A personal assistant has revealed how a trip to see the dentist led to her being diagnosed with Crohn's disease aged 13.
Rosie Campbell went to the dentist when she developed severe pain in her mouth and around her lips, as well as her ulcers.
The now 28-year-old was referred to an oral specialist, who diagnosed her with the inflammatory bowel disease after performing a biopsy.
Mouth ulcers are a known sign of the condition, which causes inflammation of the digestive system or gut and can be agonising.
Miss Campbell, of Essex, was told she needed a stoma bag, which left the then-teenager terrified no boy would ever want to be with her.
After refusing the pouch for six months, doctors warned Miss Campbell she could die of blood poisoning unless she had the operation.
Miss Campbell eventually had the pouch fitted, however, the ordeal was far from over, with her weight plummeting to just 5st (31.7kg) when she was forced to 'eat' through a tube.
However, she did slowly get stronger and is now 'happier than she has ever been' with her 'soulmate' Reece.
Rosie Campbell (left), now 28, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after a routine trip to the dentist at 13. Miss Campbell proudly shows off her stoma bag (seen right) after resisting it for six months because she worried it would put off potential boyfriends
Pictured in hospital during treatment, the ordeal caused Miss Campbell to miss almost a year of school. It also resulted in her weight plummeting from 7st (44.4kg) to just 5st (31.7kg)
Miss Campbell began suffering from mouth pain, as well as abdominal discomfort, in her early teens.
The agony could be so severe she would dread going to the toilet and be up all night crying.
'I was so scared, no one knew what was wrong with me,' Miss Campbell said, recalling her ordeal in November 2003.
'The GP kept sending me away saying nothing was wrong. I was given cold-sore cream and creams for piles. I kept asking myself "why me".
'I spent the next year in agony, crying most nights because I was scared to even try to go to the toilet. The pain was like glass cutting me.'
During a routine dental appointment, Miss Campbell was prescribed a week-long course of penicillin to help clear up any infection she may have.
When this failed to help, her dentist referred her to a specialist at Miss Campbell's local hospital in Epping, where she was finally diagnosed.
'I didn't put two and two together, and didn't think my mouth and bum could be a linked problem,' she said.
'At the age of 13 I had no clue what that was and what was about to happen to me.'
Miss Campbell (pictured left) has 'found peace and happiness' as she has grown up. She is pictured right after the surgery to have her stoma fitted in March 2005. Miss Campbell finally agreed to the procedure after doctors warned she would suffer blood poisoning without it
Miss Campbell is 'happier than ever' with her 'soulmate' Reece (pictured together)
Five months after she was diagnosed, Miss Campbell began taking the drug infliximab every six weeks for several months. Infliximab suppresses a patient's overactive immune system to help combat inflammation in their bowel.
When this failed to help, doctors warned her only option was a stoma bag.
'I remember the day I sat in clinic at the Royal London Hospital with my mum and read a poster on the wall, and
