Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These are characterized by a chronic inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Living with chronic illness meant that life changed significantly. Quality of life was affected for these individuals and was stressful in their lives. Aim: The aim was to describe the experiences of living with inflammatory bowel disease. Method: A qualitative literature review was chosen to analyze articles that were related to the aim of this study. Results: Based on the chosen articles five themes were created; Commuting between hope and fear, symptoms of the disease and medication become everyday focus, struggling with the new identity, desire to control the disease- do I control my illness or does it control me and social relationships are affected. Conclusion: Inflammatory bowel disease is a distressing disease and can cause limitations in social life due to lack of knowledge by others about the disease. The affected felt a loss of control in their life due to the difficulty in managing the symptoms. They experienced a constant struggle and mixed emotions, such as anxiety, depression, stress, and denial of the disease, trying to feel like a healthy person.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hv-5440 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Martinsson, Sandra, Slijepcevic, Dijana |
| Publisher | Högskolan Väst, Institutionen för omvårdnad, hälsa och kultur, Högskolan Väst, Institutionen för omvårdnad, hälsa och kultur |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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