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'Depressing and scary' Constance Hall reveals the truth about her health battle

At last she's revealed what is going on.

By Practical Parenting team

November 05 2018

Constance Hall has been keeping a very painful secret to herself.

The blogger, author and fashion designer has revealed she is suffering from a condition called Ulcerative Colitis.

Like Crohn's disease, it is known as inflammatory bowel disease, sometimes shortened to IBD but it's not the same as IBS, which is short for irritable bowel syndrome, and which is a very different condition.

Bowel Cancer Australia explains that the main differences are that the inflammation of ulcerative colitis is usually found just in the inner lining of the gut, while in Crohn's disease the inflammation can spread through the whole wall of the gut.

Constance, who has five children of her own and is a step-mum to her husband's two children is determined to beat the condition by sticking to a strict diet and so far it seems to be working.

After having Raja I knew things needed to change. I was unwell during my pregnancy my disease Ulcerative Colitis was flaring. Meaning I was passing a lot of blood through my bowels and constantly uncomfortable. I couldn't take steroids because I was pregnant and it's been linked to birth defects and all other meds including my enemas weren't working anymore. It was depressing and scary. Scary because at my last colonoscopy my doctor told me that I had 5 years to get my disease under control before my risk of bowel cancer becomes a real concern. In my past the only thing that's ever really helped my disease apart from conventional medicine that now isn't working was keeping my weight down and keeping my diet really healthy and especially kicking refined grains and starches. Pasta, bread, rice, potato, all the yummy things. I even quit chocolate a couple of months ago. You guys know me, you know how much I loved chocolate. But this is serious, 7 children need me and I met my husband later in life so we need to live our glory years together, healthy and ALIVE. So I did it. I don't fuck up. I don't have "cheat" meals because I believe that I was addicted to eating bad food. Just like an alcoholic cant have a "cheat" drink I cannot have a cheeky bowl of fries.. ever. I had no idea how sluggish I felt. The kids would want me to do something with them and I'd groan to get up. I believe now that shit food makes you depressed, I felt heavy, depressed, tired all the time. Ice cream and coke are still on the list as things to quit but I'm doing this very slowly because I want this to be a life long change, not a quick fix that lasts a year. I have no idea how much weight I've lost because that is irrelevant, my body wasn't put on this earth to look like all of the other girls on Instagram or to stand on scales. My body is on this earth to hold my soul here. And to be loved. For the last 5 months I haven't had one single flare of sickness, no blood loss, no cramping and healthy blood tests. And the side effect of all this health is that I get to unashamedly love my body. Love your body, love your health, love being on Earth. 🌸

The 34-year-old spoke of her turmoil existing even before she welcomed her fifth child Raja.

"After having Raja I knew things needed to change," she penned on Instagram. "I was unwell during my pregnancy my disease Ulcerative Colitis was flaring. Meaning I was passing a lot of blood through my bowels and constantly uncomfortable."

"I couldn’t take steroids because I was pregnant and it’s been linked to birth defects and all other meds including my enemas weren’t working anymore."

"Scary because at my last colonoscopy my doctor told me that I had five years to get my disease under control before my risk of bowel cancer becomes a real concern."

"In my past the only thing that’s ever really helped my disease apart from conventional medicine that now isn’t working was keeping my weight down and keeping my diet really healthy and especially kicking refined grains and starches. Pasta, bread, rice, potato, all the yummy things. I even quit chocolate a couple of months ago.

"You guys know me, you know how much I loved chocolate."

Hall says she is now "healthy and ALIVE."

"So I did it," she writes. "I don’t f-ck up. I don’t have “cheat” meals because I believe that I was addicted to eating bad food. Just like an alcoholic can't have a “cheat” drink I cannot have a cheeky bowl of fries.. ever.

"I had no idea how sluggish I felt. The kids would want me to do something with them and I’d groan to get up.

"I believe now that shit food makes you depressed, I felt heavy, depressed, tired all the time."

Some bloke messaged me on instagram the other day. It's always interesting when blokes message me.. occasionally it's to tell me that their wife loves me and that they think what I'm doing is awesome.. but usually it's a) to have a crack or b) to have a go. This guy was the latter... "Constance why do you have to get your tits out on camera to feed your baby... have some respect for your kids and your husband...." So to answer his question, I have to have my tits out to feed my baby because he does this thing called Breast Feeding- so fucking weird, the baby literally feeds off my breast!! It's so hard to do through clothes... Babies love it, I love it, It's proven to be nutritionally very beneficial.. I'm raising my children in a world that will hopefully finally desexualise breasts so that mums and babies are free to feed in public with out the scrutiny of someone like yourself feeling awkward because its giving him a stiffy.. 🤷🏽‍♀️ You know, free to do it anywhere we want, like ya know... every other mammal on Earth.... Which is why in fact I have a lot of respect for my children. And as for my husband.. What the fuck has any of this got to do with him? 😘

"Ice-cream and Coke are still on the list as things to quit but I’m doing this very slowly because I want this to be a life-long change, not a quick fix that lasts a year."

The Author continues, "I have no idea how much weight I’ve lost because that is irrelevant, my body wasn’t put on this earth to look like all of the other girls on Instagram or to stand on scales. My body is on this earth to hold my soul here. And to be loved."

Since her changes, Hall hasn't had a single flare of sickness over the past five months.

"For the last five months I haven’t had one single flare of sickness, no blood loss, no cramping and healthy blood tests," she says.

"And the side effect of all this health is that I get to unashamedly love my body. Love your body, love your health, love being on Earth."