Did Anesthesia Cause My Stomach Issues?We all know that we are living in unprecedented times. I guess if there was a silver lining to this pandemic it would be that we all learned how to...reactions1comment
Learning to Speak "Medical Talk" With Crohn'sYes, I once spent over 367 days in the hospital due to complications with Crohn's. Many days I was too sedated to talk or think straight. But there were also many...reactionscomments
My Experience With Switching Diets"Eat this, not that!" screams the advertisement on TV. That phrase sure captures the history of living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's. For years, gastroenterologists handed me a printed out...reactions7comments
Weathering UC During Life's Storms"Storms make the oak grow deeper roots." –George Herbert Last night, I saw rippling streaks of lightning across the black night sky. It flashed its wiry, electric charges, and my...reactionscomments
How My IBD Content Has Changed Over TimeI first started talking openly about having inflammatory bowel disease in 2014. I had pouchitis, and I was sick of people not getting that I was ill, because I looked...reactionscomments
Changing Crohn's Medicines, Again.It has been 12 years since I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. And within those 12 years, I have tried many medications, some being: mesalamine, Remicade, Entyvio, Humira, Stelara, azathioprine...reactions4comments
Getting Out of Your Rut and Into a Groove With IBDIf there is one thing we can always count on with Crohn's disease, it is its unpredictability. We can be cruising along, doing our thing, enjoying life when BAM! A flare...reactionscomments
How Crohn's Birthed My Inner Self-advocateMy IBD diagnostic journey took several years longer than it should have. I started showing consistent symptoms in the fall of 2009, and wasn't correctly diagnosed until early 2016. During...reactionscomments
It's Back: Another Painful UC FlareThe pain is back. Like a jackhammer in my gut, I feel the pulsating, rippling high-tide of pain throbbing throughout my belly. As I draft these words, I sit hunched...reactionscomments
"You Didn't Fail Those Medications, They Failed You."I recently was giving an oral medical history to a new medical provider. This past fall, I was diagnosed with asthma, and I had been seeing a pulmonologist to manage...reactions5comments
Does Your Diet Feel Extremely Limited?As a certified health coach, I work with a number of individuals who suffer from Crohn's and UC. While most of our work together involves identifying a diet and lifestyle that...reactionscomments
Injured, Not Able to Wipe, and Cursing my Crohn'sAs an IBD advocate, I talk all the time about how this is far more than just a pooping disease. As anyone with IBD knows, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis...reactions7comments
Important Questions to Ask Your GI Prior to a ColonoscopyColonoscopies and living with IBD go together like milk and cookies – you cannot have one without the other. It is highly likely that as a Crohn's or UC patient...reactions2comments
Finding an Outlet When Struggling With Ulcerative ColitisLiving with ulcerative colitis can be difficult, requiring constant attention. After being diagnosed, I felt that my life had been upended. I struggled to find ways to cope and often...reactionscomments
My IBD Glossary for the Newly DiagnosedIt is a pretty scary time when you start having symptoms that you cannot figure out or understand. It's sometimes even scarier having to go see a doctor, or even...reactions6comments
Stepping on the Scale: How IBD Has Impacted My Weight and Body ImageThere are many routine questions asked at my doctor's check-ups and one of those is always: How much do you weigh? My relationship with my weight has always been a...reactions3comments
Giving In to a Craving… and Paying the Cost in the BathroomI will admit, I have an addiction. It's a good addiction. I promise. I am addicted to coffee. I really love it, and have acquired such a craving for it. I know...reactions5comments
When You Fail a Medicine... AgainFailing a medication is always a hard blow to deal with. When you first try a new drug, you think that this could finally be it. This medication can finally be the...reactions9comments
By My Side Through It All: Chronic Illness and Our PetsWith Crohn's and ulcerative colitis comes pain, sickness, flares, and so many emotions. Through all of my difficult health struggles, having my service dog Piper by my side has been...reactionscomments
Another Stool Test FiascoIt is inevitable. If you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, you will be asked for a stool test at some point throughout your IBD journey. For me, personally, I...reactions2comments
