Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden has opened up about her battle with Crohn’s disease, revealing that the pain is so severe it causes her to black out.
Speaking on Aimee Fuller’s Monday Mile podcast, the professional dancer from Caerphilly in Wales detailed the effects of the inflammatory bowel disease, which affects around one in every 650 people in the UK.
“Crohn’s disease is inflammation to the bowel, but it starts from the mouth right through to the gut and you can develop narrowing to the bowel, ulcers, inflammation (and it) can become life threatening to some,” she explained. Amy went on to describe her own symptoms, including severe vomiting, constipation, and excruciating pain that leads to her experiencing blackouts.
Comparing the pain to childbirth, she said: “Which if you think, a woman is designed for childbirth, you don’t pass out during childbirth, I can have four to five black outs (with her condition), because the pain is that much that my body can’t control (it).”
She explained: “I get swollen eyes, inflammation to my joints, my skin, but I’m very, very lucky that I work with the most incredible team and a lot of my severe symptoms are now under control and in remission. I’m so blessed to have such an incredible team, but unfortunately, Crohn’s disease is a chronic illness that I will live with for the rest of my life.”
When Amy Dowden twirled onto the Strictly Come Dancing floor in its 15th series in 2017, she wasn’t a new face in the dance community.
Before stepping into the BBC spotlight alongside her dance partner and now-husband Ben Jones, they set their names in history by becoming the first all-British pair to clinch the British Open Latin Dance title in more than three decades—a landmark victory for British dance, reports Wales Online.
But beyond the glitz of the ballroom, Amy’s brave fight against Crohn’s has been inspirational, warranting her an MBE last year for her tireless charitable efforts and raising awareness about inflammatory bowel conditions. Those wishing to learn more about Crohn’s disease can find information on the NHS website.