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  • Clinical Trials,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Diet,  J-Pouch,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Nutrition,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Key Takeaways from IBD Insider 2022: Patient Updates from the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®

    February 16, 2022

    Originally Published by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation on their IBDVisible Blog on February 14th, 2022 By: Tina Aswani Omprakash The third annual IBD Insider was, as always, a great culmination of the events from the 2022 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®. As patients, we often have many questions about what goes on at these medical conferences and how to understand the research in bite-sized, digestible pieces (yes, pun intended). IBD Insider does just that by bringing to us the newest research updates in IBD for us to stay abreast of the latest and greatest, but also to enable us to make the best shared decisions with our physicians in our care. The…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    How a clinical trial helped this Crohn’s advocate finally reach remission

    November 24, 2019

    My Feature for Clinical Trial Awareness with Parexel

    June 1, 2019

    Research Highlights from Digestive Disease Week 2022 for the IBD Community

    June 8, 2022
  • Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Gastroparesis,  invisible illness,  living with IBD,  medical trauma,  Mental Health,  Ostomy,  PTSD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Real Talk About Recovery

    December 16, 2021

    Recovery…it’s not something we talk about enough. Surgery, like the classic Bollywood love story, takes precedence but the moment the couple gets together, they live happily ever and we never hear about the rest. Same thing with the rush and excitement of surgery. We hear all about it but the reality is we never hear about how arduous the recovery is. Today marked a month since my surgery. It was quite an emotional day for me. For those of you just tuning in, I had an emergency laparotomy due to multiple bowel obstructions from previous surgical stapling and complications caused by scar tissue and a hernia strangulating my bowel and…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019

    Bachatera with a Bag: Theodora Shattering Ostomy Stigma Through Dance

    April 27, 2021

    My Ostomy, My Lifesaver

    October 3, 2019
  • autoimmune disease,  Coronavirus,  COVID-19,  Crohn's,  immunocompromised,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Vaccinations

    What the IBD Community Needs to Know About Getting a COVID-19 Booster

    December 11, 2021

    Patient advocate Tina Aswani Omprakash spoke with gastro experts to get the booster answers for people with inflammatory bowel disease. Originally published in Everyday Health on December 1st, 2021 By Tina Aswani Omprakash For Health Answers Medically Reviewed by Kareem Sassi, MD Reviewed: December 1, 2021 Now that many of us with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are several months out from receiving two doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for all adults 18 and up who received a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024

    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Sjögren’s Story

    April 13, 2022

    Bachatera with a Bag: Theodora Shattering Ostomy Stigma Through Dance

    April 27, 2021
  • Coming Out,  Crohn's,  Dating & Relationships,  diversity,  LGBTQ+ health,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  Pride,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    This Love Takes Guts

    October 11, 2021

    Our love isn’t simple, but it’s also the easiest feeling in the world. Being a woman in the LGBTQ+ community, I assumed that I would always have to come out over and over again throughout the course of my life. But when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 19 and had my first surgery at 20, I realized that I would have to come out about multiple parts of who I am for the rest of my life. It wasn’t until I found Girls with Guts in 2016 that I found a group of people that I finally didn’t have to go through the process of coming out to, at…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash
  • Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  hydration,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Minority Health,  Nutrition,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis,  World Ostomy Day

    Saravanan’s Exercise Tips as a Crohnie & Ostomate

    September 30, 2021

    As an ostomate and IBD patient, many people often ask me if I am able to play sports. I tell them ‘YES’. Yes, we can actively participate in sport activities, but there may be  some restrictions. For example, Larry  Nance Jr. is an NBA star who has Crohn’s disease (CD). But his illness does not prevent him from staying active. Although I am not a professional athlete, I do play sports for fun with my friends and it helps my physical and emotional well-being. However, as an ostomate and CD fighter, I have to take extra precautions while being physically active. I used to play football, badminton and volleyball before…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Real Talk About Recovery

    December 16, 2021

    My Feature in Everyday Health as #EverydayWoman

    February 22, 2019

    How Ostomy Surgery Impacted My Life

    October 5, 2024
  • advocacy,  autoimmune disease,  Clinical Trials,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    A Gutsy Feeling: Advocating for the Best Care Possible as IBD Patients

    September 18, 2021

    By Tina Aswani Omprakash **Supported by agutsyfeeling.org, a collaboration between Girls With Guts, Purdue University, College of Pharmacy, and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning** In today’s day and age, there are many treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD – ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease). But given all the new medications on the horizon, how do we as patients participate in shared decision making with our IBD specialists regarding which medication might be best for us? And how do we know when we have given the medication a fair enough shot and that it might be time to move on to the next treatment option? How do we know…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Being Brown and Coming Out of the IBD Closet: The Chronic Illness Experience

    August 7, 2018

    Indian Ostomate Podcast Show: Episode 1 with Tina Aswani Omprakash

    July 23, 2020

    World IBD Day Panel Discussion: Experiences of Minority IBD Patients & Caregivers

    May 23, 2020
  • Caregiving,  Coronavirus,  COVID-19,  Crohn's,  immunocompromised,  Mental Health

    Gaurav’s Covid-19 Journey as a Crohn’s Patient in India

    June 11, 2021

    Greetings! I’m Gaurav Sengupta, a 32-year-old IBD patient advocate from India. I currently live in Kolkata and run a plastic manufacturing business of my own. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease back in 2015 when I was working as a Corporate Banker in the UAE. I nearly ended up in surgery back then and once again in 2019 due to stricture formation and bowel obstructions. I have been fortunate that my GI has helped to successfully control my disease during both of those flares with the help of oral steroids and immunosuppressants.  I recently fell prey to the global pandemic of Covid-19 during its second wave in India. Here, I…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Taryn’s Journey: Navigating Relationships and IBD During the Pandemic

    April 1, 2021

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

    September 23, 2020

    World IBD Day Panel Discussion: Experiences of Minority IBD Patients & Caregivers

    May 23, 2020
  • Crohn's,  Cultural Stigma,  extraintestinal manifestations,  feeding tube,  Healthcare Disparities,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  Nutrition,  Stigma,  Women's Health,  World IBD Day

    Madhura’s Journey in India: Coping with Stigma around IBD & Feeding Tubes

    May 16, 2021

    My name is Madhura Balasubramaniam and I live in India. I have been locked in battle with my intestines for as long as I can remember. I spent a large part of my early childhood dealing with constant spells of stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting and rashes. I struggled to meet my height and weight targets and had multiple nutritional deficiencies. When I was 10 years old, I was given a tentative diagnosis of celiac disease and I have been gluten-free since. While this diet seemed to provide pain relief, I remained underweight and anaemic.  In mid-2018, I began to experience occasional bouts of watery diarrhea and fatigue. I was travelling…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Sepsis Is a Severe, Life-threatening Complication for IBD Patients

    September 22, 2018

    Black Lives Matter in the IBD Community, Too

    July 10, 2020
  • advocacy,  autoimmune disease,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Dating & Relationships,  Gastroparesis,  invisible illness,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  National Minority Health Month,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    Bachatera with a Bag: Theodora Shattering Ostomy Stigma Through Dance

    April 27, 2021

    Elegance, beauty, confidence, and rhythm: these are some words used to describe a female Latin dancer. Chemistry, passion, sensuality: these often come to mind when describing or watching a Latin dance couple. Each genre of dance comes with its own culture. Dance shoes, music and certain beats accompany each genre and of course, that exists within bachata, a form of dance I love to practice. Nationally and internationally, people congregate to study, perform and/or socially dance the bachata together and there is absolutely nothing quite like it! Being a bachatera (a female bachata dancer), and 50% of a bachata dance partnership with my husband Marcos, I am fortunate to experience…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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

    May 16, 2019

    IBD Insider: IBD 101 Live Discussion on Facebook

    January 16, 2020

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

    April 1, 2019
  • 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.…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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Recent Posts

  • 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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