A young woman from Derbyshire, U.K., explains how Crohn’s disease has taken its toll on her life since her diagnosis in December 2015.

Read our seven tips for managing Crohn’s disease flares.

According to a story on Metro.co.uk, 23-year-old Sadie Roberts was enjoying life and had recently signed on with a couple of modeling agencies before she started experiencing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms. Sadie’s weight plummeted by 28 pounds in just one month, leading to major colon surgery in 2016. However, one of the biggest setbacks for her was losing her hair.

Sadie said that the steroids she was taking to help control her Crohn’s disease made her hair fall out. The medication also caused her to put on a lot of weight, forcing her modeling career to be put on hold.  She hopes that her interview will help raise awareness of the disease and will encourage people to speak more openly about IBD without embarrassment.

Discover 10 foods which might improve your life with Crohn’s.

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