To understand how my anorexia was discovered, you need to understand my journey with Crohn’s disease. Suffering from Crohn’s disease means that I have to go to hospital every three months to see my consultant. As part of the hospital visit, I am weighed, which means I constantly have someone watching my weight. This is normal for Crohn’s patients, as some patients with Crohn’s suffer weight loss as one of their symptoms. I don’t though. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s in March 2015 after having suffered the symptoms of Crohn’s (diarrhoea, stomach cramps) since April 2012. I first went to the doctor’s in my home town, but the doctor failed to conduct the right tests (despite me having some of the most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease) to diagnose me. I gave up getting a diagnosis and left it until January 2014 where my symptoms were so severe that I finally dragged myself to the GP at my university in London. I had several blood tests taken and was finally referred to hospital where I had an MRI scan, an ultrasound and finally a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy I had in March 2015 confirmed that it was Crohn’s disease, and from then on I went to see my consultant, Dr Mehta, every three months.
I was prescribed to take steroids, and I dreaded the side effects, which include weight gain and acne. However, the steroids I was given were a newer, special kind of steroid (Budesonide), which did not give these side effects. But the Budesonide actually didn’t seem to work at all, so after 6 months, in September 2015, my consultant and I decided that it was better to have an operation to cut out the part of my intestine that is affected by the Crohn’s. This was a scary decision, but the operation would ensure that the Crohn’s would go away for at least a few years, although it is likely to return at some point. I was relieved by the decision, as I hate being on medication, and I just want to be free of the Crohn’s, even if only for a few years, as I want to be able to start my job in September without being concerned about potential Crohn’s flare-ups.
By September 2015, I had unintentionally lost 2.5 kg and was a little underweight - but nothing concerning - I have always been at a weight juuuust borderline to being underweight, without being overly concerned about what I eat - although I do make sure to eat healthily. I’m also known amongst my friends and family as being a huuuuge cake and chocolate lover - but when you eat healthily, it is also okay to let yourself go nuts every now and then, and have a huge piece of cake.
In November 2015, I went home for my 1-week university break, by which time I had lost 5 kg, mostly unintentionally. I weighed 45 kg, and my family noticed the change in my appearance. I don’t see my family very often (they live in a different country), and so they noticed the change more than I did. On top of the weight loss and the many comments from my family, my Crohn’s symptoms had improved, and this was where my weight loss began to become intentional…
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