Microscopic Colitis, Gratitude, and the Strange Relief of Finally Knowing What’s Wrong

Helene Palmer
Nov 21
2 min read

Bad news: I have microscopic colitis.

Good news: I finally know what’s going on and there’s treatment.

The past six weeks have been rough. Chronic diarrhoea. Multiple blood tests. A colonoscopy with biopsies. The slow, unsettling wait for answers. And then the confirmation: microscopic colitis, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that inflames the colon and shows up as persistent watery poo, abdominal pain, and cramping.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not dramatic. But it has been genuinely life-disrupting.

There were days when I couldn’t leave the house. Which meant:

— No taking my daughter to the playground

— No weekly shop

— No office days

— No seeing friends, including one who had flown in from Australia

— No runs, no walks, no gym

— No sense of normal life

Instead: dehydration, fatigue, unpredictable symptoms, and the constant fear of having an accident in public. It wears you down in ways that don’t show on the outside.

And yet, I’m relieved. Relieved to have a name. Relieved that this isn’t “in my head.” Relieved that there’s a plan and a path back to myself.

Illness always forces a reckoning. It strips away what’s optional and spotlights what’s essential. I’m grateful it’s treatable. I’m grateful for the people who’ve checked in. I’m grateful for the pockets of softness in between the difficult days.

But I’m also letting myself acknowledge that it’s been hard and that it’s changed the way I’m thinking about how I want to live, work, and take care of myself going forward.