A Fort William TV weatherman has opened up about his experiences with Crohn’s disease, amid worrying stats that thousands of Scots would ignore a key symptom.
Calum MacColl, who was diagnosed with the condition at 13, is urging people to stay alert.
New research from charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK has found that more than 300,000 Scots would not go to their GP for more than a month if they were passing blood.
And nearly one-in-five wouldn’t make an appointment at all, for fear they’d be wasting doctors’ time.
Before the pandemic around one-quarter of sufferers had to wait at least a year for a diagnosis, and around 40% of them would end up in A&E at least once from their symptoms.
Scotland has the highest proportion of people living with Crohn’s or Colitis in the UK, estimated at one-in-103.
Teenage battle with gut disease
Calum, now 34, is calling for people to take more notice of the possible signs to help them get on the road to recovery faster.
As a teenager he was left “thin and fatigued” from regular battles with diarrhoea, which he treated with Imodium.
There were times he wanted to just go to bed and sleep for an entire afternoon. His illness also had an impact on his mental health too.
“Then I remember passing blood and thinking, ‘This isn’t right at all’,” he revealed.
“Mum took me to the GP and I’ll always be thankful for that locum who didn’t beat around the bush.
“He saw the alarm bells going off there, and that’s when my diagnosis was made.”
Breakthrough helped Calum achieve his dream
Things got even worse for Calum in his early twenties – when a severe flare-up almost left him needing surgery.
But a new treatment, Infliximab, changed the course of his disease as he entered a long period of remission.
This gave him the time needed to train and start working as a meteorologist.
Calum is now facing another hurdle with his health, but is keeping a positive outlook.
He added: “Despite having recently found, after ten years, that this drug isn’t working for me any more, I am in such a better mindset in relation to my Crohn’s.
“I know there are so many options on the table nowadays with regard to further treatments, without the need to have surgery.
Good morning. Cold, windy and showery today in the wake of Storm Dudley. Calum has your early forecast. pic.twitter.com/UEfcHieGh2
— BBC Scotland Weather (@BBCScotWeather) February 17, 2022
“However, we must continue to strive to raise awareness of this debilitating disease and the early warnings signs.
“The earlier a diagnosis is reached, the quicker a state of remission can be reached – where we take control of the disease, rather than the other way around.”
Online checker helps people contact their GP
Crohn’s & Colitis UK has launched an online symptom checker to help people find the best health advice – with tens of thousands having used it already.
It can also send people a letter for their GP to make talking about their symptoms easier.
The charity has received backing from the health secretary, other MSPs and top doctors, all keen for it to make a difference.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive, said bowel conditions are “notoriously difficult” to diagnose.
“The result of delays to diagnosis is added cost to the NHS with unnecessary A&E visits and emergency surgery,” she added.
“And the cost to individual lives is even higher – lives are being put on hold for years without a diagnosis.
“None of us can afford to bear these costs any longer.”
Conversation