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…
- 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
- 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
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…
- 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
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…
- 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
**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…
- advocacy, awareness, Colorectal Surgery, Crohn's, Fistulizing Disease, living with IBD, Minority Health, Ostomy, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health
About IBD Podcast #40 – Tina Aswani Omprakash’s Story: What Are People Going to Think?
Listen to About IBD’s Podcast #40: What Are People Going to Think? Shared via Amber Tresca’s podcast and blog, About IBD People who live with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis experience stigma because of their inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The taboo topic of bowel disease can permeate all aspects of a person’s life, especially when there are cultural influences also at play. Tina Aswani Omprakash, who lives with Crohn’s disease and a permanent ileostomy, shares her story of personal empowerment and how she is working to help other people with IBD live their lives with confidence. Tina describes how IBD has profoundly affected her family as well as why…