A Northern Ireland woman has opened up about her journey with Inflammatory Bowel Disease after going through potentially life-saving surgery.
Ayesha Duffy, from Ballymena, was 22 when she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed. Having experienced symptoms typical of her diagnosis, Ayesha admitted that she felt embarrassed to seek help, due to the nature of the symptoms.
She was passing blood each time she went to the toilet, had lost her appetite and was experiencing extreme fatigue.
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But after her health deteriorated, she sought medical advice which started a long journey of medication trials, and is currently recovering from major surgery which meant she would have a stoma bag
"I would have been at the gym a lot, and be very active. My diet was really good and things were going well," Ayesha told Belfast Live.
"Things became bad, and I then got very symptomatic. I was passing blood every time I went to the toilet, losing weight, had no appetite and was so tired. Along with these symptoms, I had joint pain and suffered from mouth ulcers and styes in my eyes. There was quite a lot but I was embarrassed about the nature of certain symptoms.
"My mum then started pushing for me to get seen. In summer 2018 I was admitted and started a course of steroids, and they thought I had Crohn's Disease. Steroids were working fine and I was on other medication to keep my stomach at bay. I went on holidays two weeks later after begging the doctor to let me go.
"Around Christmas time then, things started to get bad again and I was put on a immunosuppressant drug which also helped. June last year, was very busy, back at the gym and I was bridesmaid at my friend's wedding.
"The weekend of the wedding was stressful because my stomach was bad again, and I didn't want to ruin my friend''s big day. By the Monday, I was back in hospital and at this stage my body was rejecting the medication and began to attack itself. I was recommended that I went onto biologic treatment so every eight weeks I had an infusion."
Ayesha, who works in Antrim Area Hospital, said in November last year, she told colleagues that she was beginning to get progressively sicker. They encouraged her to go to A&E, where she would be admitted again - little did Ayesha know, she would be going home with a complete change of circumstances.
"I was putting it off because I was embarrassed, and there was also an element of the fear of the unknown. I was admitted and at that stage and I was the sickest I have ever been," she added.
"I had a camera test, and things were bad, but not as bad as they thought. We were going to start another infusion type treatment, but I was getting so weak and literally lying beside the toilet, I couldn't leave. The were the worst they had ever been.
"It is at that point where doctors said there was no other option but to go through with surgery. I didn't want the surgery, not at that age. It was scary and I was against it, but the surgeon explained that it needed to be done. I wanted to think about it over the weekend, but if I didn't have ti done the next day, I may not have made it to Monday.
"I was in denial, I think. But then I had the surgery, and I woke up with an ileostomy and I have a stoma bag now to go to the toilet. I was a crazy journey. I knew of a couple of girls locally who had been through similar, and had a stoma bag, so I found it helpful to reach out to theme and seek some advice.
"What my body has gone through amazes me. If it wasn't for the surgery, I may not be here today. I think stomas are maybe associated with older people, and there is a stigma surrounding the topic. By speaking out, I hope that I can help to raise awareness for the symptoms, and for IBD, in the hope that it may help others going through the same journey."
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