I was about 12 years old when I had found out that a family member, Chloe, of mine had something that went from symptoms of a cold into a full blown chronic illness.
My family member had been particularly healthy. Though, when she was sick, she would get sicker longer than a normal person would. She had went on a trip with some of her best friends. Chloe was a fun and outgoing person and didn’t think her life for the next year and a half would be so hectic.
After she had gotten back from her trip, she said she did not feel very good. She would come to my house and tell my mom, “I always have a stomach ache” and “I’m always in pain.” Her husband took her to the doctors after she thought that she had just caught the flu or something from traveling. After it persisted for a few weeks, she thought it was longer than she usually would experience the flu so she went to the hospital. By then, she felt very drained and ‘didn’t feel like moving.’
She was first diagnosed with gastritis, the inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It could be due to a few different factors, so doctors don’t know what had caused this. They couldn’t really pinpoint it. It most likely because of a bacterial infection. She had taken a very strong medication to try and get rid of the bacteria causing this. But, with her sensitivity to her immune system, as it takes longer for her to heal from sickness, this was a problem.
This medication, in fact, was very strong. It wiped out a lot of bacteria from her stomach. The good and the bad bacteria. This can make someone very immunocompromised. Basically, she had the vulnerability to get even more sick because other bacteria that survived and was strong enough to survive had manifested into her body and made her even more sick.
I think that the biomedical system and overall healthcare system today should focus on giving better options to patients, especially ones who have weaker immune systems like Chloe. She had taken the medication that was very strong and affected her greatly. She had now contracted Clostridium difficile. This can be a very dangerous type of bacteria that will cause a range of symptoms. Unfortunately, she had gotten some of the the worst of it.
She had symptoms ranging from diarrhea to not being able to eat for long periods of time because she couldn’t stomach anything. I would visit Chloe in the hospital as she was always in and out of that place that she began to dread. Her husband would sleep with her in the hospital most nights while her child stayed with his grandparents. Being a 12 year old, I had not really grasped the magnitude of this thing that she had. Not until I physically saw her get more worse and in pain. She looked very pale and bony by the time she was at the tail end of this ordeal.
She had suffered for so long because her Clostridium difficile had turned into a chronic colon inflammatory disease called Ulcerative Colitis. I had not known what that was at all. But, she struggled with that and still does today although she has finally found a medication that can make her inflammatory flare-ups less severe.
The biomedical and overall healthcare system does need to work on a few things. They need more research so that they can better determine the disease. As she had struggled for a long time with no name to her disease further causing her pain that she had to put up with. They also need to work on offering safer options. She thanks God for her current doctor who was the only doctor not to suggest that she have surgery to take out her whole colon. Now she takes her medication with a needle every few weeks and I am just glad she had great support from her family and healthcare team.
Hello!
I am sorry to hear about your family member and their chronic illness. Thank you for sharing. I agree with your statement about how the biomedical system overall should focus on giving better options to patients. Like I said in my post, my mom was given a much stronger chemo than was necessary which was just making her feel even worse. I believe they should look closer into the depth of the problem (illness) and address it more personally rather than generally. They shouldn’t just give you what they use to treat the condition overall, instead, they should personalize the treatment plan for the patient. Seeing someone suffer from a condition is bad enough, and after seeing them ever more sick from their ‘supposed to be treatment’ can take a big toll on everyone around them mentally as well. I also agree with your statement being that the biomedical system needs to do more research to better determine the disease. My mom was told she was completely fine and to go home, and a few weeks later at her fourth doctor they told her she had stage 4 breast cancer. The biomedical system needs to improve on a lot, specifically, better research and safer treatment plans for individuals so more people can trust and depend on it for their overall well being.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend, as someone with a lot of gut issues who also comes from a family with a lot of gut issues I can sympathize with your friend. C-dif is no joke, and neither is ulcerative colitis. Sadly there are a lot of limitations to what biomed can do for a person, and sometimes it seems like it is best not to take biomeds “cures” and just suffer with your illness.
I am so sorry to hear about Chloe, this sounds like a very scary time for her and everyone around her. I am glad that she was able to find a cure even if it was found after a great deal of suffering. Everyone has a different tolerance level when it comes to medications and it is ultimately up to use to be our own doctors. In my nutrition classes we are often taught to question the doctors as they don’t have all the answers and we are highly educated people as well who can offer insight. I agree with you that more research needs to be done about different diseases overall but I think it is important as a patient to listen to our own bodies, we know our bodies better than anyone and if we think something is wrong it probably is.