Living

Having Crohn’s disease for over 14 years has taught me that I am fighting an uphill battle. Because I go to the bathroom over 12 times a day, I get...

I met Z in 2018 over a dating app where I hadn’t mentioned my ulcerative colitis on my profile. I liked him instantly and we met for a drink the...

Five percent. That's the statistical prediction of passing on my Crohn's disease to my son, according to Crohn's and Colitis UK. It doesn't sound like a huge number. For example...

In 2018, I tried the celery juice craze that was going rampant. It was made viral by "The Medical Medium." He has his own books and is a health-guru type...

Today I thought I would talk about diet and my experience specifically of going gluten-free with Crohn's disease. There are lots of people who have gone gluten-free but can it...

I would love it if remission meant I felt back to my normal self. The reality is that losing my colon has meant that my normal would always be a...

Living with Crohn's disease inevitably involves flares. These are times when inflammation increases and symptoms worsen. It is uncomfortable, painful, and draining. To better understand Crohn’s flares, we recently asked...

Let me state the obvious: getting an IV is not fun. I have had probably hundreds of IVs inserted into my body since being diagnosed with Crohn's in 2009 and...

Some things in life can’t be explained. The hole that took up my stomach is one of them. I always thought I had a great-looking stomach. I was thin, had...

One slightly vexing aspect of IBD is the stool test. For the uninitiated, this involves defecating in a pan before scooping out your excrement in little lab vials. I remember one...

I have a secret... No one can outwardly see my struggle. From all appearances, I look normal. More importantly, I look healthy. But I know differently. I'm not like everyone...

I've talked on here before about how IBD can impact your mental health and why we need to do more to support patients with it. But new research has emerged...

In 2021, I started to flare worse than any flare I’d had previous to this. My body was not responding to my mesalamine at all and a strong course of...

Since getting my PICC line and coming off total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in June, my body has been declining rapidly. I’ve chosen to try and keep things private, but it’s...

Accidents. Incontinence. Call it what you will. To be in your 20s and experiencing fecal incontinence is soul-destroying. I’m not saying it’s any less soul-destroying later or earlier in life...

Over 30 years ago, if you told me that one day my Crohn's and I would be finally pain-free, I would have probably thought it a dream. Well, I guess...

Today I wanted to share a personal post about my experience with a changed menstrual cycle since I started Humira (also called adalimumab). After asking in Facebook groups and doing...

Living with a long-term health condition requires us to stay on top of everything: doctor’s appointments, new symptoms, insurance, and, of course, managing treatment – all while taking care of...

As someone who grew up in a working-class home, I’ve always been highly conscious of money and spending. As a graduate student, my attention to money has continued to be...

It’s holiday vacation time. I’m sitting in a restaurant enjoying an ocean view and finishing a scrumptious seafood meal with my husband when the pain hits. The low rumble, gurgle...