acceptance – Own Your Crohn's

acceptance, advocacy, autoimmune disease, awareness, coping with flares, Crohn's, immunocompromised, living with IBD, Mental Health, Mindfulness

Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

January 15, 2024

A person I admire once said, “Once you stop fighting your illness, you will allow acceptance to emerge.” I guess I had never looked at illness that way before. Society tells us to fight illness to our last breath, but is it really a fighting attitude we should have? This thought was something I began to ponder after hearing this statement. It took me months to process and understand what fighting vs. acceptance meant for my Crohn’s disease. Read more on the Healthgrades website: https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/crohns-disease/accepting-my-crohns-disease-to-finally-become-me. Originally Published on Healthgrades.com, Written by Tina Aswani-Omprakash

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When Diagnoses Accumulate – My Endometriosis Journey

August 28, 2023

Last spring, just when I had thought I had turned a corner and had many of my conditions better controlled, I developed a ton of crippling pelvic pain. Within a couple of days, I started bleeding a lot, which made no sense because I had been on hormones for years to stop my periods. Hormonal therapy was presented to me as a treatment option by Mayo Clinic’s gynecology team because I had many peritoneal inclusion cysts (scar tissue filled with fluid in my pelvis) that were wreaking havoc on my bladder before and after major surgeries done to remove my j-pouch. So, it was either hormonal suppression of ovulation or a hysterectomy at age…

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Basmah’s Journey: The Cultural Impacts of Being an Egyptian Crohnie

April 18, 2021

“You have Crohn’s Disease.” That’s what my gastroenterologist told me after my first colonoscopy in 2003. I was 16 years old, and nobody in my family, except for my mom who is a doctor, had heard of the disease.For the last 18 years, I have experienced multiple hospitalizations, taken a plethora of medications, and contended with related symptoms and illnesses such as extreme weight loss, loss of hair, C. difficile, osteoporosis, and blood clots. I am a child of immigrants from Egypt, and grew up in a tightly knit Arab Muslim community in Minnesota. I absolutely loved it (still do) when we all got together for picnics, holidays, and gatherings.…

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~OYC Trailblazers~ Anisha Zumba-ing Her Way into 2021!

January 28, 2021

This blog post has been done in collaboration with Girls With Guts Community Connection. By Anisha Gangotra My name is Anisha, I’m 37 years old and I live in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. I’ve lived with ulcerative colitis since 2008, from the age of 24. I experienced my first colitis symptoms following a two-week holiday abroad. My stomach hadn’t felt quite right but I’d also had my period when I was on holiday so I assumed that it was a mixture of jet lag, my body adjusting to a different environment and my menstrual cycle. I’ve always had a sensitive stomach so I didn’t think much of it. When…

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~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After

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My name is Amy Btiebet Washington, I’m 34 years old and live in Ohio. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 26 (in 2012). Initially, I thought I had a terrible flu, but after a few days of symptoms, I was rushed to the hospital with a 106-degree fever. I was immediately treated for sepsis, which led to 5 days in the ICU. After multiple tests, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The sepsis was a result of a severe infection caused by Crohn’s disease. At the time of my diagnosis, I knew very little about the disease and didn’t know anyone who lived with Crohn’s or ulcerative…

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I recently had the honor of being interviewed by the very kind, positive and uplifting Indian ostomate and advocate named Dinesh Kundnani. Dinesh is someone who I came across early in my own journey as an ostomy advocate and it’s amazing to witness how he’s transformed from new ostomate to a seasoned one. Dinesh now helps others in India especially by showing his ostomy and helping to destigmatize what is considered to be a very taboo medical device. Early on in our interview, Dinesh asked if I would do this podcast show in the Hindi language! I was dumbfounded in the moment but I quickly agreed as I realized how…

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I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective

July 1, 2020

The recent advice column in the NY Times called “Is it OK to Dump Him Because of His Medical Condition?” has been percolating in our minds for the last few weeks. Tomorrow, July 2nd, 2020, marks 10 years since I’ve been married to the love of my life, Anand. Yes, you read that right: one whole decade of wedded bliss and 14 years of us being together. (See Love Knows No Disability.) I still vividly remember telling him 3 weeks into us dating that I had been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) a few short months earlier and that the disease had taken the lives of my father and…

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~OYC Trailblazers~ Michelle’s Story on the Intersection of Crohn’s & an LGBTQIA+ Identity

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By Michelle Cabral My symptoms first started around the age of 11. As I grew into my teenage and adult years, my symptoms worsened. I found myself dealing with bathroom urgency and vomiting on a daily life. I distinctly remember when I was about the age of 16, my mother and I were leaving a restaurant after a night out and I had already vomited. I still remember her saying something to the effect of “one day you’ll be able to go out for dinner and not feel like this.” Little did she know that my life would continue with this trajectory and I would finally be diagnosed via colonoscopy…

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Step in Our Shoes: A Discussion on Being an Ally to the Black Community

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Earlier this month, I moderated a live discussion for Savvy Co-op on all things around the racism, injustice, inequality that Black Americans face. The advocates involved included Tonya Hegamin (Author, Professor, Type 1 Diabetes/LGBTQIA+ advocate), Erron Maxey (international basketball player, ESL teacher, Crohn’s Disease advocate) & Larry Turner (former Lakers basketball player, coach & international basketball player). They each brought very unique perspectives and shared experiences that taught us all how to be more mindful of the discrimination that Black Americans face on a regular basis. To learn more on how to become an ally to the Black community and start having brave conversations that incite, check out our discussion…

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