Monthly Archives: June 2023

Body image is a struggle that has come and gone for me throughout my life. Throughout elementary and middle school I experienced some bullying for being heavier than a lot of the other kids I went to school with. Once I got to high school, I really grew to be more confident with my body. This, of course, all changed once I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis my first year in college. Over the next few years of being on and off steroids, my weight really fluctuated and threw me for a loop. Finally, in 2018 I had my total colectomy surgery and chose my permanent ileostomy a year later.

Having the surgery and choosing to keep my ileostomy opened up a whole new world of body image struggles for me. Immediately after surgery and for a few months after, I was almost in a state of being unphased by anything as I just felt so happy to not be in constant pain anymore. My weight became pretty stable after my surgery since I was able to come off of the steroids and not be in a state of constant