Vern Laine

In my over 36 years of Crohn’s “experience” I have seen doctors, nurses, specialists, surgeons, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and even a naturopath - to name just a few. And after...

The thing about IBD is, it’s known as an “invisible illness” because no one can see that you are actually ill and suffering. But one visible sign of IBD can...

Surgery is hard. With my Crohn’s I have lost track with the number of times I have had to have some sort of surgery. Whether that be major, life-threatening or secondary...

Even though we are labelled with Crohn’s or colitis, I have found that we all often seem to have different symptoms: from the foods we eat to the intensity of...

I remember when my general practitioner (GP) told me that I had Crohn’s more than 3 decades ago. I will never forget it. After the initial shock of it all...

At some point in your IBD journey you will need to embrace the world of pharmaceuticals from 5-ASAs to immunomodulators, biologics to steroids. If you are lucky, you may need...

Having a chronic illness is hard. It's exhausting battling with my Crohn's day after day, and it's frustrating and stressful dealing with those who just don't understand or don't believe...

The dictionary defines pain as "physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury" and pain relief as "the alleviation of pain by means of medication." But is medication the...

We all get flares from time to time throughout the year, sometimes more than we would like, but have you ever noticed that they are either worse or more frequent...

I turned 55 last month and June marked my 35th year with a Crohn's diagnosis. It might say 55 on my drivers license, but in my mind, I still feel...

It is a pretty scary time when you start having symptoms that you cannot figure out or understand. It's sometimes even scarier having to go see a doctor, or even...

Crohn's disease is unpredictable but the one thing that's guaranteed is that it will flare up. In my 35-year experience with the disease, my flares have varied in length and...

One thing I have learned with having Crohn's over the decades is that IBD is unpredictable and even though you may get it under control (to a point) and learn...

As with IBD, we all react differently to medications and there are dozens of medications, or combinations of medications, on the market to help us try and live a "normal"...

"Healthy" eating is hard. I know it's hard for everyone but even more so for Crohn's and colitis sufferers. It's hard to know what foods to eat when it comes...

We all know that, as you get older, your body is going to let you know you are getting older. Stiff achy joints are part of growing old, but as...

It's hard enough living day to day with my Crohn's, worrying about things millions of people don't have to, let alone worrying about my job. Medications, pain, stress, fatigue, dehydration...

Having IBD is hard enough to deal with each and every day, and in my case, it's Crohn's disease. And with everything that we go through, we just never know...

June 1988. I don't remember the exact date but I do remember that I had already been suffering from severe, curled-up-in-a-ball type pain, diarrhea, drastic weight loss, and dozens of...