Sarah Smith always said she would rather die than have a stoma bag.

After she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 16, she battled painful and “embarrassing” symptoms with heavy medication for more than 10 years.

Her condition, which causes the colon and rectum to become inflamed, meant she would regularly have to leave parties or meet-ups with friends suddenly to make sure she didn’t have an “accident”.

“I had accidents many a time,” she told Sky News.

“I would go out for a meal and worry I wouldn’t be near a toilet or be able to get home in time.

“I had one on the drive home once and when you’re in a car, there’s nothing you can do about it, you just have to let it happen. It was very traumatic.”

Symptoms such as diarrhoea and “agonising” abdominal pain left her feeling isolated and with no cure, she and her doctors tried to manage them with a range of powerful drugs.

Sarah, a 30-year-old personal trainer from Leicester, said: “Even when I was diagnosed, I still didn’t really know what it was.

“It was quite scary being diagnosed with something you didn’t know about. You’re just told there’s no cure and you’re going to be on medication for life.

“I had no one to talk to about it. No one can see the pain you’re going through. People would ask ‘are you better? You seem better’ and you’d say ‘well, no’.”

It was only around three years ago that Sarah’s consultant suggested she could have a stoma bag fitted.

A stoma, or ileostomy, is where bodily waste is diverted to an opening in the stomach instead of going through the normal digestive system. The opening is covered with a bag that collects the waste.

But because of the stigma around stoma bags and a lack of education, Sarah thought it would be “the end of the world”.

She said: “I always said I would rather die than have a bag. I would have carried on trying different medication, even though some of the ones I was on were like chemotherapy drugs.

“I thought the bag would smell. I thought my wife wouldn’t find me attractive anymore. I thought I wouldn’t be able to exercise.”

But in April last year, her symptoms worsened and she was admitted to hospital.

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Doctors said her colon had become toxic and she had no other choice.

She said: “The consultant said, ‘look it’s your time, if you don’t have this now you’re going to die’.”

After the operation, Sarah was in recovery for three months and unable to lift anything heavy for another three.

But now, she says having a stoma bag was the best decision she has ever made and wants to reduce the stigma around it.

She said: “It isn’t as bad as you think. It’s scary at first, but there is a better life waiting for you. My bag is a part of me, it’s a part of my new life.

“It’s not gross, it’s not going to smell. If I had someone like me to talk to when I was diagnosed, I would have had my surgery years ago.”

In lockdown, Sarah started an Instagram page to show people how a stoma has improved her quality of life.

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She reached out to different brands and is now part of a lingerie campaign with George at Asda.

She said: “If you never see anyone with a stoma you’ll think you have to hide them away.

“There’s no point just having me in a dress, so I show all of me. Now I can enjoy holidays without being in pain – it’s empowering and I want to empower other people.

“Now I have a bag, I don’t know why I was so against it. My new life is so much better.”

Sarah is an ambassador for the charity Colostomy UK and its #StomaAware campaign.

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