Kelly J.

Friends have come, friends have gone – this is a hard one for me to talk about. Sometimes I feel like I don't have support & resources in others besides...

Today I want to talk about how Crohn's disease can manifest in women's genitalia and what complications could possibly arise if/when a woman is struck with symptoms in that area...

With all of the organs involved with Crohn's Disease, it's easy to see how there can be issues with "neighboring parts." Will my sex drive be affected? Are hormones a...

We see commercials for pharmaceutical drugs and treatments all the time now, but they don't seem to understand what it's really like to live with a chronic illness.I’m not sure...

It's important to be able to recognize when you need to breathe, take a moment, perhaps step back and get a clearer picture of things and figuratively hit "reset" when...

For many people, holidays are a point of struggle. Memories, sometimes even flashbacks of hospital visits, can linger, blocking good holiday cheer. We sometimes fear that we may land in...

When people first ask me to explain how my Crohn's disease affects me, there are a lot of questions related to diet that follow. I have my own "elevator speech"...

With the holiday season upon us, I wanted to take a moment to remind a few people that the holidays are not easy for many of us. For people who...

Ask anyone who's been on high doses of prednisone for any given time, and I guarantee you they won't brag about how beautiful they felt. It might assist in being...

This holiday, not only was I surrounded by my immediate family, as most are, but also by my work family. They care deeply about me and I'm grateful for that...

You’re bound to have a different opinion than some of the care providers you may have on your healthcare team.Then there will be times you feel like certain restrictions are...

Oftentimes, people with diseases, such as IBD, feel an urgency to straighten out their lives, examine their purpose, and confront the reality of death. Ironically, in spite of the physical...

Diagnosis of IBD can be incredibly difficult. Without an education of more than basic Human Anatomy & Physiology in most college courses, many people don't know how detailed the human...

There are a lot of times someone with IBD might be laid up in bed because of a flare, recouping from surgery or a number of other reasons. How many...

I am a face of “Invisible Illness.” I want to show you what living with “invisible” me is like, in hopes others struggling with illness know “I see you.” I...

I see it every year, more pictures of friends expanding their families, getting engaged, traveling the world with groups of friends. And I get sad. It's an initial wave of...

I'm sure living with IBD, you know many things that should be good for you, but aren't at all. Salad, fresh fruit, and veggies? For many of us, the "healthiest"...

There's a certain funny feeling in my gut (no pun intended) I've had lately that has made me feel ill at times. The real irony is that it isn't my...

No one ever wants to hear bad news. But after you've been sick for a long time, hearing the words "we found the issue" sure is reassuring. But what about...

There are so many positives to practicing yoga. For me, short-term it changes my mood, my level of anxiety and relaxation and it seems to actually help calm down my...