Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Katrina. >> You're very welcome. >> You've often talked about how it feels to be a young person with several chronic diseases. And lately actually you gave a webinar for 130 pharmacy internship students. And they found your presentation very good and actually also very inducing. So can you please tell me a bit about yourself? >> My name is Katrina, and I'm 28 years old. I got my first chronic illness when I was 16, and have since then acquired 3 more. I have ulcerative colitis, which is an autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease. And its partners in crime in my body is two autoimmune liver diseases. And then since Christmas 2019, I've also been the happy owner of a diabetes type one. Both my ulcerative colitis and my liver diseases have been complicated to get under control. And I, actually, was on the way to get a new liver when I was 21. But through a minor miracle, we actually did something that worked [LAUGH] and my liver got better so that's not in question right now. None of my doctors knew what we did right, but we jokingly address it to the fact that I met my husband at that point [LAUGH] in my life. So I've been very lucky to be diagnosed very quickly. Each time I got something new [LAUGH] going on in my body, and I have been on a very competent medical care for the last 12 years. And this has made it possible for me to get a Master's degree at the University and a good chance of a semi-normal work life. And also I have been able to maintain the dream of starting my own family one day. >> Thanks!Can you please give us a short version of your medicine history? >> Yes, [LAUGH] I will try to keep it short, but I've been through a lot of different medication in my 12 years as chronically ill. Mainly because it's been difficult to keep my bowel disease under control for more than a short time. I've tried a couple of 5-ASA drugs, which only gave me side effects, but [LAUGH] no effect on my bowel. And then Prednisone of course, works wonders with my colon, but had no effect on my liver. And it was very difficult for me to part with the drug, without my colitis clearing up. So to deal with that, we tried biological medication combined with ASA-Tiopronin. At first we tried and fix them up, and that was, and that worked reasonably well actually for a couple of years. But then we tried to change to Humira, which had an even better effect actually, but again only for a short time. So we tried entyvio, which actually is the drug that has been most effective for me in all my 12 years as a chronically ill. So, and sadly [LAUGH] getting diabetes stressed me enough to get a flare up in my colitis. So now we are considering trying something else again, [LAUGH] because we need to get my bowel to settle down. And besides this quest to find the right medication for my colitis, I have also been treated for my liver diseases with Asacol and Remethan to ease my liver and the itching it's causing me to have. So with diabetes of course, insulin has followed, and that has been pretty easy to get used to after taking Humira, which is [LAUGH] much larger needles. So that is kind of just walk in the park. >> Wow. >> And so through the years I've also of course been through different creams, salves, antibiotics, painkillers, you know, every yeah. [LAUGH] Everything in these smaller things when the need arose. >> Thank you so much!Can you please give us a description of how you assess your current medication, and your former medication?Again, shortly. Yeah, well, 'exasperating' is the first word that comes to mind in when I think about my use of medication, mostly because I have been through so many. It has taken so much time to find something that actually works and then when it works, it stops working again after some time. So yeah, I get this hope that, yes, this is finally my wonder drug. Then suddenly, no, it wasn't it anyway. So, that's- well- >> Yeah >> Yeah, it can be very hard to have that hope and then to start over again. >> Sure. I know that I'm going to be taking medication for the rest of my life, and that's fine. I've gotten used to the idea of that, but not knowing if I will- if the science will keep up [LAUGH] with my need for new medication is- can be a bit frustrating actually. Right now my doctor is considering two drugs for me. That's the two drugs that I haven't tried yet. Biological medicine and one of them isn't really an option for now, because I hope to get, to have children in a couple of years maybe. And one of these drugs makes that not possible. So, with regards to side effects, I've been very lucky. I think I haven't had really bad reactions or very long term side effects. So I'm not- well there can be side effects here and now when I take some medications, but nothing that has permanently damaged anything, so I feel quite lucky about that. >> Thank you so much! What is your relationship with the different health care professionals who help you with your medicines and counsel about your medicines?It might be doctors, nurses, pharmacists. >> I've always been very compliant with my medication. I trust my doctors very much. My current doctor has followed me for the last, I think ten years, so I trust him a lot and he trusts me a lot. So, it's a good partnership. He always takes the time to explain what the drug does and which side effects to expect and also which side effects that will be okay for me to accept and which I should react to and then mention to them. So, that gives me a lot of safety when taking my drugs or my medications. When pharmacy staff repeats what my doctors have said, when I buy my medicine, it confirms that what my doctor has already told me and it confirms that the pharmacy staff knows something about my medication. And it opens up for me to ask questions I might have forgotten at my doctor's or that are inspired by what the pharmacy staff tells me. >> How does that make you feel? It makes me trust the pharmacy staff. And yeah, it gives me safety. And it's quite important for me to feel safe when I go to the pharmacy or my doctors. I need to feel welcome, to feel that I matter to get this trust that they know what they're doing. And that I can get the help I need. It's not that I need to be treated like a queen or something, but smile and full attention to me from the professional goes very long way to get me to feel safe. And have courage to ask questions because when you have for example, a chronic bowel disease like me, some of the questions you need to ask can be quite intimate somehow. And it can be very important to feel that it's possible to ask those questions, because when I do I can get relief from some of my problems and then my life quality goes very much up. >> What coping strategies do you use in order to deal with your medication- related problems? >> First of all, I try to figure out the why of my problem. I can deal with a lot of pains and unease if I know why I have to deal with it. If I don't know the reason of the symptoms, of the side effects I'm having, then, I get scared. I feel the worst and start imagining all the very dangerous things that could be wrong in my body now. It's not often that it hits me. I've gotten used to being chronically ill, but when it does, it's mainly my husband who needs to handle it. [LAUGH] He cuddles me and he tells me that he loves me no matter what, and that we can handle anything together, and we'll deal with it together. And this knowing that he's there to help me cope, that his shoulders are there to help me, well, shoulder-carrying these burdens of being chronically ill. That's kind of unique, I get incredible support from my family and friends, but having my husband right there just in the middle of it with me, well, it's just something else. >> No wonder. >> [LAUGH] Yeah, it kind of grounds me, and it's easier to keep my positive outlook on life. Being positive and trusting that life is basically good has been my coping strategy for years. Who I am has been shaped and partly defined by being chronically ill for so long, of course. Because I don't really remember not being ill that much anyway, but I won't let my happiness be defined or limited by being chronically ill. So my positive outlook is very important for me. >> Thank you so much! Concluding, what is your advice to healthcare professionals who are to help with your medicine? >> Yes, actually the most important thing I can say is show that you care. You don't have to ask about my life history, but show me that you know that I'm a person and that I have a life that matters, and you want to help me live that life as best as I can with my conditions. It can be for a smile or your reaction to what I tell you. And just taking me seriously when I ask a question or raise a worry to you. For pharmacy staffs specifically, it can also be by reminding me that I can ask questions, and can get help with smaller things that I might not want to worry my doctor about. Like bad skin, or in my case it could be sore skin in my intimate areas from 20 visits in one day. We have a tendency when we are chronically ill to just say okay, it's part of being ill, so I can't do anything about that. But sometimes if you actually ask about it, then there's something to be done about it. And it can be anything you think might help this customer. Sometimes when you're chronically ill, the illness dominates every minute of the day, and it can be very hard to cope with. Maybe the visit to the pharmacy is the only thing you can do in that day. So, if so, it really matters that the visit to the pharmacy is not making the day worse, so smile and be kind. It will absolutely make my day. >> Thank you so much Catherine, for all your enlightening answers. I wish you good luck keeping up the good spirit and tackling the health-related problems. >> Thank you. [MUSIC]
