not a male and i have UC, i have met a few gay people with IBD online. i had symptoms before meeting my boyfriend, and they got bad a few weeks we started dating, since it took me so long to get diagnosed (over 3 months), i went from i have chronic diarrhea but i only poop once a day to im shitting blood and going in a good day 3-4 times a day. at first it was very hard for him to understand my frustration but with time it got better, i dont expect him to understand, i just want him to listen. maybe it’s because my best friend has UC so she always vented to me about it, after i got diagnosed i realized i never understood how much suffering she was going through, how much she has to deal with and after i realized this i just expect the same from others, they wont ever understand and that’s ok, i just want them to listen. i also have found between men and women, women will just be like oh ok but never really care, my female friends never asked me how im doing ever since i told them i got diagnosed last year, my male friends have this idea that if i cut off gluten, lift more weights, etc it’ll cure my UC lol. if you feel like your partner isn’t giving you the importance you want (when it comes to your CD) tell him that, tell him you just want him to listen and be there for you. IBD sucks and it sure is nice as hell having someone that’ll make a nice act to make you have leas discomfort, not that it has to happen everytime but every now and then it sure makes you feel a bit better