Life takes Guts with Nidhi Swarup

In 2018, Dharia had symptoms of abdominal discomfort, blood in the stools. She ignored, thinking it was haemorrhoid, and 23 times diarrhoea in a day, as caused by her food while in India. When back in S'pore, she continued to have diarrhoea 6 to 7 times a day, with blood in the stools. While donating blood, her Hb was too low to qualify, her weight dropped from 68kg to 48kg.   She was sent to see a GE from SGH, diagnosed as having moderately severe Ulcerative Colitis. Initial treatment was good, then she had high fever, was hospitalized again. Many cycles happened, she had low energy, fatigue, had only high carbo, high protein, liquid diet then. Her words of inspiration to fellow patients: All of us have lots of support from family, friends and CCSS, with fellow patients rallying support to one another.

She was married in 2018 in S'pore, then in Oct 2019, while holidaying, first found blood in her diarrhoea 5 to 6 times a day and thought that she had either haemorrhoid or colon cancer. She went to do a colonoscopy, found to be okay, except an infection and was given antibiotics. Her bloody diarrhoea did not go away.    She had a repeat Sigmoidoscopy and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. She was advised against surgery as an option. She took mesalazine for 10months and IV Steroid. She quitted her job to recover from her frequent diarrhoea. She is now on IV Biologics and is doing well with her newly discovered diet named  Kratica's OMG Diet, O=no oil, M=no milk (except yoghurt), G=no gluten.😀

Koh Bee Man, mother of a daughter with IBD. Her eldest daughter started with severe eczema at 2yo, then at 4yo, added with liver inflammation, diagnosed as hepatitis, caused by her autoimmune system, and treated with oral steroid and azathioprine. At Pr.3, she suddenly had severe, night diarrhoea, and was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at the end of her Pr.3 term.  She was given 0.5mg Prednisolone for hepatitis and mesalazine for Crohn's. Mom read a lot from the internet, decided to try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, but it did not work. In Pr.4, she was given FODMAP diet, a low fibre, easily digestible, low-flatulence, slow-peristalsis diet, without onion and garlic, which worked for her girl.  Mom believes her stunted growth will recover once her CD is under control, but to be treated before she stops growing. She had 6-monthly blood tests and colonoscopies in Pr.4 and Sec.1. She received very good support from her family, friends and her school.

Dan was diagnosed at 17 yo, while living in Canada in1988, had skin tags, sore throat, night sweat, abdominal colic, severe diarrhoea, fistula, anal fissures, and could feel stools moving through his stomach and intestines.  He was later diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, Renal Thinning, Lupus, Hypertension and Depression. He called himself a "fighter", having to fight all five different illnesses, with strong support from his family and friends.  He was treated with IV medication, which did not work, then went on Prednisolone. His Crohn's improved after 4 to 6 months. For all the illnesses, he took up to 40 tablets daily while studying in the University.

Significant weight-loss and diarrhea were the initial issues faced by Asif. Let’s ask Asif why he could not believe that he is in the company of IBD Patients when he first met them? How did he wrap his head around the issue of diarrhea as well as constipation? How has life been for this teenager who was diagnosed quite recently?

Pavitar is a mother of four wonderful children. Diarrhea was attributed to hormonal changes during her 1st pregnancy more than 20 years ago. Let us hear from her all about what happened subsequently that led Pavitar to see a Gastroenterologist? Having been on almost all types of medication today we can hear firsthand from a patient who has lived with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease.

Alex had always been active & involved in sports. On the other hand, he had been living with a weak stomach. Then, at age 40 he had to face additional symptoms. What was the impact of a diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease on his parents? Is it easy or a challenge to identifying trigger foods? Lots of other issues are discussed in today’s episode. 

Enting: After five months of pain in her stomach, diarrhea, and ulcers in her mouth; diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 14 years old, how has her journey been in the last 9 or 10 years? 

Dr Marion Aw: A very well-respected Pediatric Gastroenterologist from the National University Hospital Singapore is with us today. We are beginning to see people getting diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Let us hear from her what are these diseases? Do children get Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis?

Zaiton & Amir are parents of Amirah who was three years old when she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. While parents take care of their young ones, children also care a lot for their parents’ well-being. Let’s hear little snippets of love, care, and emotional journey of Amirah’s parents over the last 10 years. In this episode you also hear of some statistics of pediatric IBD Cases in Singapore.