IBD, masculinity and shame: Jack’s road to speaking out

🎙 In episode 25 of the Colitis Unfiltered podcast, I speak with Jack, who first started experiencing blood in his stool at just 14 years old. Misdiagnosed two years later, it would take years of pain and symptoms before a colonoscopy finally revealed the truth: Jack was living with ulcerative colitis.

🤐 Jack and I talk about spending years hiding his IBD, pushing through painful flares at work, and feeling deeply embarrassed about a disease he struggled to even admit he had. After an 18-month flare brought bleeding, accidents, exhaustion and worsening mental health, he began fighting harder for better treatment and learning to listen to his body instead of constantly pushing through.

💪 Today, Jack is determined to break the stigma around men talking about IBD and chronic illness. He opens up about mental health, masculinity, workplace rights, exercise, self-advocacy and his changing fears around potentially needing a stoma.

For more inspiring stories from the bathroom floor, visit colitisunfiltered.com