James Jordan has opened up about his debilitating battle with ulcerative colitis which left him so ill that medics at one point considered having him fitted with a colostomy bag.Ulcerative colitis is a chronic bowel condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed and small ulcers develop on the colon’s lining, which can bleed. In an exclusive interview, the professional dancer, 48, shared how suffering with the autoimmune condition has affected him over the years, noting that at times he ‘wasn’t able to leave the house’. James recently discussed his health battles on his Manopause podcast with co-host Brendan Cole, 50, admitting that at the height of his suffering, he ‘hadn’t had a solid poo in three years’ as he likened the condition to ‘a disability’.And speaking to the Daily Mail, James opened up about the ‘strange’ way he manages the chronic inflammatory bowel disease and how it has affected his life. He shared: ‘I’m managing it in a very, very strange way. I stopped smoking and, to cut a long story short, one of the consultants said “did you stop smoking recently?” I said yes, and he said “right, okay, it can mask symptoms”. James Jordan has opened up about his debilitating battle with ulcerative colitis which left him so ill that medics at one point considered having him fitted with a colostomy bag James shared: ‘I went on all this medication. I was getting really, really ill, to the point where I had no energy and wasn’t able to leave the house. I was really, really ill on a regular basis”I went on all this medication. I was getting really, really ill, to the point where I had no energy and wasn’t able to leave the house. I was really, really ill on a regular basis and the medication wasn’t really helping. ‘The next step was steroids and then perhaps a colostomy bag, which I didn’t want to go down that route.’ Opening up further on the extreme measures he took to help ease his symptoms, he continued: ‘I went to see several different consultants and asked all of them, if I start smoking again, will my symptoms disappear? ‘I started smoking and within two weeks all my symptoms kind of disappeared. But it’s also brought on by stress. ‘So even at the moment, if I’m smoking and I’m very stressed, I still do get a lot of bad symptoms. So I haven’t got it under control, but it’s much better than it was when I was on the medication.’Giving a warning to sufferers not to follow his unconventional route, he added: ‘I’m not going to say to people to do that, because I’m not a doctor, I’m not a specialist on it. I chose that route.’I know it’s very frowned upon to smoke, but I was getting to a point where my symptoms were so bad I wanted to try anything. It’s not curable, unfortunately.’UK guidelines strongly advise that people with Ulcerative Colitis do not smoke. Smoking is the biggest cause of early death and preventable illness in the UK. Crohns and Colitis UK state on their website: ‘Some small studies showed a positive effect of nicotine on Ulcerative Colitis. But other studies found it was not an effective treatment and caused lots of side effects. ‘At the moment, nicotine is not a routinely recommended treatment for Ulcerative Colitis.’ James said his Manopause podcast was ‘cathartic’, admitting that he’d never really had someone to speak to before he began having deep conversations with Brendan Cole on tourMeanwhile, the former Strictly Come Dancing star went on to say how his Manopause podcast is ‘cathartic’, admitting that he’d never really had someone to speak to before he began having deep conversations with Brendan on tour. Discussing their friendship and the importance of their podcast – which discusses everything from midlife, mental wellness, careers and health – James shared: ‘We got very, very close over the last couple of years – to the point where I trust him implicitly and I think he feels the same. ‘We open up about stuff that’s happening in our lives and talk about things, whether that be career crossroads or grief. We spoke about everything on tour and it helped us both a lot. ‘I spoke to my agent about it and she said, this is amazing that you’re talking – there’s a podcast in this. And then the idea was born that we would set up a podcast, get people on and just try to get men talking. That’s basically what we’re trying to do at the end of the day. ‘We’re just trying to get men talking like women do, which I think is brilliant that women talk about the stuff they go through. But men are told to man up, crack on, get on with it. I think sometimes talking about it and understanding that there are lots of people out there going through the same thing really helps.’Just last month, James said he is ‘going through a midlife crisis’ in the wake of his split from his wife Ola after 22 years of marriage. The now exes were Strictly’s longest-standing couple, spending 26 years together. They started dating in 1999 and married in 2003. They announced their split with a joint statement in August. James confessed that he has found the ‘last few years really tough’ and is ‘struggling with life at the minute’. In a trailer for his podcast Manopause last month, James said: ‘I’m going through a midlife crisis. The last few years, for me, have been really tough. I’m not afraid to admit it. I put my hands up and say I’m struggling with life at the minute.’So many different things, with career choices, waking up and not having purpose, things like that.’Manopause is for the middle-aged man that’s struggling a little bit and hopefully we’re going to be able to help ourselves and help you at the same time.’ James was speaking on behalf of WhichBingo. WHAT IS ULCERATIVE COLITIS? Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition, where the colon and rectum become inflamed.The colon is the large intestine (bowel), and the rectum is the end of the bowel where stools are stored.Small ulcers can develop on the colon’s lining, and can bleed and produce pus. The main symptoms of ulcerative colitis are:recurring diarrhoea, which may contain blood, mucus or pusabdominal painneeding to empty the bowels frequentlySee more Daily Mail on Google – save us as a Preferred SourceThe severity of the symptoms varies, depending on how much of the rectum and colon is inflamed and how severe the inflammation is. For some people, the condition has a significant impact on their everyday lives.Some may go for weeks or months with very mild symptoms, or none at all (known as remission), followed by periods where the symptoms are particularly troublesome (known as flare-ups or relapses). Source: NHS Choices <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/tvshowbiz/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->