Towie star Chloe Meadows reveals the cost of ignoring her bowel disease symptoms for a decade
The 33-year-old reality TV star first noticed blood in her stool, a symptom of the chronic inflammatory bowel condition, when she was 16.
She admitted that the thought of undergoing any medical procedure filled her with dread, causing her to delay seeking medical advice.
'I went to a college where I boarded when I was 16. I was staying away from home and I was living in a student house and there was blood down the toilet', she told Dr Oscar Duke's Bedside Manners podcast.
'I remember I told my mum and I was like, there's quite a lot of blood down the toilet. I'm not really sure what's going on.
'She was of course like, go to the doctors. I went to the doctors, and they said that I would have to have a colonoscopy, which is a camera into the bowel.'
Meadows added: 'At this point in my life, I had never really ever been to the hospital. I'd never been sick.
Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed, according to the NHS website.
Symptoms include recurring diarrhoea, which may contain blood, extreme tiredness, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Meadows said she had some health checks aged 26, 10 years after her symptoms appeared, after she went on a diet at a time where she was also losing a lot of blood.
Her mother intervened and said she should go to the doctors and get a blood test as she looked 'grey'.
'I'd never had any procedure or operation. I'd never been sedated. I'd never had anything and the doctor referred me and I got this letter, and this is awful, but I got this letter and I just never went to the appointment because I was terrified.
'Then I ignored it and what would happen, which is what I realise now, is that I can go into remission, I can go into a flare-up in remission.
'It would stop for periods of time so that the blood would go away. I'd be like, 'Oh, cool, it's gone away, I'm better. There's nothing wrong with me'.
'I'd go through years where it wouldn't happen and then it would happen again, and then it would stop again.
'I would probably lie to my mum about how much it would happen because she always pestered me about it and I was like, 'No, it's fine'.
'I just got on with it and ignored it. I think I was scared of having any procedure done.
'I was also scared of what they were going to tell me … I was just terrified, which is not really a reason not to go to the doctor, but I think that's just what I thought.
'I was young as well, so I would forget when there wasn't blood down the toilet, I would completely forget.'
While she was out filming, after she had the blood tests, Meadows received a number of missed calls from her father who then texted her to say a doctor had advised her she should got straight to A&E because her 'blood was so low'.
'I went to the hospital. I had to have all of these checks and these iron infusions and that was where it started,' she said.
Meadows also revealed that she had 'probably my longest flare-up' after filming a nerve wracking scene on Towie.
Some people with ulcerative colitis may go for weeks or months with very mild symptoms, or none at all (remission), followed by flare-ups and relapses, according to the NHS website.
Treatment options include corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and surgery.
Marianne Radcliffe, chief executive of the charity Crohn's & Colitis UK, said: 'Chloe Meadows is a fantastic ambassador for us here at Crohn's & Colitis UK, helping people to understand what it's really like to live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.'
The charity says there are more than 300,000 people in the UK living with colitis.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Girl, eight, suffers horrific bite wounds to her face in dog attack outside her gran's house
An eight-year-old girl suffered horrific bite wounds to her face after a dog attacked her while she was playing outside her grandmother's house. Kayla Watson was in the front garden at her grandmother's home in Abergavenny, south Wales, when a dog ran up and started barking at her. Her mother, Jade O'Hara, said Kayla tried to 'shoo' the animal away - but instead it turned on her and ferociously clamped its jaws around her cheek. Kayla was left covered in blood and screaming in terror as her shocked mother watched in horror before kicking the dog to get it away from her little one. Ms O'Hara said: 'It all happened so quickly and as a mum it was a nightmare, I was so scared. 'My daughter loves all pets, but is particularly obsessed with dogs, so it wasn't unusual for her to want to pet a dog, particularly as we have a really sweet baby of a dog at home that adores her.' 'She was just playing outside, and I had just come outside for a cigarette, so I was watching her, and then I saw this black and white scruffy type dog just come out of nowhere and start barking incessantly at her. 'When she went to shoo it away, it latched itself onto her cheek and wouldn't let go. I immediately ran over to them and tried to get the dog off her. I eventually had to kick the dog to make it get off.' 'It all happened so fast and I was so scared. We've never experienced anything like that with dogs before. I found Kayla on the floor, screaming, holding her cheek. 'I originally thought it had got her eye or another part of her face, but when I managed to get Kayla to take her hand away, there was blood running all down her cheek and it was going everywhere. There was even a tooth mark of about half a centimetre.' Kayla was taken to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny for treatment. Ms O'Hara said: 'Kayla is still in a lot of discomfort and is now on a course of antibiotics. We've been told to go back if the swelling or redness gets worse or doesn't go down. 'You just think what if? What if it had happened to someone smaller than Kayla, or what if I hadn't been outside at the time? I dread to think what could have happened. It's just so scary as a mum.' Ms O'Hara has been trying to track down the dog's owner so it can be reported to police - but fears it may be a stray. She said: 'I wanted to find it so we could report it to the police. It's just horrible always having these what ifs when something like this happens, and I laid awake at night worried about Kayla and what could have happened. 'Kayla loves dogs and is always so aware of asking owners to touch, so having this happen to her is just awful. 'I keep thinking why was this dog around here, why did it come onto our property, why did it go for my daughter? What if it had been a younger or smaller child? 'We've both been left really traumatised and terrified over this. I want to raise community awareness of the dog because we have no idea where it is now and don't want this to happen to anyone else.' A spokesperson for Gwent Police said: 'We received a report of a dog attack at around 3.20pm on Saturday 26 July. 'It was reported that a medium sized black dog - potentially a stray or lost - bit an eight-year-old girl in Queens Square, Tredegar between 1.30pm and 1.45pm that day. 'The girl was taken to hospital for treatment. Enquiries are ongoing to identify the owner of the dog and anyone with information is asked to contact us quoting log reference 2500238460.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Lake District septic tank plan may boost local housing schemes
Residents in a national park could have their septic tanks replaced to help jumpstart local housing District National Park Authority (LDNPA) said the local planning authorities in Cumbria wanted to fund the replacement of the ageing tanks so that it would lead to less phosphorus pollution into local water levels of the nutrients can lead to a dramatic growth in algae and deplete oxygen said the move could help stimulate local housing projects which have stalled due to nutrient mitigation rules. In a document detailing the plans, LDNPA said modern package treatment plants discharge less phosphorus into water bodies than many of the existing septic tanks in the funding the replacement of these tanks with package treatment plants, LDNPA said the phosphorus savings could be used to generate "nutrient credits" that could be sold to housing developers in the said local housing schemes in Cumbria had stalled because developers could not mitigate the nutrient pollution the new homes would cause to four water catchments in the area as part of nutrient mitigation rules brought in credits generated by the replacement package treatment plants could be used for this mitigation, it said it had been given government funding to develop the mitigation schemes. As part of these plans, next week the authority will discuss proposals to remove the need for residents to seek planning permission before they replace a septic tank with a package treatment plant."We want to make the process of replacing tanks to be as seamless as possible given the environmental benefits of upgrading," it said. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Lidl issues urgent ‘do not eat' warning over popular product amid allergy fear
A major UK supermarket has issued a product recall with a 'do not eat' warning for one if its popular meals. Lidl GB has told consumers who bought the Red Hen 4 Tempura Chicken Steaks 380g to check whether they are part of the affected batch. The product is being recalled because milk has not been boldened in the ingredients section - with the supermarket warning this could pose a health risk to people intolerant to milk. 'Lidl GB is recalling the above-mentioned product due to milk not being in bold within the back of pack ingredients,' the supermarket said in its product recall notice. 'This may be a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to milk. 'If you have bought the above product and have an allergy to milk we advise you not to eat it. 'Customers are asked to return this product to the nearest store where a full refund will be given.' The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the product 'contains milk making it a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents'. 'Lidl is recalling the above product from customers and has been advised to contact the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall,' the FSA added. 'The company has also issued a point-of-sale notice to its customers. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.' The recall only applies to the packs with the following 'best before' dates: 11/12/2026 16/12/2026 22/12/2026 30/12/2026 16/01/2027
