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Own Your Crohn's

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  • Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Egg-Freezing,  fistula,  IBD Parenthood Project,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  Motherhood,  Ostomy,  Pregnancy in IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    IBD Motherhood Unplugged: Womanhood Questioned by Crohn’s Disease

    February 22, 2021

    Motherhood is so much more than a word—it’s an expectation and an identity. It’s a right of passage many girls dream of when they think about their future and what their family will look like. But family planning, pregnancy, and motherhood are far from a given, especially for those with chronic illness. This week my post kicks off IBD Motherhood Unplugged, an ongoing series that will be shared on my dear friend and fellow Crohn’s advocate, Natalie Hayden’s blog: Lights, Camera, Crohn’s. My post has been in the works for 2+ years sitting in my drafts folder with me hoping that I’ll eventually be able to speak up for women…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Patient Experiences with IBD Surgery

    November 9, 2019

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

    May 12, 2019

    7 IBD-Inspired Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

    February 14, 2019
  • advocacy,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  fistula,  Fistulizing Disease,  J-Pouch,  Mental Health,  Minority Health,  Ostomy,  Self-image,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    FitWitMD’s Live Discussion on Perianal Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease

    August 7, 2020

    A couple weeks ago, esteemed IBD specialist, Dr. Neilanjan Nandi (@fitwitmd) of Penn Medicine, hosted a live discussion with me on my experiences around Perianal Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease. We opened up the discussion to an international audience and allowed for a Q&A on this very deeply stigmatized topic that’s often not discussed or understood very well. To view the video, please watch here: I have been very open about my struggles with multiple fistulae in female parts. I have lived with 5 rectovaginal fistulae and 1 pelvic transphinteric fistula that was headed to break through at the site of my tailbone, nearly paralyzing me. To read more about my experiences,…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Summer of Activism: IBD Advocates You Should Follow on Social Media

    August 7, 2019

    All of these exceptional women have won awards this year for their public advocacy efforts

    October 16, 2018

    Dropping Mask Mandates: A Time of Anxiety or Joy?

    March 15, 2022
  • Ableism,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  fistula,  Mental Health,  Minority Health,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health,  World IBD Day

    What IBD Awareness Means to a South Asian American Woman with Crohn’s

    June 17, 2020

    By Tina Aswani Omprakash Originally published in IBD Relief on May 18th, 2020: https://www.ibdrelief.com/ibd-stories/my-ibd-story-tina-aswani-omprakash I remember waking up from a surgery to repair a rectovaginal fistula in late 2011 and being yelled at by an elderly family member for ruining their lives. Even though I was still in a haze in the recovery room, the tears of pain and anguish washed over me. Whether it was my body violating me with perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease or family and friends constantly reminding me of how much of a burden I was, the floodgates opened in that moment as I asked that family member to please excuse themselves from the recovery area. You see, it’s really…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Disability Awareness in the Midst of Coronavirus

    March 12, 2020

    University Accommodations in the COVID-19 Era

    September 7, 2020

    The Beauty of Ostomates Worldwide

    October 17, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  fistula,  Gastroparesis,  invisible illness,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Ostomy,  PTSD,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Talking Gut Podcast Episode 20: Tina Aswani Omprakash on Resilience & GRITT

    May 30, 2020

    As May, a month of several health initiatives, comes to a close, I wanted to highlight Mental Health Awareness Month, World IBD Day and World Digestive Disease Day by talking about all three in my latest podcast interview with Dr. Jim Kantidakis, Clinical Psychologist & Gut-Directed Hypnotherapist, at the Gut Centre in Australia. In his podcast titled Talking Gut, I discuss the power of resilience, that so-called grit that living with Crohn’s Disease, multiple fistulae, a permanent ileostomy, gastroparesis, IBS and SIBO have given me over the years. Dr. Kantidakis asks me how I got through all my hospitalizations and faced all the medical PTSD and I would have to…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Allowing Acceptance In

    November 21, 2018

    Day on the Hill 2019: The Faces of IBD Legislation

    May 11, 2019

    I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective

    July 1, 2020
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Coronavirus,  COVID-19,  Crohn's,  fistula,  Fistulizing Disease,  immunocompromised,  living with IBD,  Minority Health,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    ~OYC TRAILBLAZERS~ Spotlight on Malaysian Crohnie & Ostomate Saravanan

    April 22, 2020

    It all started in early 2008 when I was still in high school and started to experience bowel disease symptoms. However, as many of us know, there can be a large gap between the time we experience symptoms and the time we are officially diagnosed. I was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July 2012. The four and half years in between onset of symptoms and diagnosis were the most arduous part of my journey. My battle began upon developing a fistula. For those who may not be familiar, a fistula is an abnormal tract created between the intestinal wall and another organ or out on to the skin due…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

    Throwback to La Caverna 2006!

    August 30, 2018

    Metamorphosis

    August 13, 2018
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Biosimilars,  Canadian healthcare,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  fistula,  Forced Medical Switching,  living with IBD,  Lobbying,  patient rights,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    Sophia’s Chronic Illness Journey: Forced Switching to Biosimilars in Canada

    December 15, 2019

    By Sophia Ali Khan From Diagnosis to Remission I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the tender age of seven in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. This was after I was born with congenital neutropenia, a condition that involves the deficiency of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in fighting infection and inflammation. After many months of debilitating stomach pains and unexplained weight loss, I was rushed into the OR for an appendectomy, but upon examination, the doctors found Crohn’s Disease. Being of Pakistani origin, Crohn’s was unheard of so naturally my family and I had to navigate our way through a sea of diagnoses,…

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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

    In the Name of Science & Research

    June 25, 2019

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

    December 1, 2018

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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