invisible illness – Own Your Crohn's

autoimmune disease, Crohn's, Diet, invisible illness, living with IBD, Mental Health, Minority Health, Nutrition, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis

Key Takeaways from Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2023

February 24, 2023

The Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2023 took place last month in Denver, Colorado, bringing together more than 1,300 healthcare professionals and researchers from across the globe to share the latest advancements in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To summarize some of my key takeaways: **Goal is to improve patient care by halting progression of disease** So, own your Crohn’s, own your ulcerative colitis, and stay abreast of the latest and greatest research in the IBD space to advocate for your own best care! To read more about Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2023, please visit the full blog post on the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s IBDVisible Blog. As a patient advocate myself, I…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Dropping Mask Mandates: A Time of Anxiety or Joy?
March 15, 2022

Bachatera with a Bag: Theodora Shattering Ostomy Stigma Through Dance
April 27, 2021

Taryn’s Journey: Navigating Relationships and IBD During the Pandemic
April 1, 2021
Caregiving, Crohn's, Cultural Stigma, Family Planning, IBD Parenthood Project, invisible illness, living with IBD, Motherhood, Nutrition, Patient Voice, Pregnancy in IBD, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health

~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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

World IBD Day Panel Discussion: Experiences of Minority IBD Patients & Caregivers
May 23, 2020

Taryn’s Journey: Navigating Relationships and IBD During the Pandemic
April 1, 2021

~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After
September 23, 2020
Crohn's, Digital Healthcare Innovations, Disability Justice, invisible illness, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, J-Pouch, living with IBD, Ostomy, patient rights, Ulcerative Colitis

My Feature in The New York Times!

June 22, 2022

In conjunction with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s new We Can’t Wait App, nonprofit partner South Asian IBD Alliance’s Co-Founder & President Tina Aswani-Omprakash was interviewed and featured in the Metropolitan section of the Sunday’s edition of The New York Times on 19 June 2022!!! Read the article in-print below or online here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/17/nyregion/public-bathrooms-nyc-tiktok.html Check out the We Can’t Wait App to find the restroom nearest to you in the U.S. Available now for download in Apple Store and Google Play: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/wecantwait

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Incredible Innovations: A Brand New Wireless IBD Medication Delivery Solution
February 18, 2021

TINA ASWANI OMPRAKASH | 2018 NYC ADULT HONORED HERO
April 20, 2018

My Real World Experience with Intestinal Ultrasound
August 12, 2024
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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Colon Cancer & Its Devastating Impact on My Family
March 19, 2020

Metamorphosis
August 13, 2018

~OYC Trailblazers~ Mara Living Her Best Life with a Kock Pouch in Germany
December 7, 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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Indian Ostomate Podcast Show: Episode 1 with Tina Aswani Omprakash
July 23, 2020

Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week: Minorities, Mental Health & IBD
December 9, 2018

My Pelvic Pain Story
October 26, 2018
Ableism, advocacy, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, disability accommodations, Disability Justice, Gastroparesis, invisible illness, living with IBD, Mental Health, Ulcerative Colitis

University Accommodations in the COVID-19 Era

September 7, 2020

The last few weeks have felt daunting and overwhelming as I’ve been battling intense floods of illness and considering whether or not to resume graduate school part-time again this fall. You see, even contemplating a graduate program was a huge undertaking for me a couple years ago when I was accepted into a Certificate of Public Health program. As I slowly mustered up the courage to transfer into the Master’s in Public Health program, I felt scared yet hopeful all at once. And in between it all, I’ve had to take a trimester off to tend to my health. But all that aside, now we are in the midst of a…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

The Other Side of Crohn’s: Caregiving
December 9, 2019

Disability Awareness in the Midst of Coronavirus
March 12, 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…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

World PTSD Day 2019: The Faceless Woman
June 27, 2019

Basmah’s Journey: The Cultural Impacts of Being an Egyptian Crohnie
April 18, 2021

Disability Awareness in the Midst of Coronavirus
March 12, 2020
Ableism, advocacy, awareness, Colorectal Surgery, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, Disability Justice, immunocompromised, invisible illness, living with IBD, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis

Inspire’s #KeepUsAllSafe COVID-19 Campaign

April 12, 2020

Last week, Inspire released a short video we made virtually on why living with Crohn’s Disease and being immunocompromised during COVID-19 is downright terrifying for patients like myself who are chronically and invisibly ill. Please take a moment to watch this video and share to help raise awareness. And don’t forget – every life is valuable! So please #KeepUsAll safe by practicing social distancing and staying home as much as possible! Be well & best wishes always!

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

My Feature in Suffering the Silence’s Photo Series Campaign
October 6, 2019

University Accommodations in the COVID-19 Era
September 7, 2020

Indian Ostomate Podcast Show: Episode 1 with Tina Aswani Omprakash
July 23, 2020
advocacy, awareness, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, Disability Justice, invisible illness, living with IBD, Ulcerative Colitis

An Interview with News 12 NJ: How Does Coronavirus Affect YOU?

April 6, 2020

Earlier today, News 12 NJ journalist Prashanthi Musapet interviewed IBD patient advocate Tina Aswani Omprakash of OwnYourCrohns.com on Instagram LIVE on her experience as an immunocompromised patient living with Crohn’s Disease in the midst of the #COVID19 pandemic. To watch the interview, view the video below. In the video, you will hear Tina’s thoughts and experiences about being #HighRiskCOVID19 and how critical social distancing and taking responsibility for public welfare is during this outbreak to save lives like hers. I hope you found this interview informative and I especially hope that speaking up about being immunocompromised during #Coronavirus helps to create awareness and education in the able-bodied world about chronic…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

Bachatera with a Bag: Theodora Shattering Ostomy Stigma Through Dance
April 27, 2021

3 Patient Tips for Living & Thriving with Crohn’s or Colitis
December 10, 2018

Sophia’s Chronic Illness Journey: Forced Switching to Biosimilars in Canada
December 15, 2019
Ableism, acceptance, advocacy, awareness, crip, Disability Justice, invisible illness

Disability Awareness in the Midst of Coronavirus

March 12, 2020

The past 3.5 months I’ve spent much of my existence fairly immobile and mostly homebound: 2.5 weeks in an aircast, 8 weeks in a boot and 4 weeks in an ankle brace. Why? Because of a torn ligament in my ankle. And more recently, I’ve been in a neck brace due to a herniated disc in my neck/back. And now because of the infamous pandemic, Coronavirus. And during this time, I have come to understand the synergies at play within my body. You see, this hasn’t just been a simple ankle or neck injury for my body. They are excruciatingly debilitating on their own and even more so because I…

Read More

Tina Aswani Omprakash

Related Posts

What Will People Think? ~A Short Documentary by Chealynn Feaster
December 27, 2019

What IBD Awareness Means to a South Asian American Woman with Crohn’s
June 17, 2020

I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective
July 1, 2020