When your body talks, listen, and that's what
I didn't do for the first 22, 23 years of my
life. I was just on go, go, go, go, disregard
everything. I'm a, you know, I need to just stay
focused. But now it's like, if I feel that flare
coming on, I'ma just sit back and I'ma just let
whatever needs to happen, happen without trying
to push through it. This is Lewis, who got diagnosed
with ulcerative colitis at age 23. in Doncaster,
UK. Louis quickly found a treatment that would
keep most of his IBD symptoms in check, but the
impact of chronic illness forced him to re -evaluate
how he treats his body and mind. He would eventually
be re -diagnosed with Crohn's, and today on the
Colitis Unfiltered podcast, he shares how he
manages flares, his good days, and his passion
for awareness. My name is Frank Tabering, and
Louis, welcome to the show. Hi, nice to meet
you. Let's start at the very beginning. Tell
me a little bit about when you noticed that something
was wrong, right? Like those first symptoms that
crept up for you. How did it all start? It's
quite weird, actually. It was like September
time of, I think it was 2024. I literally woke
up one day and I kid you not, I could not stop
going to the toilet. And I was like, okay, this
is a little bit weird. And it wasn't... I don't
know how graphic we can get on here, but it wasn't
like solid poop either. It was like just yellow,
green water. And I was like, I don't know what
I ate last night, but I ain't eating that again.
And it went into like a week and I thought, okay.
And that's when I started searching. I was like
on Google, I was like, how long is diarrhea normal
for? And it was like, you know, like a couple
of days up to a week is fine. Anything after
that, you probably should worry a little bit.
So I was like, oh, I'm fine. Then it got to like
the two week mark. I was like. Okay, this is
like 20 times a day. And this is when I started
bleeding a lot as well. Like I've always been
like a bleeder. I don't know why, but I just
bleed a lot. So for like two weeks, it was like
just blood, mucus, horrible diarrhea. And I was
like, yeah, I think there's a problem. So then
I called the doctors up. I went in and she went,
oh, let's do a stool sample. You know, because
I had no other symptoms. It was just that I was
like, oh, I should be fine. But then I did the
stool sample and they got back to me like straight
away. And it was like. something is wrong i was
like well i could have kind of told you that
i am pooing a lot and she was like yeah your
inflammation is off the charts um it's not the
highest it can be i was like okay she said come
in i was like fine she's like pressing on my
stomach and she's like are you having any pain
i was like no like i generally feel fine besides
diarrhea a lot i feel great and she was like
um you should be like jumping off the bed in
pain i was like i'm not so that's when it it
went into like the realm of like what is going
on because like i didn't really have any of these
symptoms or anything else like any of the markers
for Crohn's colitis anything like that but the
inflammation was that high she was like no like
something is wrong so yeah that's kind of how
it started so yeah that's crazy by the way you
asked you know how graphic you can be here this
is called talking shit for a reason so you can
just speak your heart's content you know so i
was like yeah i was just shitting for sure yeah
cool yeah exactly no no no worries about that
so that's interesting that so you just you just
said like it just started just like this so what
was it literally i mean were you going through
through any stress in your life anything in particular
or it was just literally you would just complete
normal day normal night you go to sleep you wake
up and and and you have to go to the toilet yeah
literally and that was the bizarre thing that's
like some people can kind of pinpoint i was like
oh i was kind of stressed at this point or they
could maybe feel it coming on a little bit me
i kid you not i was in the best shape of my life
i was going to gym i eat good all the time anyway
i don't drink i don't smoke nothing so i was
like hmm like me no there can't be something
wrong with me 23 fit but then it turns out i
woke up that one day and i was just like it's
crazy my life just went from like normal to just
completely different and it was like nothing
could have prepared me for that moment but yeah
that's just how it how it happened i guess Yeah,
that's definitely an unusual sort of start to
a colitis journey, especially like when you mentioned
that you were still feeling okay, right? Because
for me, like with the first sort of bowel movements,
then first diarrhea, especially when the blood
showed up, like there was like some crippling
abdominal pain that started right away, right?
And then it's just that mix of like diarrhea,
but also pain at the same time. So quite unusual.
So then talk a little bit about through diagnosis.
So doctor said something is wrong. Did they pull
you in for a colonoscopy and then gave you the
official diagnosis, colitis? And if so, how did
the doctor break the news to you? And had you
heard of colitis before? Was it all completely
new to you? It was September time I started having
the diarrhea, the shits. And then obviously I
was like, okay, something's wrong. Then he said,
okay what we need to do is because they did a
blood test my blood test came fine as well so
i was like there's like what like what's going
on with you so he said we're gonna have to do
a colonoscopy and at first i was like again the
first 23 years of my life i was healthy i never
went the doctors never went to the hospital so
i was like what is that and i was like essentially
it's a camera up your back end i was like huh
there was like i was like you're kidding right
like no they'll go all inside and i was like
i was so scared but then he went with the nhs
it's quite overwhelmed at the minute it might
take a while to get you know, the procedure done.
So I was like, cool. So then it took all the
way up till December. So from September to December,
I was waiting that time, no medication because
he didn't want to give me anything in case he
didn't know what was wrong. So I was like, oh,
damn, like, and then I only got in on December
because it was like, we have a cancellation tomorrow.
Can you come in? It was like, yeah, I guess.
So if I didn't get that cancellation, I might
have waited another two. I got my colonoscopy
and it was like, looking around, it was like,
oh, everything's looking fine. I was like. oh
great then he got to one point he went would
you look at their screen for me i was like i
don't really want to look it's a bit gruesome
but he said please look i said okay and i looked
and i don't know if you know you know what tar
is it's like black tar yeah and it looks like
that in my in my bowels and i was like oh like
what is that and he he was going through this
it was only one section it was really bad and
he went through this section he couldn't see
and it just got that bad i was like what is that
and he said it's like you're almost insides are
rotting because you're attacking yourself he's
doing this and i just thought oh so then he said
all right cool so we can see straight away he
i think he told me straight away he was like
there's active colitis like it's there like you
can see it i was all right and then he brought
me back out and he was like um yeah so you have
active prokaryotes so it's like it affects your
rectum more but it can obviously go to further
up and stuff and i had a lot of polyps as well
which obviously i want a new and they remove
like two polyps and i had one right near my rectum
but he couldn't remove it because it's too sensitive
um and he said that maybe a you're bleeding from
the inflammation but he said you also could be
bleeding from that polyp because it just into
you know irritates it a lot so yeah basically
came out he said you've got colitis we're going
to do a biopsy and then obviously we'll get back
to you like with further results but in that
moment it was like You definitely have colitis.
There is something wrong with you. And then he
put me onto enemas and I was like, yeah, yeah.
That was it. Okay, so colitis, it's official.
How does it progress from here? Like you said,
you put on enemas, but are they helping? Over
the next weeks, months, are they adding any other
treatment? And sort of how did you settle into
navigating this disease? Yeah, so... um as soon
as i like left the hospital they um gave me the
prescription which was pentasia enemas um and
then i also have to take eight tablets a day
as well i believe on top of that so like them
in the morning the enema at night and when they
said oh we're going to give you like you know
some medication i thought they're going to give
me a few tablets it turns out i left the pharmacy
with like six big bags of boxes of enemas and
i was like what are these like what on earth
are these things and then obviously I got to
the night time and my mum was a carer so she
knew what end of the war and I didn't really
understand it and she's like you have to go on
your side and put it up and I was like what like
up my bum she was like yeah and I was like huh
so then I did it and it's a really weird feeling
end of the month because when you do it you're
not allowed to pass for like 30 minutes but it
feels like you could straight away so it was
like I did that for around a month or so and
then They helped a very little bit, but not a
crazy amount. They helped a little bit and I
found a bit of relief in them. And then I actually
went to my consultant and he said, yes, you've
actually got Crohn's colitis. So he said, the
Crohn's is causing the prokitis down that side.
And I was like, all right. So he said, we need
to kind of put you on something a little bit
stronger, you know? So yeah, then I went on to
prednisolone, prednisine. one of them. And they
was pretty good, but I got big moon face, which
wasn't, you know, which wasn't like too flattering,
but yeah. And then I got that. And then further,
further now after the eight week course, I'm
on now on adamilumab, I believe it's called,
the injections. And these have worked a treat.
Like I kid you not, I literally feel like, not
my old self, like I still kind of feel a bit
off, but like in general, like I feel like really
good. So yeah. So in that case, do you consider
yourself in remission currently? Are you still
symptomatic or where are you at today? I would
say pretty much remission. I get nauseous sometimes.
The only thing that no medication has been able
to stop is the joint pain. Like I never really
had joint pain before, but both of my knees,
my elbows and my wrists, I really feel it all
the time. So without the joint pain, I would
say like I'm... like 80 kind of how i was but
the joint pain is really quite bad on me so stuff
like it's like one of those side effects to to
having the the ibd yeah it's not just you know
focused on your gut or your rectum but You know,
there's all these other sort of, I don't know
if you can call them side effects, but other
conditions potentially that crop up. You know,
me, I've been in remission for 12 years now.
And yet, you know, I think I have periods where
chronic fatigue sets in and it just kind of like
hits me like that, you know, for a couple of
weeks. And I had to try to make sense of it.
I'm thinking like, oh, am I working too much?
Is it like the season's changing? But I'm realizing,
no, I mean, you still have a disease, you know,
that's going on. It's just, it's in remission,
right? I guess everybody has their own struggles.
But yeah, I'm good to hear that you're managing
right now. So you mentioned earlier, obviously,
before your diagnosis, you were super fit, you
know, best shape of your life. Is this something
that, you know, you've sort of reclaimed now?
Did you get that back? And what kind of lifestyle
changes have you made, you know, since your diagnosis?
Before my Crohn's, well, my colitis, well, my
diagnosis in general, before that happened, like
I was a musician and I was... I'm so, I've always
been like a really ambitious person. I work stupidly
hard. Sometimes I feel like I'm borderline insane,
right? So when I did that and then I got the
diagnosis, I was like, it did kind of take a
little bit of energy from me. It felt like the
task that I was usually doing day to day definitely
was taking, I'd say like to do the same tasks,
it's like double the effort, but you're still
only managing the same amount of tasks. So my
mindset is like, I don't want to be defined by
this. And I won't let it. So my my point of view
is if I wake up in the morning and I feel a bit
off, I'm still going to do what I need to do.
Obviously, if I'm flaring, I need rest. I will
I will rest with my flouts when the flouts do
come. They are really bad. And I'm not going
to try power through that because that'd be stupid.
Right. But, you know, in the days when you wake
up and you do feel a bit off, I think, you know
what? If every single day I didn't do what I
wanted to do because I felt off, I would get
nothing done and I would just. waste my life
away and again me being such a strong -minded
person and like I have a dream to get I have
aspirations just because I've got a chronic illness
doesn't mean that stops right and I always say
just because it's harder doesn't mean it's impossible
so yeah that's kind of my motto to life right
now I go to gym roughly the same as I used to
I roughly do the same amount of tasks but it
is a lot harder and I do feel like I need to
rest a little bit longer but um yeah i wouldn't
say i'm in like a debilitating state but i do
believe that my um chronic illness is quite mild
in comparison because i do see some people and
they are bedridden and people have a lot of complications
me i'm only a year in i've had no real complications
which i'm thankful for but um yeah i'm just happy
with the state that i'm in for now and i'm going
to hopefully continue to try and stay in this
kind of state but yeah that's my outlook on life
and that's how my life is now so yeah no that's
great no i mean of course you know there's there's
always people out there who are sort of worse
off but i always i'm always cautious to not really
compare you know one you know uh condition to
another i mean everybody has their chronic illness
that they're dealing with and especially in the
world of ibd so Everybody has their own challenges,
right? Yeah, definitely. It's like we say, so
we're all trying to wake up every day feeling
our best. Sometimes it's not possible. But what
I'm really seeing is that no matter... how dire
your situation is with your IBD. Like everybody
has good moments, everybody has bad moments.
Whether it's remission through medication, whether
it's surgery, the consensus is when you find
what kind of works for you, then we're all feeling
better, right? And that's what we all strive
for. So I don't think that any of us needs to
make any excuses just because our journey might
be milder or shorter than somebody else's. I
always say we're all in this shit together, right?
And so as long as there's no cure, you know,
we're still in it together. Yeah, I agree. Yeah.
So you said it yourself, you know, your IBD journey
is still quite young over your year dealing with
it. How do you cope with sort of this fear that,
hey, there might be a stronger flare coming,
right? Or maybe the next flare is the one that
tips you over the edge or medication stops working,
right? Because we all sort of have those fears.
How do you deal with that? And sort of how do
you keep hope alive and positivity as you move
forward, not really knowing what's going to happen,
right? I think because of the outlook that I
have on life in general, I think your mindset
can really dictate how you're going to feel also
in the future. We can't control flares, we can't
control stuff that happens, but health anxiety
is real. I do have health anxiety. you know i'll
get caught my finger oh my god i'm gonna get
sepsis like i'm a real freak about stuff like
that but i just think if every day i wake up
and i really think today could be the day i do
flare up the likelihood of that happening because
what triggers flare -ups stress and we know we
kind of think to ourselves if i'm in a constant
state of stress and i'm really on edge the likelihood
of me flaring up can be quite high so this is
why i said from my diagnosis I don't get stressed
about anything anymore because they say like
stress, you know, you can have all the stress
in the world until you get like a health scare.
Everything leaves and you're only focused on
your health. Do you know what I mean? So now
I'm at a point where I'm stuck in traffic. Cool,
I'll put my music on. I'm sitting in traffic.
I'm going to be relaxed. Like any bits of stress
I can eliminate, I will. And again, of course,
like I really do think about my Crohn's all the
time because it's here, you know, it's with me.
But again, I don't want it. this is the point
i try to make i don't want to try to consume
me because again i feel like if i did i'd go
down a really dark path and again i went through
them three months of feeling the worst i've ever
felt mentally and physically and it's like i
really don't want to go back there so yeah again
a massive flare -up would come but i will take
it how i need to and like i really just believe
that i'll have to just try and stay strong and
positive through it even though being positive
can be hard when you're in pain but um yeah i
don't think being overly negative about things
can help also so i think finding a balance is
great and i've got great people my friends my
family everything like that so yeah i don't worry
about it too much but then when it does come
out like okay now i'm a bit worried yeah for
sure so mind gut connection i'm a strong believer
that that that is real for sure you mentioned
Yeah, you mentioned like tuning out negativity.
You mentioned trying to avoid stress. Are those
two of the main aspects of your outlook on life
or what else sort of composes that? Yeah, I just
think that we become our thoughts and like when
you are thinking so possessively over something
for so long, you know, we can create things.
And like I say, Again, I do have health anxiety.
Like even before I got diagnosed, like if I started
getting a little pain somewhere, the more I thought
about that pain in my shoulder, I'm like, oh
my God, there's something on my shoulder. And
then I'll search up on Google for days. And before
I know it, it's like, oh, I've got a tumor in
my shoulder. It's like, no, you might've just
gone to the gym and done a bench press and pulled
it a little bit. So it's what I'm saying. Now
that might've even unsetted my diagnosis being
in constant like stress and like paranoia. So
yeah, now I just really trying to be Zen. I work
hard, but I don't like it to like cripple me
with stress because I know that again, I don't
want to flare up. I'm keeping flares at bay the
best I can. So yeah. Yeah. The mind to gut connection
is definitely real. In what other ways has this
disease changed you as a person? to be a lot
more a lot more caring so going back to like
the point we was kind of making earlier like
there's different severity is to not just chronic
illnesses but people's threshold with things
people are more sensitive to things some people
can um work through things that others can't
and i always think this is about the comparison
thing i kind of took myself away from it now
because Just because I might have done 10 things
and this person's only done one, doesn't make
me better and doesn't make them worse. It might
have took the same amount of energy for that
person to do one thing than it has me 10. So
in comparison, we're at the same level. So my
biggest, I would say, mindset shift is just be
more compassionate towards people because now
it's like, I just thought like, if I just keep
working hard and I'm working and everyone else
isn't like, I'm gonna like, you know, I'm just
like, I'm just like crazy. fanatic guy it's like
oh yeah i guess you are but that doesn't take
away that someone just getting out of bed is
just as hard as me doing these 10 tasks and again
i'm thankful for it like i am it might sound
a bit crazy i am more thankful than i am not
to have got this diagnosis because it's made
me such a better man like i feel like a man now
before i felt like a boy i just like i'd have
these mindset things and like i don't know it
was like a lot of negativity in my head as well
so now i'm i'm a lot more positive on life and
um yeah i just think that we all going through
our hardships there's no competition it's like
having a chronic illness is just an l anyway
like before we even start chronic illness is
just terrible what help is it comparing and being
like oh mine's worse than yours or this and that
it's just like no let's just try it'll be the
best we can with the circumstances that we're
in so yeah you You obviously are pretty active
also on social media. And this is actually how
we connected through TikTok specifically. And
you chronicle your IBD journey on there as well.
How did that came to be? Were you that kind of
a person before your illness as well? Or was
that something in you that just awakened at one
point that pushed you to say, hey, you know what?
I want to share my journey with others. I want
to share what it's like to live with a chronic
illness and maybe help people that way. How did
that come to be? Yeah, so it's quite funny, really.
i was a musician so i was always making music
videos like i was always out there i was shooting
content great so coming coming to like the content
side of game and things like i'm like i was like
a veteran i felt fine doing it and then i got
my diagnosis and for so long in my music i was
trying to like almost betray myself as this like
lover boy mr you know charming and stuff like
that and then when i got my diagnosis or like
when i started on my symptoms i was like oh i'm
so embarrassed now like my this whole facade
thing that i'm creating i'm shitting myself i'm
23 years old i'm going out and i'm shitting myself
how can i be this mr you know smooth guy well
then my friend um charlorente he said you know
what share your music that's great share the
content of your music that's great but he said
let people in because at the end of the day people
want to know who you are and for so long i was
like I felt almost embarrassed. Like I was like
embarrassed about, oh my God, like I now have,
it's like a disability. You know, I was like,
I'm now disabled. Like how? Like I was, I was
fine and now I'm not. So it took me a long time
to kind of get to terms with the fact that I'm
still me. I'm still Lewis. Hi, nice to meet you.
But I do have this thing that's happening inside
of me. And then when he kind of said that, he
said, start showing more of that, show more of
you because. Like this consumes a lot of my life.
So it's like if people want to get to know me
This is a part of my life. You're like my like
my music you might think I'm funny You might
think I'm motivational all these good things
But also I have a chronic illness and people
out there do too and the amount of messages that
I get is like Overwhelming like I never thought
in my head that even like the funny videos that
I do people message me saying like this has just
got me through my day and I'm like the funny
video and they're like yeah because it's showing
a lightheartedness but it's also showing awareness
I'm like oh right great but I didn't think about
it like that I was just putting it out so it's
like this is how I feel so yeah without my friend
just saying be a bit more open and just really
like let people in because so the point I'm trying
to get is I'm not embarrassed anymore I'm not
trying to hide anything and this is what I'm
saying this is another tick box for a bonus for
me getting diagnosed because it's like it's made
me accept who I am for who I am and when before
getting diagnosed as well I was I bottled everything
up and like I said I was like quite like an angry
person I don't know why I just had this like
thing against the world but now like I realize
I am a bit more emotional than I thought and
I do believe I have I have a form of anxiety
and it's because I bottled up for so long I didn't
know this but it's like it's all just like cracked
my shell and now I'm like coming out of it and
now I'm you know people are seeing me for how
I am and I'm actually helping people which I
don't know. To me, it's still crazy, but yeah.
So keyword helping people. I like that because
you're right. I mean, so many people out there
are not as comfortable as you or I, you know,
in sharing life with IBD. Yeah. But it's great
that they do find the courage to reach out based
on what they see, based on what they hear, based
on what it is that we're doing. If we start with
people who have been recently diagnosed, Crohn's
or colitis, doesn't matter. They kind of feel
lost. They struggle, right? Just starting treatments.
Based on what you've experienced, based on maybe
the questions that you have been asked as well
through social media, what kind of advice would
you have for those kind of people? What kind
of words of wisdom, in a sense, would you have
for somebody who is just starting out on their
IBD journey? a new normal that you're not used
to and that doing things that you may have done
before may not as be may not be as easy now and
you know like in my example it's like i still
can roughly do the same but just because i'm
doing the same doesn't mean that i'm feeling
it any less like i feel like i say i get tired
a lot more need a lot more rest you know it's
like the wear and tear is like a lot more uh
prevalent now but yeah i would say that just
trying to accept firstly like the point earlier
that we made it's like i was embarrassed about
it i was like oh no i can't let any but like
i i hid that i even had it for like the first
three months because i was like i don't want
anybody to notice it's embarrassing and but the
more and the more and quickly you do just accept
that you know you do now have something wrong
with you like and the happier you'll be because
again you just don't want to suppress this emotion
because a it's hard living with it anyway but
trying to hide it as well will make it just as
bad and then yeah i would i would say just accepting
that okay this is the new me and now you're gonna
have to navigate life a bit differently and things
might be harder but again like i said earlier
harder doesn't mean impossible so there is a
light at the end of the tunnel it's just that
in the moment it can be a bit daunting but yeah
that's what i'd say And you mentioned you had
really strong positive support from the people
around you. I'm assuming, you know, family and
friends. So if we turn it now to the people that
know people with IBD, right? People, you know,
husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, partners,
friends, family members. What would your advice
be to those people who are... loving and caring
for someone who has been diagnosed with colitis
or Crohn's, what's their best approach if they
come to you and say, hey, so I got this person.
I love that person very much. How do I help him?
How do I support that person? Firstly, compassion.
Just be so compassionate towards them because
you are so isolated in that moment. From your
diagnosis, that person now. we are only here
once we have one life and i've never experienced
this before you've never experienced it before
until you got it it's our first time right so
it's so scary it's so like confusing it's so
isolating so i would i'd literally just say be
compassionate and understand that even if we
look okay most of the times we're not and like
a lot of people like We can't be that bad if
you go to gym. It's like, what? I don't even
get that argument. I went to gym feeling like
shit, but I didn't want to just sit in bed because
that made me feel probably even worse. So I went
to gym and it made me feel better. But it's just
like people don't understand the difference between
looking okay and actually being okay. you know
90 % of the time I just look okay but there's
something inside me or like when I'm in public
and I'm like I can feel like the itch is starting
like I start itching and I get a little bit and
I'm just like we are really fucking strong people
because a lot of people would crumble under the
pressure that we do the pain the anxiety the
isolation and I think that you know people just
with a chronic illness in general are like the
strongest people ever but a lot of people can
look at them as weak as lazy and stuff like this
but it's like you wouldn't understand so i don't
even argue with people anymore who don't get
it it's like we're not lazy you know we do want
to do things if our body allows it but sometimes
it doesn't so yeah just be more compassionate
be more compassionate compassion being the key
word and i think that's the best starting point
as well for somebody to understand and i always
say like be compassionate educate yourself a
little bit as well you know don't go down a weird
spiral and And then I always think one of the
biggest ones for me was always that let them
know you're there, but don't impose yourself
either, right? Because we will come to you once
we feel better, once we are ready, if we need
or when we need something, we will be there.
And I think, you know, it ties into exactly what
you said. If you as the person practice the compassion,
you will understand all that, you know, and you'll
get it very quickly. So yeah, that's a good point.
That's a good point. So obviously you've... interact
with a lot of people you know on social media
online you know people who have IBD might be
affected by it you know what kind of common misconceptions
about like colitis or Crohn's have you come across
so what are your main ones that you kind of like
keep seeing or that sometimes frustrate you or
anger you even ah there's a few um I would say
the biggest misconception is the IBD is literally
just you not being able to hold your poop and
it's like that's one element great but there's
so much more like and when if I if I if I tell
someone I have IBD and I oh what's that I kind
of just like, I don't want to know what to say
because it's like, I don't want to downplay it,
but I don't want to like overcomplicate. So I'm
trying to find like a nice way I can kind of
put it where they'll understand it, but they're
not just come away from the conversation like,
oh, just like IBS then. It's like, oh, it's,
you know, IBS by itself is hard. I know people
with it. It's not a nice thing to go through,
but then it's like for you to just say, oh, so
it's like IBS. It's like, I guess. it's saying
that we both poo ourselves i guess but like the
problems that come from having ibd to ibs it's
like completely different ball game so but then
again that's just people being a bit uneducated
and again this is why it's good to raise awareness
so people understand when i say oh by the way
i have like ibd you go oh shit you know you've
got ibd i bet that's tough but then for you to
just go oh so it's like you're kind of pooing
yourself it's like no like that's like the worst
thing you could ever say to somebody so yeah
that's definitely an element but it's not a whole
story it's just like a chapter it's not the whole
book so yeah yeah yeah no i think it's a really
good point because it actually now now that i
hear you speak it when i explain it to people
Obviously, I try to keep the definition pretty
short and pretty easy. You know, I don't want
to get into too medical or anything. But it's
true that this sort of running to the toilet
or the shitting part really takes center stage.
But it is so much more. It is fatigue. It is
abdominal pain. It is lack of energy, right?
Like it is mental struggles, right? And all of
that is IBD. Even though the B stands for bowel,
yeah, sure, you know, I mean, we might be on
the toilet 20 times a day when we're flaring,
but there's just so much more going on that is
connected to, yeah, the shitting part, right?
So as we kind of get close to wrapping up here
and we sort of covered the past, we covered the
present, you know, we want to, you know... Look
out for the future as well. But I think, you
know, we cannot really go into the future without
properly understanding the present and also the
past. So for like a final moment of introspection,
I would love to hear from you if you could go
back today to that day that you were diagnosed.
And even though back then you kind of already
knew what colitis sort of was, what would you
tell yourself, you know, on that day that you
came out of the colonoscopy and your doctor told
you have this? I think it would bleed into like
the point that I kind of made earlier. It was.
Your normal now is a lot different to what your
normal was. And yeah, I thought I was just going
to hop out there and it's like, you know, run
into the sunset, you know. But then I quickly
learned in like the first month I was like, damn,
like I'm usually doing this stuff and I'm. have
more energy after but now it's like i just don't
i just generally don't have the energy so i would
just say that the the new normal that you're
gonna face is something you're gonna have to
learn to adapt to and navigate instead of just
like trying to keep up with the old normal that
you used to have and um yeah again understanding
your body a lot more as well like when your body
talks listen and that's what i didn't do for
the first 22 23 years of my life i was just on
go go go go disregard everything i'm a you know
i need to just stay focused but now it's like
if i feel that flare coming on i'ma just sit
back and i'ma just let whatever needs to happen
happen without trying to push through it because
again it's not going to end well so accepting
your new normal is is the is the conclusion i
guess My final question for you is a difficult
one. And I insist on asking it because so far,
100 % of the time when I've asked it, there's
always been a sense of hope and optimism tied
to it. And I always want to end with hope and
optimism. So I'm in remission. You're in remission.
So we're lucky that we're feeling good. But we
are not cured, right? This is sleeping right
now, right? Do you think that in our lifetime
we will see a cure to IBD? I think it's a very
complex disease. But a lot of complex diseases
100 years ago is a tablet and it's gone today.
So I think in our lifetime, yes. I don't think
it's going to be very, very soon in like the
next five years. But I think if we're maybe talking
20, 30, 20, 30 years, I think that. Yeah, again,
with how quickly medicine is advancing. Hey,
I am going to worry. I'm just waiting for the
day to go. That's cured. Give me some, you know,
and I'll be happy. But yeah, I do think so. Yeah,
I definitely do. Yeah. Listen, 20, 30 years,
that's a pretty positive outlook. So I'll take
it. So I'm definitely game, definitely game.
Luz, thanks so much for sharing your journey
and for spreading the positivity. I think some
of the insights about how you see your life now,
as opposed to before your diagnosis, I think
that's really inspiring. And I really hope that
I can speak to a lot of people as well. From
my end, I can just wish you the best. And I really
hope that you keep doing what you're doing. I
would say if you can just answer one question,
you know, to somebody who's struggling per day
and or somebody, you know, messages you and says,
thank you, that made my day. That is really part
of our purpose. And I think that's more than
enough. So keep that up. And I wish you nothing
but the best in your continuing journey with
Crohn's and colitis. Yeah, I just want to say
as well, thank you so much for having me as well.
I think what you're doing is amazing. I think
awareness is so important in today's age with
a lot of uneducated, borderline ignorant people
sometimes. So, yeah, I think what you're doing
is like God's work. And again, if I can be any
help towards that, you know, I'm definitely down
for that. And hopefully the cure is coming. And
while we're waiting, this raising awareness and
advocating for ourselves and others, that's the
best thing we can do. And that's what we should
be doing. So thanks so much, Louis, again. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you. That's it for today's
episode of Kaleidos Unfiltered. I'm Frank Tabering.
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