Cultural Stigma – Own Your Crohn's

chronic illness, Colorectal Surgery, Crohn's, Cultural Stigma, living with IBD, Ostomy, Stigma, Ulcerative Colitis, World Ostomy Day

How Ostomy Surgery Impacted My Life

October 5, 2024

How ostomy surgery gave Tina Aswani-Omprakash her life back and the impact these surgeries can have in IBD treatment. Originally published on IBD Social Circle’s Blog It is estimated that approximately three-quarters of Crohn’s disease patients and a third of ulcerative colitis patients will need surgery at some point or another in their disease journey. What’s often not discussed enough, though, is how many of those surgeries will lead to ostomies. So, what is an ostomy and how does it help patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? According to United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA), ostomy surgery is a lifesaving procedure. It allows bodily waste to pass into a medical…

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Tina Aswani Omprakash

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~OYC Trailblazers~ Tanya’s Pregnancy Journey Living with Crohn’s Disease in India

November 5, 2022

Written by Tanya Manohar My name is Tanya, and I live in Chennai, India. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1999, a time when little was known about IBD in India. This means that I have segments of intestinal narrowing and scarring throughout my small intestine known as strictures caued by Crohn’s. I had one small bowel resection in 2009. A treatment regimen, comprising Azathioprine and Mesalamine, was the cocktail my Gastroenterologist Dr. Ashok Chacko prescribed to treat my Crohn’s. In combination with a restricted and closely monitored low-fiber diet, this regimen has kept me fairly stable. It has allowed me to live alone in a foreign country, pursue…

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Tina Aswani Omprakash

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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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Demi’s Journey: Coming Out with Ulcerative Colitis as a Filipino Woman

May 3, 2021

I sat on the toilet for the tenth time that day, clueless about what was going on inside of me. For the past seven months, I had been experiencing episodes of bloody diarrhea and had yet to be diagnosed. My ass was spewing blood and I was worried that I am losing a lot of it. I thought to myself: if I were back home in the Philippines, I would probably hear someone say “Baka kinulam ka” (“Someone probably hexed you”). Filipinos, although predominantly Catholic, have their share of beliefs – both superstitious and supernatural. Kulam, a form of folk magic, is one of them. I turned 40 three months ago and…

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Tina Aswani Omprakash
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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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~OYC Trailblazers~ Tanya’s Journey with an Ostomy & Endometriosis

March 25, 2021

My name is Tanya and I live with endometriosis and a permanent ileostomy. I’m of North African and Asian background from Mauritius. For years, I experienced uncomfortable bowel pains and no one could diagnose me properly. I struggled with retaining weight as all of my food would pass through me. It felt as though I was intolerant to all foods. I often found blood in my stools, and I felt permanently bloated. I eventually resorted to eating the same meals everyday to avoid upsetting my stomach. Work colleagues would notice and question why I had the same lunch everyday. Like many suffering from endometriosis, I was misdiagnosed with IBS and…

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Tina Aswani Omprakash

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