Are you getting ready to start an advanced therapy (for example, a biologic or small molecule medication) for the first time for your Crohn’s disease? Or perhaps this is round 2, 3, or 4 when it comes to trying advanced therapies to better manage your Crohn’s? Whether it’s your first rodeo or not, it’s important to know all the ins and outs so you can make appropriate decisions for your care in conjunction with your gastroenterologist. I have been there, and this is what I’ve learned about navigating my care and feeling empowered when getting ready to start a new therapy. Read more on the HealthGrades website: https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/crohns-disease/what-ive-learned-about-starting-an-advanced-therapy-for-crohns-disease Originally Published on…
- autoimmune disease, chronic illness, Crohn's, Emerging Therapies, living with IBD, Ulcerative Colitis
- 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
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…
- advocacy, affordable drug pricing, autoimmune disease, awareness, chronic illness, drug pricing, health insurance, pharmacy benefit manager
A Direct-to-Patient Model: How Online Pharmacy Marley Drug is Revolutionizing Drug Pricing
Sponsored by Medicure’s Marley Drug. All thoughts & opinions are my own. As patients, have you ever wondered if forgoing health insurance could perhaps save us money on prescription drugs? I honestly hadn’t considered it and this concept blew my mind when I first heard about it. For me, it always seemed like a no-brainer: go through my insurance policy to get access to prescription medications so I can contribute towards deductibles and meet my out-of-pocket costs many months later. But that can take forever and cost quite a lot of money…The reality is we might not have to do that and it might sometimes save us money to bypass insurance. I…