Finding Joy Despite IBD ChallengesIt'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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
How To Support Someone With IBDSupportive 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
My Surgical Journey With Crohn'sSurgery 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Managing IBD When Other Health Conditions Take PrecedenceAs 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
When IBD Symptoms Don't Match Lab ResultsIsn’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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Do We Really Know the Root Cause of UC?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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
When You Feel Like You Have No SupportThere 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Crohn's Disease is Not Your FaultDo 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...Reactions0reactionsComments13 comments
My Top Flare-Friendly FoodsEven 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Medication Crossroads: Somewhere Between Comfort and ChangeSince 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
What to Do When an Infection Increases IBD SymptomsA 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Managing Nausea with Ulcerative ColitisThere 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Would You Switch Your Biologic If It Was Working?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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
I Broke Up with My GI: The Dos and Don'ts of Switching DoctorsOver 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
What to Expect at Your First Gastroenterologist AppointmentI 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...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
A Better Colonoscopy PrepColonoscopies 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...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Air-Fried "Roasted" PotatoesRaise your hand if you like fried food. Now raise your hand if fried food doesn't like you. If you suffer from Crohn's or UC, you probably know that fried...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
"What’s Crohn's?" How I Explain My Condition to OthersAfter 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...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
UC and Chronic PainAs 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...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
5 Things Not to Say to Someone With IBDI'm not sure which is more infuriating, having your lab results come back completely normal when you feel like absolute death or having someone tell you, "Maybe you should give...Reactions0reactionsComments5 comments