Sharna Burgess 'Grateful' Brian Austin Green Is 'On the Other Side' of Ulcerative Colitis

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Sharna Burgess says she is grateful that boyfriend Brian Austin Green is recovering from the inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis.

The Dancing with the Stars pro, 36, recently opened up on Today Extra about witnessing Green's "scary" experience that left him bedridden.

"We had just got back from Hawaii and Brian had an episode of ulcerative colitis," Burgess said. "He has had it in the past but it's been years since he has had anything come up."

"He was in bed for six and a half weeks. It really is debilitating," she continued. "It can lead to terrible things, so I'm really grateful that he was able to come out on the other side of things. It was scary and it was intense."

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Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green

Paul Archuleta/Getty

Last month, Green, 48, first opened up about his battle with ulcerative colitis during an appearance on Good Morning America alongside Burgess. Noting that he had "dealt with ulcerative colitis a few times," Green called dealing with the illness "a real rough experience."

"Sharna had never experienced it at all," he continued, before Burgess chimed in, adding, "I didn't realize how debilitating it was until I saw him and watched weight drop off him."

Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green
Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

As the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum revealed that he "lost like 20 lbs.," Burgess said that symptoms of the illness frightened her.

"Not having experienced this type of thing before, and still learning, I was supportive and loving and [like], 'I'm here for you,' and internally fearful for how long does this go on for?" she said.

RELATED: Brian Austin Green Reveals He Was 'Bedridden' with Ulcerative Colitis: 'A Terrible Experience'

Green then noted that he has revamped his diet in an effort to better live with the disease.

"I try and avoid gluten and dairy as much as possible," he said during his GMA chat. "It's really just dietary, like, as long as I can keep things within my system that my body doesn't think I'm poisoning it with, then it doesn't fight back."

He added: "I would eat food, and literally it was like, my body didn't process any of that. So then, when you start playing catch up with, like, staying on top of being hydrated enough, that's such a battle."

Ulcerative colitis is "an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in your digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum," according to the Mayo Clinic.

The condition can develop at any age, but the disease is more likely to develop in people between the ages of 15 and 30, according to National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.