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Own Your Crohn's

Empowering the Chronically Ill & Disabled to Lead Fuller Lives

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  • awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  Irritable Bowel Syndrome,  living with IBD,  Pelvic Floor Dysfunction,  Pelvic pain,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    Pelvic Pain in IBD: An Overlooked Complication

    August 9, 2019

    By Tina Aswani Omprakash, Medically Reviewed by Jenny Blair, MD Originally Published by Oshi Health, Inc., on August 8th, 2019 A complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that often goes unaddressed and misdiagnosed is chronic pelvic pain (CPP). CPP is often defined as pain in the pelvic area that isn’t cyclic and isn’t related to pregnancy and that lasts for three to six months. It may affect from 6% to 25% of reproductive-age women, depending on how it’s defined, as well as men and older women. The condition can arise from a variety of causes. How I’ve Experienced Pelvic Pain So how does CPP apply to us as IBD patients?…

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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

    Being South Asian American & Living with IBD

    February 9, 2021

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024
  • awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  World IBD Day

    ~OYC Trailblazers~ Harman’s Story from India

    July 10, 2019

    By Harman Singh Randhawa My battle with ulcerative colitis began in 2003. I was 20 years old and in my 2nd year of studying Engineering. By the time the diagnosis came through, I had already lived with pain and inordinate trips to bathroom for more than 6 months. Ignoring my painful symptoms and the discomfort that came with it, I kept delaying getting a thorough checkup. I started experiencing bloody diarrhea for many days. Finally, it was my sister who decided that the situation had gotten out of hand and drove me to PGI Hospital in Chandigarh in Punjab, India. I underwent a few tests and when the blood test…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    My Feature in Suffering the Silence’s Photo Series Campaign

    October 6, 2019

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

    April 18, 2021

    In the Name of Science & Research

    June 25, 2019
  • acceptance,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  PTSD,  Stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    World PTSD Day 2019: The Faceless Woman

    June 27, 2019

    In honor of World PTSD Day today, I release a poem I wrote some weeks ago surrounding the medical trauma I’ve faced as a Crohn’s patient. This poem is not for the faint of heart so I will not be offended if you cannot read it. Post-traumatic stress is a term that’s often thrown around lightly but it has serious implications for people who have been in battle for their country, for their lives and against chronic illnesses. Everyday is a minefield with an array of flashbacks and memories that keep us from living our best lives. I urge you all to learn more and to respond to those who…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

    Coping with IBD & Stress & Anxiety Around COVID-19

    April 1, 2020

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

    September 24, 2018
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Clinical Trials,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Disease Prevention,  Emerging Therapies,  living with IBD,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    In the Name of Science & Research

    June 25, 2019

    Traveling home from Mayo was beyond excruciating– horrible abdominal cramping and nausea/vomiting as I could barely walk. After all the testing I had had (4 testing procedures, an ER visit, multiple appts all in 5 days) and my Stelara trough levels coming back as borderline, it was no surprise that my Crohn’s Disease had flared. I was in a frenzy and knew I had to act fast.  Within an hour of landing, my local GI and I came up with a plan to admit me at my local hospital. She asked me to consider enrolling in the POWER clinical research study in which she would reinduce me with a megadose…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Allowing Acceptance In

    November 21, 2018

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

    January 24, 2019

    TINA ASWANI OMPRAKASH | 2018 NYC ADULT HONORED HERO

    April 20, 2018
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    I’m Chronically Ill & Depressed; So What?

    June 3, 2019

    You might be looking at this photo and thinking, “Oh, Tina looks like she’s having a great time enjoying beautiful weather in the park.” Can you tell an hour before this photo was taken, hubs struggled to get me to leave our home? Can you tell I had been curled up in bed crying? Can you tell it was next to impossible for me to get myself ready and out of bed that afternoon? NOPE. The truth is photos on social media and the Internet, in general, can be so deceiving. What you see here is a woman with Crohn’s and 37520572 other ailments smiling in a park because that’s…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Disability Awareness in the Midst of Coronavirus

    March 12, 2020

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

    November 4, 2018

    Day on the Hill 2019: The Faces of IBD Legislation

    May 11, 2019
  • Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  IBD Parenthood Project,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Mother's Day,  Ostomy,  Pregnancy in IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    ~OYC Trailblazers~ Brandi’s Journey into Motherhood with a Redone J-Pouch

    May 12, 2019

    By Brandi Fliegel I was 22 years old when I went to the emergency room for the first time. I had extreme stomach pain and couldn’t stop going to the bathroom. They told me I had a stomach virus and sent me home with some Imodium. Then the bleeding started. I went to a different hospital and after further testing, they diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis. I didn’t really understand the disease at the time. I just knew I had to take medications to combat inflammation in the gut everyday. Then the flare-ups began and I would end up back in the hospital. I would go on steroids and then…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Pain and Fatigue in IBD: Provider and Patient Perspectives

    December 5, 2020

    Saravanan’s Exercise Tips as a Crohnie & Ostomate

    September 30, 2021

    My Feature in Everyday Health as #EverydayWoman

    February 22, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Diet,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  Nutrition,  Women's Health

    Brown Girl with Guts: Tina’s Journey with Crohn’s Disease

    April 30, 2019

    Originally Published by Girls with Guts on April 30th, 2019: https://www.girlswithguts.org/blog/2019/4/30/brown-girl-with-guts-tinas-journey-with-crohns-disease As a woman of color, I’ve struggled from the very beginning with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The diagnosis was hard enough to wrap my head around but add the elements of loss of career, loss of personality and ultimately, loss of cultural identity played into a lot of my struggles with managing my brand of IBD. To backtrack, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2006. Now, this was by no means a surprising diagnosis for me. My father had died of a virulent form of Crohn’s that became colorectal cancer when I was 8 years old here in…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    The Waiting Game

    June 30, 2018

    World PTSD Day 2019: The Faceless Woman

    June 27, 2019

    Real Talk About Fistulae

    January 19, 2019
  • advocacy,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Diet,  Emerging Therapies,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Minority Health,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    The Impact of IBD on Racial & Ethnic Minorities

    April 24, 2019

    On Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019, in honor of National Minority Health Month, Dr. Aline Charabaty (Director of Johns Hopkins IBD Center), Brooke Abbott (Patient Advocate, Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles) & I (Patient Advocate, Own Your Crohn’s) had the honor of speaking with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation on the very important topic of “The Impact of IBD on Racial & Ethnic Minorities.” Please view the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s video below: If you are a man or woman of color living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), please know you are NOT alone. We are all here to support you through your journey. More is and will be done to tend…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    MM&M Transform Talks: Prioritizing the Patient Voice

    September 20, 2020

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

    January 24, 2019

    I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective

    July 1, 2020
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Ostomy,  Pelvic pain,  Self-image,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    My Health Became My Top Priority

    April 16, 2019

    **Originally published in Health Central on April 10th, 2019** CHAPTER 1 Crashing Down When I first began having inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms in 2005, I had just graduated college, started my first job, and I gotten out of a difficult relationship. And then, to top it off, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). I was at the top of my game, and everything just came crashing down in the blink of an eye. I had also just started my master’s in financial management, but, after the diagnosis, I couldn’t complete it. With a new career on Wall Street, I took a break from my graduate education to focus on…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Allowing Acceptance In

    November 21, 2018

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

    April 1, 2019

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

    November 4, 2018
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    OYC Trailblazers: What Healing Means to Natasha

    March 26, 2019

    By Natasha Weinstein My name is Natasha and I have Crohn’s Disease. I was diagnosed at the age of 11 after years of mild disease activity and extraintestinal manifestations (joint pains, random fevers and stunted growth). It was only when my disease became severe with rectal bleeding and vomiting that I was given a proper diagnosis. Following diagnosis, I went through years of failed medications, endless hospitalizations, 2 pediatric gastroenterologists and multiple surgeons. Last month I underwent my 10th surgery. You read that right: TENTH. I have hit double digits, two full hands, big kid status. My abdomen is growing up. To get technical about this most recent surgery, I…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story

    August 29, 2019

    What Will People Think? ~A Short Documentary by Chealynn Feaster

    December 27, 2019

    Throwback to La Caverna 2006!

    August 30, 2018
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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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