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

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

My Ostomy, My Lifesaver
October 3, 2019

Throwback to La Caverna 2006!
August 30, 2018

When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story
August 29, 2019
acceptance, advocacy, chronic illness, chronic pain, Colorectal Surgery, coping with flares, Crohn's, endometriosis, extraintestinal manifestations, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Mental Health, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Pelvic pain, PTSD, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Brown Girl with Guts: Tina’s Journey with Crohn’s Disease
April 30, 2019

World IBD Day Panel Discussion: Experiences of Minority IBD Patients & Caregivers
May 23, 2020

Honoring My Late Father
June 17, 2018
acceptance, advocacy, Arab American Heritage Month, awareness, coping with flares, Crohn's, Cultural Stigma, diversity, living with IBD, Mental Health, Minority Health, National Minority Health Month, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health

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.…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

~OYC Trailblazers~ Anisha Zumba-ing Her Way into 2021!
January 28, 2021

My Pelvic Pain Story
October 26, 2018

12 News to Your Health IBD Segment
June 23, 2018
acceptance, advocacy, awareness, coping with flares, Crohn's, diversity, living with IBD, Mental Health, Minority Health, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health

~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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Edgar Flores opens up about surviving near-death and the challenges of living with an ostomy in Mexico
November 4, 2018

OYC Trailblazers: Celebrating Melissa’s J-Pouch-versary
February 25, 2019

How a clinical trial helped this Crohn’s advocate finally reach remission
November 24, 2019
acceptance, advocacy, Black Lives Matter, Caregiving, coping with flares, Crohn's, health equity, Healthcare Disparities, living with IBD, Minority Health, Ulcerative Colitis

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

September 23, 2020

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

World PTSD Day 2019: The Faceless Woman
June 27, 2019

TINA ASWANI OMPRAKASH | 2018 NYC ADULT HONORED HERO
April 20, 2018

Step in Our Shoes: A Discussion on Being an Ally to the Black Community
June 20, 2020
Ableism, acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Crohn's, Dating & Relationships, living with IBD, Ostomy, stigma

Indian Ostomate Podcast Show: Episode 1 with Tina Aswani Omprakash

July 23, 2020

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Inspire’s #KeepUsAllSafe COVID-19 Campaign
April 12, 2020

The Other Side of Crohn’s: Caregiving
December 9, 2019

What IBD Awareness Means to a South Asian American Woman with Crohn’s
June 17, 2020
Ableism, acceptance, advocacy, Crohn's, Dating & Relationships, Disability Justice, Minority Health, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

What IBD Awareness Means to a South Asian American Woman with Crohn’s
June 17, 2020

What Will People Think? ~A Short Documentary by Chealynn Feaster
December 27, 2019

University Accommodations in the COVID-19 Era
September 7, 2020
acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Crohn's, Dating & Relationships, Disability Justice, Healthcare Disparities, LGBTQ+ health, living with IBD, Minority Health, Ostomy, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis

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

June 22, 2020

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Being Brown and Coming Out of the IBD Closet: The Chronic Illness Experience
August 7, 2018

The Other Side of Crohn’s: Caregiving
December 9, 2019

I’m Chronically Ill & Depressed; So What?
June 3, 2019
acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Black Lives Matter, Disability Justice, Healthcare Disparities, Minority Health

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

June 20, 2020

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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

My Feature in Suffering the Silence’s Photo Series Campaign
October 6, 2019

As a Chronically-Ill Brown Woman, Here’s Why I Share My Survival Story
May 16, 2019

When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story
August 29, 2019
acceptance, advocacy, coping with flares, Crohn's, fistula, Gastroparesis, invisible illness, living with IBD, Mental Health, Ostomy, PTSD, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis

Talking Gut Podcast Episode 20: Tina Aswani Omprakash on Resilience & GRITT

May 30, 2020

As May, a month of several health initiatives, comes to a close, I wanted to highlight Mental Health Awareness Month, World IBD Day and World Digestive Disease Day by talking about all three in my latest podcast interview with Dr. Jim Kantidakis, Clinical Psychologist & Gut-Directed Hypnotherapist, at the Gut Centre in Australia. In his podcast titled Talking Gut, I discuss the power of resilience, that so-called grit that living with Crohn’s Disease, multiple fistulae, a permanent ileostomy, gastroparesis, IBS and SIBO have given me over the years. Dr. Kantidakis asks me how I got through all my hospitalizations and faced all the medical PTSD and I would have to…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

My Health Became My Top Priority
April 16, 2019

What Will People Think? ~A Short Documentary by Chealynn Feaster
December 27, 2019

~OYC Trailblazers~ Mollie’s Story: Living la Vida Latina with Ulcerative Colitis & an Ostomy
September 27, 2019