Living

Iron deficiency anemia is a symptom I've experienced with Crohn’s disease.  Lack of iron is actually quite common in healthy people, so when you add a Crohn’s diagnosis it isn’t...

In the early days of my diagnosis, I was devastated that I might be on medication for the rest of my life. I was in college and very few of...

It's very difficult to process the life we lead as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Some days are good, some days are spent never leaving our bed, and other days...

Supportive family and friends are essential for those of us living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It’s not uncommon to feel isolated after diagnosis. You’re overwhelmed by all of the...

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...

As someone who’s lived with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for nearly 15 years now, I’m not stranger to the fact that Crohn’s disease is often on my mind. There have...

Isn’t it frustrating when you feel great but your lab results say otherwise?  In fact, despite how great you feel, according to your labs you are doing poorly medically.  It’s...

As one who has suffered from ulcerative colitis (UC) for over thirty years, I’ve heard it all. People love to speculate about what caused my inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). But...

There are certain things in my life that I tend to take for granted--a roof over my head, clean water, and accessibility to healthy food.  In addition to the basics...

Do you ever think to yourself, what did I do to bring this upon myself?  Maybe if I would have eaten better I wouldn’t have been diagnosed?  Maybe if I...

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...

Since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) almost six years ago, I’ve taken mesalamine religiously. Whether it was two of the pills when things were good or four when things...

A few months back, I started experiencing some new symptoms, along with an uptick in my inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms. In addition to more frequent and urgent diarrhea and...

There it is again, that feeling of nausea with ulcerative colitis. My stomach lurches. I run to the bathroom, ready to vomit, but it doesn’t happen. Still, I feel terrible...

It is truly amazing how many new medications are hitting the market to treat ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Whether they are brand new, or medications that were once used...

Over the years, I have visited numerous doctors seeking treatment for my ulcerative colitis. Through experience, I’ve learned that not all gastroenterologists (GI doctors) are created equally. If you are...

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...

Colonoscopies are a crucial procedure to have for anyone who has inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  In my case, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and yearly colonoscopies have become a...

After being sick for a very long time, I was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease back in 2009. By this point, I’d been in and out of doctors offices and...

As I'm sure you all know by now, ulcerative colitis (UC) symptoms can vary from person to person. Unfortunately, that's the nature of the disease – our symptoms differ, our...