Ulcerative Colitis
In New Zealand at least 80% of the population have been diagnosed with one or more chronic health condition. Some people manage to hide their illness so well even their close friends or family members are unaware of it. This essay discusses my interviewee’s experiences living with long term illness regarding the impact of the disease on his everyday life and self-management strategies.
At the beginning of the interview I introduced Jozef to the topic and I explained why this project is important for my nursing practice. I told him that the gained information stays confidential and only my tutor going to know his real identity. To further protect his identity I used a fake name in this essay. I educated him about his rights especially his right …show more content…
It is characterized by the inflammation of the inner ling of the colon and can cause ulceration at the same area. The location and the severity of the disease could vary from person to person. It could affect only a particular part of the colon, like descending sigmoid or the entire colon and can range to mild to severe. Typical signs and symptoms of UC include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, excess mucus surrounding the fecal material and abdominal pain. The exact cause is unknown, but some genetic factors could play an important role of the development. It is not uncommon to have two people with UC in the same family. Treatment of this disease is still challenging and no cure is available, because of the uncertainty around the real cause of the …show more content…
Studies suggest that approximately 90% of people after their diagnosis changed their diet dramatically which helped them to control their disease. The connection between food and UC is still not well understood, but has a huge impact on severity of the disease. No research study have been able to identify the specific type of diet which could be useful in managing UC or Crohn disease. Most of the time people with Inflammatory bowel disease have to found out by themselves what they body can tolerate and what upsets their GI system. Some people benefit from low fiber diet other have to restrict their lactose intake.
Josef also takes his medications regularly and attend on regular checkups. He is taking Pentasa twice daily with good effect. In the past with the support of his doctor Jozef tried to gradually decrease the medication dose and stop taking it. Unfortunately Jozef’s colon become inflamed after the first decrease in the medication dose. The reason why Josef wanted to stop his medication, because of the “nasty” side effects Josef least once in every six months suffers from intense headaches, which has a negative impact on his normal
At the beginning of the interview I introduced Jozef to the topic and I explained why this project is important for my nursing practice. I told him that the gained information stays confidential and only my tutor going to know his real identity. To further protect his identity I used a fake name in this essay. I educated him about his rights especially his right …show more content…
It is characterized by the inflammation of the inner ling of the colon and can cause ulceration at the same area. The location and the severity of the disease could vary from person to person. It could affect only a particular part of the colon, like descending sigmoid or the entire colon and can range to mild to severe. Typical signs and symptoms of UC include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, excess mucus surrounding the fecal material and abdominal pain. The exact cause is unknown, but some genetic factors could play an important role of the development. It is not uncommon to have two people with UC in the same family. Treatment of this disease is still challenging and no cure is available, because of the uncertainty around the real cause of the …show more content…
Studies suggest that approximately 90% of people after their diagnosis changed their diet dramatically which helped them to control their disease. The connection between food and UC is still not well understood, but has a huge impact on severity of the disease. No research study have been able to identify the specific type of diet which could be useful in managing UC or Crohn disease. Most of the time people with Inflammatory bowel disease have to found out by themselves what they body can tolerate and what upsets their GI system. Some people benefit from low fiber diet other have to restrict their lactose intake.
Josef also takes his medications regularly and attend on regular checkups. He is taking Pentasa twice daily with good effect. In the past with the support of his doctor Jozef tried to gradually decrease the medication dose and stop taking it. Unfortunately Jozef’s colon become inflamed after the first decrease in the medication dose. The reason why Josef wanted to stop his medication, because of the “nasty” side effects Josef least once in every six months suffers from intense headaches, which has a negative impact on his normal