The woman said she would die at the age of 20 and shares warning signs of bowel disease to look out for

Billie Anderson was just 19 years old when she rushed to the toilet thirty times a day with blood in her stool.

For weeks she ignored the symptoms, which turned out to be warning signs of a life-threatening bowel disease.

“I just decided I was fine, because the doctor said I was fine, and I decided to ignore the fact that I was still finding blood every ten minutes,” Billie said.

In late 2017, when she was 6 feet tall, Billie’s weight dropped to 3 pounds, her resting heart rate reached 140 beats per minute, and she was warned she would die “within a few months” if she didn’t have surgery. would undergo. part of her body removed and her intestines removed and modified. with an ostomy bag – which she did in January 2018.

Billie had “ignored” her symptoms until they became unbearable and her father took her to the emergency room. After doctors assumed the problems were due to iron deficiency or colon cancer, a gastroenterologist diagnosed her with ulcerative colitis — a long-term condition that affects the colon and rectum. to light.

Now the 27-year-old says she wishes she had sought help sooner and is urging people to seek medical help if they are facing similar problems.

Billie, who lives in London with her boyfriend Marcus, 27, said: “I honestly believe I wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t been so scared of the symptoms I was having and sought medical help sooner.” I don’t think I would be in the situation I am in now.

“It is so important to get an early diagnosis, get the disease under control and see a professional because I have lost years of my life.”

Billie first developed symptoms after moving to Portsmouth from her home town of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, to study.

She said: “At first I felt a bit nauseous and dizzy, but it wasn’t long before I started feeling bloated and noticed blood in my stool.”

Billie looked online for her symptoms and was ‘shocked’ to see serious illnesses such as bowel cancer listed, so she pretended she wasn’t sick.

She said: “I left it for about three months but the bleeding wouldn’t stop so I went to my GP.”

“Without any examination she told me she thought it was colon cancer.”

“I laughed at first, but her face was ice cold and I realized it wasn’t a joke.”

When she was referred to a specialist, Billie’s symptoms were not considered signs of cancer and although she still had pain and blood in her stools, she recalled ‘ignoring’ the problems.

But when Billie returned to college for her sophomore year, her health deteriorated. Within a month, the student was no longer “functional” and could no longer walk or talk.

She said: “I was rushing to the toilet thirty times a day, I didn’t really eat or drink anything because it was so painful, and I kept telling my parents I was fine.”

“My dad finally had enough of me lying to him and he drove to Portsmouth and took me to the emergency room.”

Billie added: “The doctor said it was probably an iron deficiency linked to my menstrual cycle and gave me a prescription for iron tablets, but the tablets were wreaking havoc on my stomach and I can’t cope with the pain I had to start taking. to describe. .”. felt when I took her with me. .’

When Billie’s father saw that his daughter was still in severe pain, he sought a second opinion and a few days after her emergency room visit, the then 20-year-old was examined by a gastroenterologist who diagnosed her with ulcerative colitis.

Over the next few months, Billie was in and out of the hospital as she battled painful flare-ups and “although she was on medication, [she] was still rushing to the toilet twenty times a day and not gaining weight.’

“My joints started swelling, I had severe acne and I lost my hair, which was a bit of a shock,” she said.

In December 2017, Billie’s doctor warned her that she would die in the coming months unless she had surgery to remove part of her intestines and create an ostomy bag.

She said: “I honestly don’t know how I got through Christmas that year. “I remember camping out in the bathroom, putting my duvet down there and just having to get on to my operation.”

On January 2, 2018, Billie underwent a six-and-a-half-hour operation to remove her colon and insert an ostomy bag before spending three days in intensive care.