Comrades in Chronic Illness: Searching to Live a Quality Life

I became the poster child of the non-compliant patient and found myself in intensive care for the 2 ^nd time in less than 12 months. My doctor had prescribed suppository medication to treat my Crohn’s Colitis and I felt like the loneliest patient on the planet. The treatment protocol included 3 retention suppositories a day and each dose required that I lie on the floor for 35-45 minutes.

For me the most difficult part of suppository treatment was the long wait time on the floor and the need to wear protective undergarments. The suppository medication was not staying in my body, where it needed to be.

I left the hospital the second time, dedicated to following my doctor’s treatment and committed to living a better quality of life. To solve the problems, I invented the first and only FDA cleared suppository applicator that allows proper placement of suppositories in the body where the patient doesn’t feel the medicine. I patented the Sephure applicator and became commercially available to patients and caregivers in 2014.

Eight years have gone by since the moment of invention of Sephure and my greatest surprise was learning: I am not alone. I am a comrade with others who live with chronic illness and my story is one of many.

A dear friend of mine passed away last spring following decades of living with multiple sclerosis. Near the end, she shared with me that the disease left her with chronic constipation and oral laxatives were upsetting her stomach. Suppository laxatives were a part of her treatment. Sephure applicators were a useful product in her daily life that not only provided dignity when she couldn’t care for herself, but also placed the laxative suppository in a proper placement for a better and effective result. With the Sephure, she had fewer re-administrations and to this day am happy that my invention helped someone I knew; but I was surprised that I did not know how others with chronic illness struggle.

Explaining the disease of MS or Crohn’s is more common in 2015 but the intimacies of the physical life challenges that come with the disease is revealing and patients feel exposed. I tell my story everyday so that others can maintain their privacy and follow their treatment plan with a better quality of life. I have also learned that the problem of chronic constipation is epidemic and treating illness with retention suppository medication is standard of care for many.

I am not alone and neither are you. We are comrades living with chronic illness and my story is born of my desire to live a quality life. My joy is knowing that my journey led to an invention that touches the lives of people all over the world.

Sephure size A2 applicators are designed to administer laxative suppositories such as Dulcolax, Fleet glycerin (cone shaped), Magic Bullet, and their generic equivalents. If you have a need for suppository laxative medication and want a cleaner, more comfortable way to administer the medicine that allows proper placement, Sephure applicators are available at www.sephure.com.

Jennifer Davagian Ensign

Inventor of the Sephure applicator