Thankfully, since then I have come to terms with my diagnosis and actually been able to understand what it is and what it means, so that now, I can live a relatively normal life with it. It took me about a year after my diagnosis to start joining Crohn’s and Colitis support groups, but when I did, I was able to learn so much about what Crohn’s Disease is and what having it would mean for me.

Not too long ago, I asked people in my Crohn’s Disease group for advice they wish they’d had when they were first diagnosed – and they were all so incredibly helpful. From that, I’ve compiled the second segment to Things I Wish I’d Known When I Was Diagnosed – you can read the first segment here!

I wish I’d known it wasn’t all in my head because “being less stressed” doesn’t cure it!

– Lauren Mitchell

I wish I’d listened to my body more as a 16/ 17 year old and got help sooner. I also wish I knew about support groups/ accounts sooner. They are such an amazing help and everyone’s encouragement and positivity genuinely warms my heart. I love the IBD community.

– Nancy Tysoe

Be careful where you seek out information on the internet – NHS and CCUK are the best.

– Gill Renouf

That everybody’s different and something that may work for someone else may not work for me.

– Rachel Macdonald

Employment law, i.e. what are my rights, the importance of vitamins and minerals (check iron, vit b12+folate, vit D), mental health support.

– Bob Hope

Make the most of the time you are, relatively, symptom free. I’ve lost too many years to this condition. I wish as a younger man I’d known what could happen in the future.

– David Buckle

That just because you have a diagnosed disease, life doesn’t have to be boring and your dreams diminished. If anything, it gives you a boost to take life and run with it 100%, to make the most of it.

– Sarah Wingrove

I hope that this post has been able to offer some help to those with Crohn’s Disease, those who have a loved one with an autoimmune disease, and even those that knew nothing about it before this post – I sure wish that I’d had something like this when I was first diagnosed!

If you have any other tips or questions, please let me know in the comments below!

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A couple months ago before the Coronavirus pandemic blew up, I went on a small trip around Europe. During that time, I thoroughly indulged myself in chocolate and cheese in Switzerland (note: I’m intolerant to dairy), along with partaking in other activities which usually cause gut irritation (constantly travelling, having no sleep, etc). When I finally landed in Cologne, my stomach was in turmoil – and I ended up spending the whole trip trying to get back to my former self.

In Crohn’s Disease, a flare-up is a sudden reactivation of symptoms where inflammation becomes more present in the body – and by my own carelessness and gluttonous nature, I had provoked it into returning. I had several weeks to really focus on bringing that inflammation down, and after just a few days, my stomach had returned to normal (or at least, as normal as it can be for someone with Crohn’s).

This is how I did it.

TOOK IT EASY

My travel partner and I became the queens of slow travel once we’d finally landed in Cologne. Aware of the fact that we hadn’t relaxed properly in about a week, we took our time visiting museums and bookstores, and interspersed each visit with long stunts of cafes and rest. We took everything real slow and were careful not to overdo it – after such a hard couple of weeks on my stomach, it was beneficial to just take some time out to really listen to my body.

SWITCHED DIETS

After the dairy overload in Switzerland, I decided to switch to a diet that would be kind to my digestive system. I cut out food groups that are known to cause inflammation, and introduced more gut-friendly foods. My diet was low-fibre, but I still made sure that I was getting at least the recommended amount of vitamins. In times of flare ups, it’s hard to make sure that you’re not bordering on malnutrition, so it’s even more important than usual to keep re-introducing the good stuff to your body.

MADE MYSELF COMFORTABLE

Instead of bunking down in a stressful little hostel, we stayed in a private room in the gorgeous Koncept Hotel. This directly contributed to making sure that I got enough sleep each night, so that I would give my body a chance to heal during REM. Staying somewhere comfortable and avoiding stress is a key thing to keeping inflammation down, slowly helping to draw myself out of the flare up. Another key thing is to not stay sedentary – so little strolls and spending time dedicated to moving about is just as important as slowing down and taking it easy.

TOOK EXTRA MEDICATION

Luckily, I always pack more medication than I should need for this very reason. Not only does it cover my bases in case I lose a bag at the airport, but it also means that I can double-dose my medication when I feel like I need it most. Depending on the type of medication you take, this may not always be possible – but it’s worth checking with your doctor beforehand to see if you can double the dosage or incorporate another drug into your diet, should you desperately need it.

WATCHED WHAT I DRANK

Throughout the whole trip, I made sure to avoid alcohol (especially the much-loved German bier!), as the carbonation and acid would irritate my digestive system and contribute even further to the level of inflammation of the stomach lining. I also avoided fizzy drinks (due to the sugar and carbonation) and anything heavily caffeinated, instead sticking solely to water and green tea.

STAYED HYDRATED

Making sure to stay hydrated with bottled water and calming teas such as jasmine and camomile, I was able to both make up for the liquids I was losing, along with helping move on the toxins forming in my body and keep my digestive tract clear and ready to heal. It’s one of the most basic things to do when you’re a sufferer of IBD, and yet its importance is often overlooked.

BOOKED A DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT

Whilst it didn’t seem necessary to book an appointment in Germany for the short time that I was there, I still made sure that I would have an appointment waiting for me back home. Doing this meant that I was prepared with what to do next, making sure that I could bring myself back up to top health as quickly as possible

Crohn’s Disease is an auto-immune disease affecting every part of the body – from the stomach, to the joints, to the skin, to the eyes. Unfortunately, I seem to have every little side-effect relating to Crohn’s, which can make it quite an overwhelming illness at times. However, when my dream is to become an explorer, I really can’t let a little thing such as having an incurable disease stop me. Some things are simply more important.

If this has educated y’all a little more about what it’s like to travel with Crohn’s or has helped you in any way, let me know in the comments below!

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THE FISHERMAN’S BASTION, BUDAPEST

There’s only two things that I really want when I’m drinking hot coco – one, for the chocolate to be bordering heavenly, and two, for it to come with an absolute stunner of a view. The Fisherman’s Bastion in Hungary is definite champion for both of these categories, with views overlooking the famed Danube River, little townhouses, antiquated Hungarian ruins, and whole array of bastion turrets just a few feet away. It genuinely feels like you’ve just stepped into a magical fairytale castle, where the hot cocoa is thick, decorated with cream, and inordinately sweet. Prefer coffee over cocoa? Bones Coffee Company’s premium coffee pods offer an alternative for home brewing, featuring a range of flavored options, including seasonal and dessert-style varieties.

ANTICA DOMUS, ROME

Like with the Fisherman’s Bastion, Antica Domus hosts both incredible hot coco and an incredible view. This one, however, is definitely more well-known – it’s located only 20 feet from the Colosseum! It’s the absolute best place to see the ancient amphitheater, staying for a couple hours chatting to locals as the sun goes down and the tourists disappear. Also, the typical Italian mugs of melted chocolate are even more adjunct at Antica Domus, where you can really lose yourself in the thickly poured, rich coco, contemplating the beautiful city around you.

THE GRAPE AND OLIVE, SWANSEA

Situated in a gorgeous little city which will forever hold my heart, I would happily refer to the Grape and Olive as housing some of the best hot cocos in the whole entire world. A restaurant housed in the tallest building of the city, you’re really offered some insane views in a tower completely bereft of tourists. Overlooking the ocean, the marina, the town, and distant hills, I wouldn’t blame you for staying for a full lunch, dinner, and finishing with some hand-shaken cocktails. The hot coco is sweet and light, and perfect for that lil’ sugar rush needed for exploring the furthest depths of the city.

GLACIAR, BARCELONA

In another one of my favourite cities, I came across one of the best hot cocos I’ve ever been blessed with the privilege to try. The City of Gaudi is unsurprisingly going to be utterly stunning, but coupled with cinnamon and caramel churros with the cocoa, it instantly becomes a little sweeter. Glaciar is located just off the tiny square of Plaça Reial, which houses violin-playing wanderers and men offering to sell a rose to your sweetheart, offering you the heart of the city whilst you sip your coco. It’s the cutest little location, and the hot coco tastes just like thick churro dip – sweet and luxurious and bound to linger on your upper lip for an unprecedented amount of time.

RIVA, TROGIR

I wandered the streets of Croatia for what felt like years, trying to find a decent place that offered lactose-free hot chocolate. When I landed in the country, my Crohn’s was playing up a fair bit – meaning that I had to cancel out a lot of food groups. I was literally devastated when I found that absolutely nowhere could serve me hot coco I could actually consume – until I went to Riva. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Trogir, overlooking a quaint harbour bordering beautiful ruins, you can just sit for hours and watch the world go by. The hot coco is dark and syrupy, and the fact that they went completely out of their way to figure out how to make it lactose-free was really lovely.

VIA CAFFE, KRAKOW

When you’re stuck in the middle of a snow storm, fingers numb, eyeballs turning to frost, the thing that you want most in the world is to be somewhere warm, sipping something steaming, and soon. This scenario is more or less what happened when I visited Krakow and found myself freezing my absolute butt off, bundling into the warmest cafe I could find, and stumbling upon this indulgent hot chocolate. Not only did they do soya hot coco (yesss!), but they also served the most divine cakes to go with it. It took me hours to muster up the strength to leave the confines of the cafe and venture back out in the cold – and I could only do that after one more coco.

And so, that concludes my findings for now. I have explored more of Europe than any other continent, and tried a lot of hot coco – and these are undoubtably the best.

It’s absolutely a matter of life and death – or merely just pure insanity – that I must find the best hot coco in Europe. Let me know in the comments below where you guys have scouted out the best hot coco – this may be my most important assignment yet.*

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*I just really want to lose myself in coco.

I have been sat in front of my Macbook for hours, wondering what to write and how to write this post, knowing that after years of wanting to talk about my Crohn’s to a wider audience, I still don’t have the words to describe everything. Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I don’t write this post now I’ll probably end up never writing it at all, and that would be an even bigger shame. Alas, here I go – I have an incurable, lifelong disease. And I can’t eat chocolate.

WHAT IS CROHN’S DISEASE?

To put it simply – Crohn’s Disease makes you sh*t. A lot. Classified as a form of IBD, your body is constantly attacking and trying to reject all the healthy cells in your body (from the digestive system to the eyes, mouth, etc) by mistake. No kidding. No one knows what causes it, but it makes your intestines inflame and tries to ruin your life. I try to stay away from Google as I’ll tend to come across a bunch of stories with titles such as “It’s not classified as terminal, but…” and people talking about how their lives are over and how they’ve developed bowel cancer and perforations and other horrible things because of Crohn’s. Honestly though, so long as you can cope with all the side effects (from hair loss to rashes, constant fatigue to malnutrition)  and the like, you’ll be fine. It’s frustrating and exhausting, but liveable.

MY STORY

It turns out that I’ve always had Crohn’s, but it was only diagnosed in 2014 after I went through an insane amount of testing with almost all the doctors putting it down to stress. I was on a crap ton (haha) of drugs for a while, averaging at about 16 tablets a day for a bit, eventually having to leave school because my attendance was way below even 10%. I wouldn’t be able to summon the energy to leave my bed most days, as despite the medication and diet plan I was on, my body wasn’t absorbing anything and I was coming out pretty malnourished.

MY FAMILY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE

After a while of being high on meds, I stopped falling into decline and started steadying out a bit, until another bout of tonsillitis hit and my GP told me to take Erythromycin. I had such a big reaction to the medication that before I knew it I was hospitalised again, growing more and more ill each day. I tend to overdramatise a lot of things, but my family’s concern isn’t one of them – my mother recently confessed that she thought I was going to die during the worst week.

The medication made me see things and stop feeling things, and for a while I was numb and walked about in a zombie-like state. I can’t really recall what happened during those days, but I remember wondering why I felt so disconnected from the world, dropping to a weight nearly two stone lighter than I already was.

RECOVERY

LOOKING BACK

The worst part about my journey with Crohn’s (ignoring, you know, having Crohn’s) was that I was constantly turned away from doctors who didn’t even believe me. It took months of debilitating illness until one doctor clocked one of my notes and finally brought me in for testing. If by writing this post even one person reads my words and goes “wow, that sure does sound a lot like my sister” or the like, then it’s been worth sharing such a deep part of myself on the internet.