Louise Thompson tells how she ‘didn’t really care if she died’ as she describes her ‘tough’ battle with a chronic bowel disease that left her ‘losing control of body functions’

Louise Thompson has opened up about her struggles with her physical and mental health in a candid new post.

The TV personality, 33, shared on Instagram on Wednesday a photo of herself in the hospital, hooked up to an IV, as she discussed her struggle with ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic intestinal condition in which the colon and rectum become inflamed and small ulcers may develop on the lining of the colon, which may bleed.

In a post to mark Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week, Louise described her struggles with the condition since her diagnosis in 2018 and wrote about her ‘difficult time’.

She bravely shared how her symptoms got worse amid her mental health struggles because she “didn’t really care if she died.”

Louise wrote candidly: ‘Hi, my name is Louise and I have ulcerative colitis. This week is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week.

‘I was diagnosed in 2018. I became concerned when I noticed there was quite a bit of blood in my poo, which came out of nowhere.

‘I didn’t know much about inflammatory bowel disease, but my biggest concern was the fact that some of my close relatives had suffered from aggressive bowel cancer.

‘I thought my symptoms would go away with time (given that I had never struggled with my health before, on the contrary, I had been the model of health), so I left it off for a month or so, but when my symptoms didn’t get better, I told my relatives.

‘I was diagnosed via a colonoscopy and luckily I was treated with medication which worked quite quickly and put me into remission.’

After outlining her diagnosis, Louise admitted that she has been having a “difficult time” recently due to her struggles with her physical symptoms and her mental health.

‘Unfortunately, I’ve been having a hard time lately. When my mental health was really bad, I lost control of bodily functions and didn’t prioritize my physical health because I didn’t really care if I died,” she continued.

‘I couldn’t comprehend what was happening around me at the best of times, so when I left the house and pooped myself repeatedly it was just another nuisance I had to deal with, but it didn’t even come to the surface compared to all my internal suffering and my other neurological symptoms.

‘I was so disconnected from my body that I couldn’t feel anything, which often took me completely by surprise.

“It was much more horrific for the people around me who had a more rational head on their shoulders and ended up taking me to the emergency room where I was admitted and treated with intravenous steroids, a TNF, iron infusions and other things. Unfortunately I got a response.’

Louise said she has now started medication called Vedolizumab – used to control Crohn’s disease or Colitis – in an attempt to control her symptoms, as she outlined her next steps.

She shared: ‘Anyway, I’ve achieved remission for months, but unfortunately I’m struggling again, so I’m about to start a new drug called Vedolizumab, which sounds useful as I can give injections at home (after an initial period of intravenous administration). infusions in the hospital for outpatient care).

‘I’m grateful that my body has responded to some mediation so far and that I am not losing weight drastically like some of my fellow IBD warriors. My thoughts are with you all.

‘The next steps are x-rays and blood tests to make sure I don’t have any underlying nasty conditions that could make the treatment dangerous.’

She concluded her post by encouraging other people to discuss their struggles with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and colitis in an effort to “break the stigma.”

‘Let’s break the stigma around poop and get to the bottom of this miserable disease! More research is needed, especially as the prevalence of this autoimmune disease appears to be increasing,” she said.

“Let’s cut the c**p and start talking about our experiences/symptoms and what the diagnosis was like for you, so that those who feel isolated and stuck can feel less alone. Love, Lx.”

It’s not the first time Louise has spoken about inflammatory bowel disease, as she has previously shared posts on social media about her health problems.

The former Made In Chelsea star is also suffering from PTSD and postnatal anxiety after almost dying while giving birth to her son Leo in November 2021.

She has battled numerous physical problems since the traumatic birth, in addition to ulcerative colitis, which she was diagnosed with before becoming pregnant.

Last November, Louise opened up about her health when she told how she had experienced two years of extreme weight fluctuations.

‘I feel my body coming back to itself. It’s always been there, but it feels more like my old body,” she said at the time.

‘My body hasn’t felt like my body for two years. There are still things I haven’t done in two years since pregnancy, which is so strange. I haven’t had alcohol in two years.’

‘There are certain things I haven’t eaten, I only recently started exercising. I haven’t actually lived for two years and now I’m going to start living.’

Louise went on to explain how her weight has ‘been loco in recent years’, revealing that she had ‘gained almost half my body weight during my pregnancy’.

During her extended hospital stay after her traumatic birth, Louise explained how she “couldn’t eat or exercise much for the better part of a month, causing me to lose all my muscle and fat.”

Shortly after she “gained weight due to being put on mental health medication early this year, we switched medications and I lost my appetite.”

In mid-2022, her battle with colitis also became “really bad” and Louise was readmitted to hospital, leaving her “malnourished and very thin.”

She gained the weight back when she got home and was put on steroids, saying: ‘I started eating like an absolute pig, my face and body were swollen.’

Louise almost died giving birth to her son Leo, who she shares with husband Ryan Libbey, and spent five weeks in hospital with ‘serious complications’.

She has since struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum anxiety, and admitted to crying up to 20 times during a week in January 2022.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritan chapter. See www.samaritans.org for details.