(Linda Rogers/ Health Central) — Megan Starshak, now 36, was in Florida in 2002 for spring break when she had her first ulcerative colitis (UC) attack. The high school senior had gone out for a half-hour run with a cross-country teammate.
“During that time, I had three very, very urgent bowel movements that came out of nowhere,” says Starshak. “Luckily, I found a bathroom all of the times. I just thought it was weird—a travel bug, or something. But then we got home and it never went away.”
Home was the Chicago suburbs, and Starshak was looking forward to a summer working as a lifeguard and hanging out with her friends before college. But she still was having symptoms.
“I would pretty much have to go every time I went for a run,” she recalls. “It just slowly got worse—from a few random bouts of urgency and diarrhea to, all of a sudden, I’m having abdominal pain every day. I’m going to the bathroom six, eight, 10 times a day with loose, runny stools and abdominal pain.” She was also exhausted. (…)