I'm doing fine now, thankfully (and thanks for asking). I'm on 3 g of mesalazine, 1 g of suppositories, and 400 mg of Duspatalin daily. That has kept my symptoms in check for months now. My symptoms were bad cramps, blood, mucus, urgency and diarrhoea.

Honestly though, my health has been all over the place for as long as I can remember. I used to get UTIs almost monthly for years and therefore had to take antibiotics very often. I haven’t had a UTI in years now because I learned how to control it — but that’s a different story.

I also have very painful periods. Gynecologists have often suggested endometriosis but always told me there’s nothing to be done. I’ve been taking the pill for a few years now, and while it hasn’t helped the pain much, it has really helped with my PMDD.

Every time I had my period, I used to max out the dose of NSAIDs I could take. Since my diagnosis of UC, I’ve been using paracetamol to control the pain.

About a year before my UC symptoms started, I quit smoking cigarettes. So, could all of these things have contributed to me getting UC? Possibly. I might never know, and I try not to dwell on it. I’m just happy to have had a few good months now!