Louise Thompson has detailed ‘bursting into tears’ when realising her stoma had leaked while she was out in public.
The Made in Chelsea star, 35, has ulcerative colitis – inflammation of the lower end of the digestive system – and underwent a colostomy last year.
At the time she shared on social media: ‘Isn’t it bizarre that this little grey pouch is the price I pay for good health! I say good riddance to that nasty menacing colon!’
Since then, she’s shared updates on her health with fans, but this week spoke about a ‘horrendously debilitating’ stoma leak while out in London on Tuesday morning.
Louise, who nearly died when giving birth to her son Leo in 2021, had been heading to Marylebone with her fiancé Ryan Libbey on his motorbike for an appointment and a coffee, before going to record a podcast.
Sharing a series of posts on Instagram alongside photos, Louise said that she had faced ‘a really depressing situation’.
‘l had a great start to the day. I had a medical appointment at @avenues.life in the morning with Ryan… we biked there to get ahead of the traffic and managed to shave off 20 minutes from the journey,’ she began.
‘Then was off to record a podcast with 2 good friends which has been in the diary for ages. Had a lot of excited energy in my belly following a c**p week of of c**p health.’
However she then explained: ‘We got off the bike in Marylebone blissfully happy and headed to @watchhouse for some delicious coffee and cookies pre-recording because we were a smidge early, but then I felt something a bit wet in my pocket. I looked down and had had the most horrendously debilitating stoma leak.’
After ‘hobbling’ to the nearest hospital, Louise said she ‘waited an hour locked in a loo covered in mess’ while staff tried to find a spare stoma bag she could use.
Then sharing a photo of the bag that was found by hospital staff, Louise said she was left in pain ripping the old one off while an assistant helped by going and buying her a new pair of trousers.
‘I tried to pull myself together. I cleaned up in the sink, I then had to ask for scissors to cut this to the right size (while my small intestine was free and active and hanging out of a gaping hole in my stomach), glued this contraption – that I’m not v familiar with – onto my body and put on some fresh, clean, but really long trousers,’ she went on.
‘The whole time I thought I could still crack on with the podcast recording because I’m hella resilient and am used to this crazy s**t happening to me all the time at this point.
‘Four of my team members had schlepped over to central to come enjoy the day/support too so I wanted to make it happen for everyone.’
What is ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed.
The most popular theory is that the immune system mistakes harmless bacteria inside the colon as a threat and attacks the tissues of the colon, causing inflammation.
The colon is the large intestine (bowel) and the rectum is the end of the bowel where poo is stored.
Small ulcers can develop on the colon’s lining, and can bleed and produce pus.
Symptoms include recurring diarrhoea – which may contain blood, mucus or pus – stomach pain, and needing to poo frequently.
Other symptoms include extreme tiredness, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Some people may go for some time with very mild or no symptoms at all (remission), but this is followed by flare-ups and relapses, which can cause various other problems too.
During a flare-up of ulcerative colitis, people can also experience painful and swollen joints, mouth ulcers, bumps and patches under the skin, irritated or red eyes, and problems with bones.
Specific triggers for flare-ups are often unknown, although stress or a gut infection could be potential factors.
But after breaking down, Louise made the call to cancel her work commitments.
‘Sometimes, on a rare occasion, I have a human reaction and realise I’m not that strong and need to be kind to myself and just call it a day and look after myself and my mental health. Work often coms first, but in this instance it was too much to push on. I cancelled everything,’ she shared.
Although Louise said she ‘had never considered a reversal more’, she joked the leak would have then come out of her bum, which would ‘be worse visually’.
After taking some time to herself to ‘sit in the sun and read a book for a few hours’ Louise also looked at the bright side and said the positive thing about being on antibiotics was that ‘they stop poo smelling of anything’.
‘Isn’t that remarkable. Every cloud,’ she added.
Louise recently detailed how her stoma was ‘the start of my new life’ after her ‘world ground to a halt’ while battling symptoms of ulcerative colitis.
‘I was going to the loo more than 20 times a day – I’m not even joking when I say I’d celebrate if I had a two-hour window where there wasn’t a load of blood coming out of me,’ she wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.
Reflecting on the decision to get the stoma, she said: ‘To me it was the only answer I had left. It was a way to escape the suffering. I was exhausted and out of my depth. I didn’t want to live like this anymore. This wasn’t living.I don’t see my stoma as something limiting or disabling. Quite the opposite. It’s freedom, an end to the suffering.’
After nearly dying while giving birth three years ago, the reality star has been battling several physical and mental health issues.
Louise – who went ‘partially deaf’ during her ordeal – suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and post-natal anxiety, and in 2022 confessed she would cry up to 20 times a week.
Later that year, she was diagnosed with lupus – a long-term condition affecting the immune system that causes joint pain, skin rashes, and tiredness.
Before she got pregnant, Louise was also diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
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