Towie star rushed to hospital during filming after she ignored worrying symptoms for TEN years
Reality TV star Chloe Meadows, 33, was so "scared" of the doctors and the prospect of "having any procedure done" that she ignored symptoms of a chronic inflammatory bowel condition for around 10 years.
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Chloe 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.
She told the podcast Bedside Manners with Dr Oscar Duke, that her mother intervened and said she should go to the doctors and get a blood test as she looked grey.
While she was out filming, after she had the blood tests, Chloe 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.
Chloe also revealed that she had probably her longest flare-up after filming a nerve wracking scene on Towie.
The star first discovered blood in her stool, a symptom of ulcerative colitis, when she was 16.
"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."
Chloe added: "At this point in my life, I had never really ever been to the hospital. I'd never been sick.
"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.
What causes ulcerative colitis and how is it treated?
It is thought to be an autoimmune condition, which means the immune system wrongly tries to attack healthy tissue.
The theory generally thought to be correct is that the immune system mistake 'good' bacteria inside the colon as a threat and attacks, causing the colon to become inflamed
It is unknown why the immune system can behave in this way, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Medication can be taken to relieve symptoms and prevent them from returning.
These include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants.
An option for some people is to have colon removal surgery.
"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'.
Chloe admitted she 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."
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.
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.
Treatment options include corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and surgery.
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