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  • awareness,  coping with flare,  Crohn's,  Diet,  Disease Prevention,  living with IBD,  Nutrition,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Can a Low FODMAP Diet Help IBD? 7 Things to Know

    February 20, 2019

    Written by Emily Willingham, PhD Medically reviewed by Matthew Hamilton, MD When patient advocate and author of the blog OwnYourCrohns, Tina Aswani Omprakash, 35, reached an impasse with symptoms related to her inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), she turned in frustration to her nutritionist. On her nutritionist’s suggestion, Omprakash, who lives in New York City, decided to give the low-FODMAP diet a try. What Are FODMAPs Anyway? FODMAPs stands for “fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols,” all sugars that are common in foods. If these small sugars go unabsorbed and hang around in the intestines long enough, they can produce diarrhea and abdominal bloating and cramping, depending on where they linger. People who…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Happy World IBD Day from Digestive Disease Week (DDW)!

    May 22, 2019

    A Valentine’s Day Special: Dating & Relationships with an Ostomy

    February 25, 2020

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

    June 20, 2020
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  colorectal cancer,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Father's Day,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    OYC Trailblazers: An Ode to My Father & Fellow IBD Warrior

    January 30, 2019

    This year I’m starting a new series called Own Your Crohn’s (OYC) TrailBlazers in which I share stories of other chronic illness warriors and their experiences. And who better to begin this series than my father, a long-time veteran of Crohn’s Disease?  Dr. Moti Aswani was born in New Delhi, India, and came to New York to study at the age of 21. And, oh, did he study! He held five degrees: a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering and Masters degrees in Philosophy and Business Administration. He was a Senior Systems Engineer for the prestigious Bell Labs in New Jersey for many years thereafter. On paper, he was…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective

    July 1, 2020

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

    September 27, 2019

    A Valentine’s Day Special: Dating & Relationships with an Ostomy

    February 25, 2020
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    OstomyConnection SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Harikesh Buch works to shatter stigma and improve post-surgery care for ostomates in India.

    January 24, 2019

    Dr. Harikesh G. Buch recognized the difficulties faced by homeless people in his home city of Mumbai early in his medical career. A skilled colorectal surgeon, he devoted himself to operating on those unable to pay for his services. Then something happened that changed the course of his life: At the age of 29, he was diagnosed with rectal cancer and underwent colostomy surgery, an operation that would serve as the focus of his volunteer work for many years to come. Dr. Buch recalls that he was “devastated” after the cancer diagnosis and, though it didn’t take him long to become accustomed to living with a stoma, he had initial…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

    The Value of Support Groups

    August 26, 2018

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

    June 22, 2020
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Mindfulness,  Ostomy,  patient rights,  Pelvic pain,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Real Talk About Fistulae

    January 19, 2019

    As I sit here today with a very heavy heart typing out this blog post, I’m not sure if the excruciatingly painful nodule I felt earlier this week is just another health scare or yet another horrifying abscess from a fistula. I hold back tears as I wonder what my next steps are and what I can do to keep spiraling anxiety in check. Now many of you might be wondering what I’m even referring to–abscess? Fistula? What the heck are those and why am I such a mess over them? Well, get ready for some real talk about the most harrowing experience I’ve faced as a Crohn’s patient. According…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    The Other Side of Crohn’s: Caregiving

    December 9, 2019

    The Value of Support Groups

    August 26, 2018

    Throwback to La Caverna 2006!

    August 30, 2018
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  Gratitude,  living with IBD,  Mindfulness,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

    A journalist recently asked me, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years, Tina?” It was a mind-boggling question; I could barely wrap my head around the chronicity of my illnesses forget about thinking so far ahead into the future. The truth is I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, sickness or health, and I’m not so sure I want to even think about it. Sure, the future appears bright with many new medications and research in the pipeline to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). But one thing I’ve come to learn in all the ebbs and flows of living with IBD is that I need to live for today…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    No More Secrets: An enlightening film that reveals the stigma of having an ostomy in India

    September 24, 2018

    Allowing Acceptance In

    November 21, 2018

    Real Talk About Fistulae

    January 19, 2019
  • advocacy,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Holiday Season,  living with IBD,  Traveling with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    The Value of Awareness & Advocacy During the Holidays

    December 21, 2018

    The holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate all the blessings in our lives. It is a time to reflect on a year that has passed and our resolutions for the upcoming new year. But it is also a time that can be difficult for many of us with chronic illnesses, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). And this is where the importance of awareness and advocacy of our conditions come into the picture. As joyous of a time that the holidays are, many of us struggle to keep up with the shopping, the eating, the drinking, the travel and all the social merriment of the holiday season. Oftentimes,…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Lilly Singh’s ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai?’: My Anthem for Body Positivity

    April 1, 2019

    OYC Trailblazers: An Ode to My Father & Fellow IBD Warrior

    January 30, 2019

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

    September 23, 2020
  • advocacy,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    6 Myths About IBD in Minority Patients, Busted

    December 20, 2018

    Here are the most common misconceptions surrounding Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis in minority populations. By Brianna Majsiak Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis (UC) are not easy conditions to talk about. But an even rarer topic of conversation is how minority patients are affected by these chronic and debilitating diseases. Although IBD has predominantly affected whites in the past, a study published in August 2016 in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Disease found an increase in the rate of IBD in minority groups in the United States over the past two decades. “Patients may be reluctant to identify as having ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, so our current numbers may really underrepresent these minority groups,”…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    IBD Insider: IBD 101 Live Discussion on Facebook

    January 16, 2020

    Coping with IBD & Stress & Anxiety Around COVID-19

    April 1, 2020

    5 Hot Topics Presented at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2019

    February 27, 2019
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  patient rights,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    3 Patient Tips for Living & Thriving with Crohn’s or Colitis

    December 10, 2018

    On November 28th, 2018, in advance of Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week, Everyday Health interviewed patient advocates, Will Lanier (The Out Foundation), Tina Aswani Omprakash (Own Your Crohn’s) and Gaylyn Henderson (Gutless & Glamorous), on three tips to share with patients on how to live and thrive with IBD. View the video below to hear our tips! (Courtesy of Everyday Health, 11/28/18)

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story

    August 29, 2019

    An Interview with News 12 NJ: How Does Coronavirus Affect YOU?

    April 6, 2020

    IBD Awareness Week Line-Up: Diversity, Mental Health & More!

    December 1, 2018
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week: Minorities, Mental Health & IBD

    December 9, 2018

    This IBD Awareness Week, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation shared a video of me discussing one aspect of being South Asian: maintaining privacy. Privacy is a major concern when it comes to South Asian Americans sharing their personal IBD journeys. There is a phrase in Hindi & Urdu called “Log Kya Kahenge?” It is a cultural phenomenon that expresses deep concern for how society will view patients and their families once their stories are public. But the reality is that suffering in silence can lead to deep-rooted shame while deterring self-care and self-advocacy, two very important aspects to our medical care. In this video, I talk about my experiences as a…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

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

    November 4, 2018

    OYC Trailblazers: What Healing Means to Natasha

    March 26, 2019
  • awareness,  caregivers,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Caregivers: The Greatest Blessing of All

    December 7, 2018

    As we wrap up Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week, I reflect on the greatest blessing of all in my IBD journey: my caregivers, my dear mother and husband. From the constant rides into the city for doctors’ visits to packing wounds and changing PICC line dressings while helping me walk and shower after surgery, Mom, you picked me up when I was at my lowest points in life. From driving me to Cleveland Clinic and flying me to Mayo Clinic for surgery while spending countless sleepless nights in the hospital, Anand, you stood by my side when society told you you could have done better. Many of our IBD journeys…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Coping with IBD & Stress & Anxiety Around COVID-19

    April 1, 2020

    OYC Trailblazers: An Ode to My Father & Fellow IBD Warrior

    January 30, 2019

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024
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  • Feb 18, 2025 How to Own Your Crohn’s & Ostomy While Traveling to India
  • Jan 05, 2025 Key Takeaways from Advances in IBD (AIBD) 2024
  • Dec 05, 2024 Navigating Mental Health in Crohn’s Disease 
  • Dec 04, 2024 Highlights from ACG 2024: SAIA’s IBDesis’ Patient Experience
  • Nov 18, 2024 SAIA is proud to announce Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH as our full-time CEO!

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