Period: November 2012
It was now three years since the first severe episode and yet I felt even further away from a solution. Having finished the liquid Fortisip diet - with limited success - I was to go straight on to the LOFFLEX diet (low-fat, fibre-limited, exclusion diet). I had assumed it would be difficult maintaining the level of self-control needed to follow such a restrictive diet, but in fact it gave me a sense of deep satisfaction. For the first time it felt like I had some control and that had been severely lacking in recent months. Following this strict regime was something I could do for myself, safe in the knowledge that I was doing the best thing for my body. If anything I became a little obsessive about it!
I had been off work for nearly 2-months and I had made arrangements to return on a part-time basis. However, when I started to slowly reintroduce solid foods in to my diet the symptoms immediately worsened. The pain increased dramatically and I started vomiting within a few days. I had still not received an appointment for my MRE and I was aware that I would not be able to return to work as scheduled. After my life had slowly been consumed by my symptoms, it took the realisation that I was unable to work that made me accept that A&E was my only option. Even so, I was still very reluctant to make a fuss and delayed it for as long as possible, trying to hide the severity of the symptoms from my Mum.
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I had been off work for nearly 2-months and I had made arrangements to return on a part-time basis. However, when I started to slowly reintroduce solid foods in to my diet the symptoms immediately worsened. The pain increased dramatically and I started vomiting within a few days. I had still not received an appointment for my MRE and I was aware that I would not be able to return to work as scheduled. After my life had slowly been consumed by my symptoms, it took the realisation that I was unable to work that made me accept that A&E was my only option. Even so, I was still very reluctant to make a fuss and delayed it for as long as possible, trying to hide the severity of the symptoms from my Mum.
Then, about a week after reintroducing solid food, I feared enough for my life to agree to go to the hospital. I had lain awake in to the early hours of the morning with my stomach slowly getting larger and larger. The pain became unbearable and in my fear I genuinely believed that my bowel was about to rupture. My Mum phoned for a taxi whilst I started vomiting. When I had finished vomiting, the swelling reduced and the pain subsided slightly. As hard as it may be to believe, I actually considered cancelling the taxi and just climbing back in to bed to try and get some sleep! Thankfully, I made the right decision.
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