EnergyBrokerPulse: Darren Fletcher and Ulcerative Colitis

EnergyBrokerPulse: Darren Fletcher and Ulcerative Colitis: Learning about Darren Fletcher today I decided to depart from my usual energy broker blog to try and shed some light on what he is going th...

Darren Fletcher and Ulcerative Colitis

Learning about Darren Fletcher today I decided to depart from my usual energy broker blog to try and shed some light on what he is going through.

Although not a Man United fan in fact far from it (Leeds Utd) I love football and was half decent I think.  When I heard today that Darren Fletcher will be out due to Ulcerative Colitis (UC) I was in a unique position to understand what he is going through and offer some insight.  I was diagnosed with UC in 2003 when playing amateur football and working in the City as Lawyer.   I took 4 weeks off and when I came back I decided that the City life was not for me.  The pressure and need to work often 10 hour days meant that proper rest and relaxation was not possible.   UC is an illness that needs your 100% focus and lifestyle committment and most importantly you need to find a routine that keeps the UC at bay.

UC is a bowel disease caused by the immune system thinking that a bacteria in the bowel needs to be attacked.  By attacking the bacteria the lower bowel flares up with ulcers and when the ulcers become prominent they cause bleeding from the colon when visting the toilet.  Continued bleeding result in losses of nutrients, water and low Haemoglobin counts.  Haemoglobin transfers oxegen around the body so for a professional athlete a low count can effect performance and cause tiredness. 

The treament of UC primarily is a course of strong steroids to stop the ulcerations and inflamation.  Steriods are very effective in the short term but long term use causes other health problems so this is not a long term solutions.  Also we all know the issues related to sport and steroid use.   If Darren has had a flare up he could well be on steriods for a few weeks which might make him inelegible to play - I wonder if the FA would give him a dispensation though?

Once the steriods do their job Darren would need to find a immunospressent drug that keeps the UC at bay.   I still take these drugs and might have to for the rest of my life.  Fortunately I don't have side affects from them and can lead a normal life.  However they are serious drugs and you need blood tests every 6 weeks to ensure no side effects develop and many GPs are nervous about prescribing them.

If you can't find an immunspressant that works long term the only other permanent cure is the removal of the colon and replacement with a colon bag that sits outside the stomach.  This was the scariest thing about the UC diagnoses and Darren is right to make his recovery a priority to avoid this at whatever cost. I'm sure you could not play professional football if you had the operation.

I wish him all the best and hope that he recovers and finds the routine his body needs.   On a positive note his high profile diagnosis might highlight the condition.   I'm sure that there is a cure for this condition that doesn't involve surgery, steroids and immunospressant drugs and here is why:

1.  UC is a condition that was starting being recorded in the 1960's and since then is only generally found in USA, UK, Western Europe and Japan i.e. modern societies so it has to have something to do with Western lifestyles;
2.  If scientists can identify the bacteria that the immune systems don't like then in theory they can cure the UC;
3.  the 1960s coincided with the replacement of natural sugar with Fructose and by cutting out Fructose and fruit for me I think I have benefitted hugely.  However, everyone needs to find whats right for them.

Best regards to Darren and I hope he finds a balance that keeps the UC in remission long term....for once I'll be cheering a Red.

Ben
Head of Energy Management
Pulse Commercial Utilities Limited
www.pulsecommercialutilities.co.uk

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