Living with ulcerative colitis (UC) often feels like you’re in the middle of a bad movie.
Whether you’re in the midst of an intense flare-up, figuring out treatment, being faced with surgery, or worrying about when your current remission will end, these movie titles accurately depict what it feels like to live with UC on a daily basis.
1. ‘The Hunger Games’
Want to reach for that extra spicy burrito or some fibrous veggies? You may want to think again, since certain foods could trigger a flare-up. While the symptoms associated with UC are a big enough battle, the real war might be between you and your cravings.
2. ‘The Fast and the Furious’
Anyone experiencing a UC flare-up knows one thing for sure: When your body says it’s go time, it means business. You may need to speed off to the nearest bathroom without much warning. And there will be multiple sequels.
3. ‘The Hurt Locker’
When a UC flare-up hits you, it often comes with brutal cramping and stomach spasms that can leave you in a world of pain. Your insides can feel as though they’re rigged with explosives and about to burst at any moment.
4. ‘Clueless’
This movie is perfect for your friends and co-workers to see. Maybe it’ll stop them from saying things like, “You’re sick again?” or “Why don’t you just have the dang surgery?” or “Come on! One night out won’t kill you.”
5. ‘28 Days Later’
Waiting for your new UC medications to start working can be extremely frustrating and painful, especially when your doctor says something like, “These things take time. Let’s have a follow-up appointment in 28 days.”
6. ‘There Will Be Blood’
Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory for anyone with UC. When you poo, chances are…
7. ‘It Follows’
A UC diagnosis can sometimes leave you feeling as though no matter what you do, or what you eat, or where you go, your good ol’ buddy UC is always there trailing a step or two behind. All you can do is keep moving!
8. ‘Independence Day’
When living with UC, there is always one goal: remission. Above all else, this will get you to that place where when you head out with friends, instead of immediately mapping out where the emergency bathrooms are, you can sit down in peace.
9. ‘Frozen’
Ever been caught in a bathroom stall during a flare-up and your boss walks in? Yep.
10. ‘It’
Do you ever have that creepy feeling like there is something lurking just beneath the surface, waiting to grab you and pull you under into a torturous chamber of pain? If you have UC, you probably feel this way pretty often.
11. ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’
Anyone living with UC can tell you that it can feel like a real nightmare. So just substitute your street for Elm Street and you’ve got yourself an Academy Award winner.
12. ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
When naming the things you hate about UC, the list could be a mile long. To speed things up, try the following when compiling your list:
- Everything
- Everything
- Everything
…. and so forth.
13. ‘As Good as It Gets’
Some people who live with illnesses are encouraged by the fact that they can eventually be cured. But for people living with a chronic condition like UC, sometimes continuous treatment or surgery is as good as it gets.
The takeaway
UC is a pain in the butt. Literally. But sometimes finding ways to laugh at the condition can stop you from letting the stress of it all take you under. Or at least until the day that a real cure is developed. Now that would be a movie worth waiting for.