basically all lead back to something listed above.  I don't write this for anyone's pity.  People with IBD are strong and able to battle the flares.  I just want the person who doesn't have IBD to understand what those who do fell when in the midst of a flare.