Excused Absence & Disclosing My Condition At Work“Patient’s medical condition demands ready, immediate access to a bathroom.” For the first time in my 27 years working as a public high school teacher, I arrived at school carrying...reactions13comments
From Shame to Sharing: A Personal JourneyI have always thought of myself as a helpful person, yet I have always struggled with asking for help when I need it. When I first experienced symptoms of ulcerative...reactions5comments
Series | How my Ulcerative Colitis Impacted My Physical ActivityThis is part of a series about how my ulcerative colitis impacted different parts of my life. This is not my usual type of post. There are no tips, learnings...reactions4comments
Ways To Pass The Time During IBD InfusionsShortly after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, my doctor prescribed a biologic medication. One that I would receive via IV infusion. I was no stranger to IVs - the years...reactions2comments
Bruising and Crohn's DiseaseToday I wanted to talk about another one of those extra-intestinal manifestations of IBD we often neglect to mention and that's bruising. Of course, we all bruise from time to...reactions2comments
How I Know When It’s Time to Go to the ER for Crohn's DiseaseUnfortunately, if you have Crohn's disease, heading to the emergency room is something that can occur often. The nature of the disease brings many ups and downs. You have periods...reactions20comments
Deciding Whether to Switch DoctorsSwitching doctors can be stressful, so I’ve only done so when absolutely necessary. But over a 30-year period, I’ve had four gastroenterologists, five if you count the doctor who treated...reactions5comments
Vulnerability & Home Health CareIf you happened to miss Part 1 of this series, please read that first and it will lead you back to how I came to be involved in Home Health...reactions2comments
Honoring Myself in My Ulcerative Colitis JourneyWhen I first noticed the bleeding, I was 20 years old and convinced everything would work itself out. At that age, it felt more “normal” to pay attention to my...reactions9comments
Packing Must-Haves for TravelI love to travel. I have never shied away from seeing new countries, experiencing memorable vacations, or booking a flight on a whim to visit friends across the country. Traveling...reactions4comments
Crohn's Flare on Your VulvaI am 31 years old, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s when I was 25. I was recently put on an extensive round of antibiotics to treat an infection. As...reactions2comments
Does Surgery For Crohn’s Or Ulcerative Colitis Improve Quality of Life?It is not a surprise for anyone with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (UC) to read that the conditions can impact a person’s quality of life. For some, IBD may...reactions1comment
The Battle of LettuceBefore I got diagnosed with Crohn's, I loved all food. Even those green vegetables that most young children can not stand. Of course, and as you may all well know, my...reactions7comments
What Chronic Diarrhea Means To MeI’d like to start by saying I don’t make it a huge habit of talking about my bowels... although, as an IBD patient advocate, I guess that’s only partially true...reactions18comments
Living with the Unknown as a TeenagerFirst, as a new contributor, I want to THANK the community advocates team at inflammatoryboweldisease.net for the invitation to offer support and share my experiences dealing with ulcerative colitis. THANK...reactions4comments
Home Health Care and Health CrisesIn Part 1 of 3 in this series, I'll talk about how the after-effects of a health scare became long-term new health issues. I talked about dealing with the physical...reactionscomments
We All Deserve To Feel Seen & HeardTo the anxiety-ridden patient, I see you. I understand your fears although there are times you may feel they are invalid. I understand you worry over “small things” that don’t...reactions3comments
My must-have kitchen gadgets for cooking with Crohn's diseaseWith a new year now here, lots of people set a resolution to be more creative in the kitchen. Cooking with Crohn's disease can be tricky. Not only does it...reactions13comments
30 Years of Living with IBD & Still Goin'I’m new to this site and this is my first intro to sharing my life of IBD with strangers. My 1st issue was in 1990 when I was 6 months...reactions3comments
The Risks And Rewards Of Intestinal ResectionsDid you know most sufferers of Crohn's disease have at least one surgery at some point? One reason for this is the small intestine is a relatively narrow passageway (at...reactions16comments
