Living

Receiving the news of a digestive disorder can seem like, well, a punch in the gut. It can feel overwhelming to think about what comes next. The good news is...

During my first in-person appointment in over seven months, I asked my PCP about seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. You know, to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. She flat-out...

I can feel it coming, a mile away. It starts slow, a nagging reminder in my back and up through my neck that I'm pushing too hard. That my body...

It’s hard when you watch time pass you by while you are incapacitated and feeling sick in bed from a Crohn’s flare. These last couple of months have been hard...

The holiday season is upon us, and regardless of the holidays you and your family celebrate one thing is for sure – there will be a lot of food, quite...

I once joined a Crohn’s and colitis support group. A wide range of individuals attended each week. The ailments they spoke about ran the gamut: skin issues, abdominal pain, frequent...

It's that time of year when everyone starts talking about flu season and sharing flu shot selfies, but this year, much like everything else, the importance of it and the...

Why love and touch matters in intimacy - even when it isn’t sex. Recently, I wrote about why touch, self-talk, and affection in different ways matter most to me on...

There are certain smells that trigger different emotions. As you all know, I spent over one year in the hospital dues to complications with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s. As much as...

In the past, I have suffered from horrible inflammation in my rectum. I always felt like it was engorged, inflamed, and just sore and uncomfortable 24/7. I always had to...

When I was in the hospital in 2002, for my second surgery in two years, I coped by writing poetry. Doctors would come into my room, making rounds, to find...

It wasn’t until about four years after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease that I became interested in approaching treatment holistically.  For the first four years, I only saw a gastroenterologist...

So today I wanted to talk about another nutrition topic and that is fiber. Now if you have IBD, then you're probably very aware of what fiber is: the places...

When asked if he hates people, Charles Bukowski said, "I don't hate them... I just feel better when they're not around." Relatable! When you have Crohn's disease, this feeling of alienation...

In the age of technology, many of us find our patient communities and support centers online, via social media, apps used to track symptoms, or right here on inflammatoryboweldisease.net. The...

As someone who’s lived with Crohn’s disease for more than two decades, I thought I had enough to deal with. Managing the intricacies of Crohn’s disease can be a full-time...

So today I want to talk about something that has been really frustrating to me. Lately, I've been trying to be as open as I can about my journey with...

Due to brain fog and anemia from ulcerative colitis, I never found a way to study effectively in college. After graduating, I took 3 years away from school and utilized...

Living with IBD takes a lot of balance and often feels like a guessing game. I recently went to dinner with five girlfriends and had dinner on a patio. It...

It’s such a common phrase: hindsight is 20/20. But oh is it so true! Looking back at my years leading up to my diagnosis, I can see the signs my body...