Shawn

One of the worst parts of living with inflammatory bowel disease has to be that there is no way out. There's no way to cheat. There's no way to lie...

Tomorrow marks my three year anniversary with my J-pouch. I couldn't be more excited. I can't believe how far I've come. From the little seventeen year old girl, sitting in...

I'm sorry, but it's just not me. It's you. You're the problem. You always have been. You're gone now. I'll never miss you. There will never be days when I...

Inflammatory bowel disease can be a difficult diagnosis to accept. Which is why I didn't. When I was first diagnosed with IBD, you would have thought the doctor told me...

You've just been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. You're scared and a little embarrassed to even say the words. You don't want to admit it because you fear announcing your...

The term ‘Patient Advocate’ can be a bit controversial and misleading at times. There is no one definition to show exactly what an advocate actually is. Not every advocate has...

You want to participate and enjoy, but unfortunately you have more on your plate to worry about than the average bear. Fact is, for a lot of us traveling can...

From things our doctor's didn't mention when we were diagnosed, (that they probably should have). To the things we ourselves withhold from the world. At times I ask myself, "was...

The other day I was waiting in line at the drive-thru. I was very annoyed. You know the thoughts that run through your head: "what's taking so long?" - "the...

Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease can often seem like a constant battle. Battling insurance for coverage, doctors for medications, not to mention your body battling itself. We have to remember...

This past Saturday, May 19th was World IBD Day! This year the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation took a different approach to World IBD Day: This year's theme was IBD Beyond Borders...

This is only a story. It is not meant to scare anyone out of treatment or surgery. It's simply meant to tell the story of a beautiful young women I...

I was recently watching an episode of Ted Talks. If you're not familiar with Ted Talks, it's basically a "nonprofit dedicated to ideas worth spreading" - Defined by their Facebook...

Being diagnosed with any chronic condition is overwhelming in itself. Being diagnosed with IBD is especially hard because there are many topics related to our condition that even doctors disagree...

After living with any chronic condition for a number of years, it's easy to forget the person you were before it. Or if you're anything like me, diagnosed as a...

Dealing with an IBD flare is challenging. It can be hard to keep a positive outlook when you're dealing with so much pain and frustration. Even when I'm not flaring...

So many that I sometimes even wonder what kind of person I'd be without my condition. I wonder this simply because all of those embarrassing moments impacted me so much...

So you've officially been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, now what? You may be scared, you may even be a little sad or confused. That's okay. It is 100% okay to...

I've been living with inflammatory bowel disease since the spring of 2010. Correction, I was diagnosed during the spring of 2010, but I've been living with the condition for much...

One thing I absolutely love to talk about is mental health. Whether it's on my blog, Chronically Strong, my social media and other outlets, or in person. I genuinely think that...