TV STAR LEFT ISOLATED BY ‘INVISIBLE’ HEALTH BATTLE
GWEN Roberts, star of Gogglebocs Cymru, has opened up about a hidden health battle. Despite her cheerful appearance and quick wit on the popular Welsh TV show, Gwen has been suffering from ulcerative colitis since she was a child.
Gwen, who appears with her husband Dylan on the show, is a mum-of-two from Anglesey. She is now hoping to use her fame to raise awareness about the little-known condition.
Sadly, one of Gwen’s sons has also developed ulcerative colitis, which can be passed down in families. It’s starting to affect his life just like it did hers.
Gwen is urging the government and health organisations to start a campaign to explain how this condition affects every part of a person’s life. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 13 years old after suffering from stomach pains and constant diarrhoea. She lost two stone in weight in just 10 days.
At first, doctors thought it was just a stomach bug but when her painful symptoms didn’t go away for months, they had to take out her colon and give her an ileostomy bag. This bag works like an outside colon. It sits on the stomach and helps get rid of waste from the small intestine.
“As well as the physical pain, it affected my mental wellbeing,” Gwen said. “I felt embarrassed and ashamed about having to live my life with the bag. I didn’t want to go out anywhere, I lost all my self-esteem and confidence, and I felt completely isolated. I lost friends, who I did not see any more. I had so much time off through illness that I struggled to keep up with schoolwork. Other pupils and even teachers just did not understand what was wrong with me. It was 1992 and no one had heard of ulcerative colitis.”
Even now, 32 years after she was diagnosed, Gwen said people don’t talk about the illness much and don’t understand it very well. Doctors aren’t sure what causes it, but they think it might be a problem with the immune system that makes a person’s body cells attack their own digestive system.
Gwen explained: “GPs often fail to recognise early symptoms and pass it off as something else, such as a stomach bug or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, meaning sufferers can go for weeks or even months before being correctly diagnosed. The effect on their lives in the meantime can be tumultuous. To put it bluntly you can never be too far from a toilet. It is not a question of just wanting to go, it is a matter of absolute urgency. The body just turns on itself to the point that you are no longer in control.”
If unaddressed, the weight loss can be transformative, causing weakness, fatigue and muscle wastage, often resulting in time off school or work, and even job loss as a result of a lack of understanding by employers.
Gwen said her son, Gethin, 26, lost his job when the illness first manifested in him. “He went to his GP and was told he had piles, which I knew from my own experience was completely wrong. In the end I insisted I go back with him and demand a referral for tests. I recognised the symptoms immediately and knew exactly what he was going through but many people are out there on their own, struggling to get by day to day without an accurate diagnosis. It can be frightening and terribly isolating, as no one really wants to talk about toilet issues. It’s not something you want to chat about over coffee and cake.”
Gwen added: “The effect of the disease scars the bowel, which increases the risk of developing cancer. The longer it is untreated the more scarring there will be.”
Gwen first met her husband Dylan, 47, who works at RAF Valley, when she was just 16 and he was 18. She shared: “I told him straight away what was wrong with me and what I was going through. It is not something that ever goes completely away, so I wanted him to know exactly what he was in for if he chose to stay with me. But he was wonderful, so kind and supportive, he said he would look after me no matter what and he’s stayed true to his word. I am so lucky to have found him.”
They also have another son named Tomos, who is 25 years old. Working as a pre-op nurse at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Gwen tells people who might need an ileostomy to think about the good things it can bring, not just the bad stuff. “It is a traumatic and life-changing operation to have to go through, but if it is going to make your life better and enable you to do things that you couldn’t do previously then it is worth it. I feel liberated since I had the bag fitted.
“Before this I would probably never have considered something like Gogglebocs but here I am on TV with my lovely husband. I said when I had the op that I was going to ensure the outcome was positive, to give myself some control back over my life I’m determined to live up to that promise I made to myself.”