Originally published 12:00 a.m., January 11, 2011 Updated 10:23 a.m., January 11, 2011

At one point in her 20s, Kimberly Tucker-Bowman thought she’d never enjoy a normal life, such as having a full-time job, getting married or traveling.

The James Island resident, 34, has ulcerative colitis, a chronic, autoimmune disease that affects the colon or large intestine. the disease, which along with Crohn’s is under the umbrella of irritable bowel disease, can cause an array of symptoms, including bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, rectal pain, the constant urge to use the bathroom and/or inability to do so, pain, fatigue, dehydration and significant weight loss.

If left untreated, the colon may be damaged, be prone to cancer and/or need to be removed.

Tucker-Bowman’s symptoms began in the spring of 2003. For eight months, she was using the bathroom 25 or more times a day and was withering away. Months of scary medical scenarios passed before she even heard about ulcerative colitis.

“I was a healthy, productive 27-year-old living her life,” recalls Tucker-Bowman, adding that the symptoms became so severe that she couldn’t work. “It took a three-week hospitalization at Duke for me to be diagnosed.”

Relief, however, didn’t come until the summer of 2004 when she began treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina with a intravenous drug called Infliximab, known by its trade name Remicade, that is used to treat several autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. like others, Tucker-Bowman must get ongoing treatments every six to eight weeks, but she doesn’t mind.

“It (the treatment) has given me my life back. until then, I wasn’t living. I was wasting away,” she says.

In February, Tucker, who works for an event rental company, did what she once thought would never be possible. she got married and honeymooned in England.

She gives large credit to Merriman Dowdle, a physician’s assistant at MUSC’s department of gastroenterology & hepatology, for working with her on fine-tuning her treatments.

On a daily basis, Dowdle sees the toll the disease takes on patients as well as their loved ones.

“This disease affects everyone in their (the patient’s) life,” says Dowdle. “There have been divorces over it because some spouses just can’t cope with it.”

The difficulty often involves the need to use the bathroom up to 30 times a day as well as painful cramping and fatigue.

Dowdle says because it’s an “intimate disease,” often involving diarrhea, many don’t want to talk about it, and that can hinder diagnosis. But she added the problem doesn’t just lie with patients, but doctors who may not have it on their radar screen and, therefore, not order tests for it.

“The earlier the diagnosis, the better because once scarring takes place (in the intestines), the intestines don’t work as well,” says Dowdle.

While the lack of communication may be one factor in delaying diagnosis, another factor is that the disease affects everyone differently, and some may have a flare-up once and not experience problems again for months or even years, says Dowdle.

Because of the nature of the treatment, Dowdle and patients become close. she often gets invited to their weddings and baptisms.

Both she and Tucker-Bowman also are committed advocates for treating the disease.

This past year, Tucker-Bowman joined forces with the Voices of Ulcerative Colitis, a group of 1,000 patients — including former “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, whose mother has it — who share their experiences in their various communities in an effort to help others.

“What I try to emphasize is that there are resources out and that you can get treated,” says Tucker-Bowman.

For more info: voicesofuc.com

Reach David Quick at 937-5516.

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A Woodley woman is encouraging people to test for lung disease after advances in healthcare allowed her to improve her quality of life.

Janet Fuller is 72 and has suffered lung problems since she was a child.

She was first diagnosed with asthma but as time went on doctors discovered it was a lung disease called bronchiectasis, giving her frequent infections in small pockets of the lungs.

She has since had surgery to remove part of her lung, which improved her quality of life dramatically, and is continually monitored to control her condition.

Now Mrs Fuller, who is a patient at Woodley Centre Surgery, wants to make sure people are aware of the tests available which can identify lung disease at an early stage.

She said: “I still have to take antibiotics in winter to avoid infection but I was always tired before – I sometimes passed out and I had a dry cough.

“Everything’s changed now and I know how to manage my condition so I can lead a normal life.”

Her nurse, Shena Gray, said: “There are a lot of lung conditions that come under the umbrella of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Testing people for the condition and early diagnosis can help us control symptoms and relieve symptoms early on.”

Using a breathing device called a spirometer, the amount of air in a person’s lungs can be measured. It is painless and usually takes less than 10 minutes but requires taking a very deep breath, the test can then show any signs of lung disease.

You should think about taking the test if you cough a lot, become short of breath when walking quickly, are worried about the health of your lungs, are already receiving treatment for lung disease or are aged over 40 and have smoked cigarettes during the past 12 months.

Lesley Wyman, senior public health specialist for NHS Berkshire West, said: “We are committed to raising awareness of the importance of picking up lung disease early. A simple test can help to identify changes in the lungs that may have already occurred. Your GP and Practice Nurse can then help to further identify what these changes mean and advise you how they can best be managed.”