Sponsored by Veloce Corporation – SmartTab. All thoughts & opinions are my own. As a Crohn’s patient for the last 15 years, I’ve done my fair share of taking oral medications, receiving infusions and giving myself subcutaneous injections. So last summer, when I came across a digital health company called SmartTab, I was fascinated to learn about the wireless drug delivery solutions they are working on to change the way we take and absorb medications. After having done a lot of research and seeing the buzz at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress ’21 on SmartTab’s poster session, I thought it’s now high time to share this technology with the IBD patient…
- Clinical Trials, Crohn's, Digital Healthcare Innovations, Emerging Therapies, living with IBD, Ulcerative Colitis, Wireless Drug Delivery
- advocacy, awareness, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, immunocompromised, Minority Health, Ulcerative Colitis, Vaccinations
South Asian IBD & COVID-19
Ten days ago, India released its two vaccines, CoviShield & Covaxin, to begin distribution to frontline workers and eventually the general population. As such, Dr. Sumit Bhatia, leading IBD specialist at Medanta – The Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon, India, and Dr. Neilanjan Nandi, esteemed IBD specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, joined me on the FITWITMD Facebook page for a live discussion to explain the two vaccines in India along with the two mRNA vaccines in much of the Western world. The purpose of this discussion was to understand how COVID is affecting the IBD population and to address vaccine hesitancy in the global South Asian IBD…
- Crohn's, Healthcare Disparities, living with IBD, Mental Health, Minority Health, Ulcerative Colitis
Patients’ Journey Through Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): A Qualitative Study
Tina Aswani Omprakash, Norelle Reilly, Jan Bhagwakar, Jeanette Carrell, Kristina Woodburn, Abby Breyer, Frances Close, Gabriel Wong, PATIENTS’ JOURNEY THROUGH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD): A QUALITATIVE STUDY, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Volume 27, Issue Supplement_1, January 2021, Pages S53–S54, https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izaa347.127 **Abstract originally published in the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases on January 21st, 2021 and presented at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress. Research study sponsored by Genentech & led by patient advocate Tina Aswani Omprakash of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai** I’m proud to announce the first patient advocate led study in the IBD space! Please view the above downloadable poster and link to the abstract for the results…
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COVID-19 & IBD: GI Perspectives on Fall 2020 & Beyond
Given all the chatter about COVID-19 this upcoming fall season, I thought it best to inform ourselves as patients as to what to expect. Because rates of COVID infection are so variable across the U.S., I spoke to several leading gastroenterologists around the country to get their take on what they’re recommending to their IBD patients about vaccinations, medications, surgery in addition to attending social gatherings and returning to school and/or work. The 5 IBD specialists I spoke to are located in various parts of the country and include Dr. Jordan Axelrad (Adult GI at NYU Langone Medical Center), Dr. Sabina Ali (Pediatric GI at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital), Dr.…
- 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
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…
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What I Learned From Joining a Clinical Trial for Crohn’s
By Tina Aswani Omprakash, Medically reviewed by Jenny Blair, MD Originally published on the Oshi Health website on April 6th, 2020: http://www.oshihealth.com/joining-clinical-trial/ My journey with Crohn’s disease has been an arduous one, laden with difficult decisions, including whether to take strong medications and when to have life-altering surgeries. At one point, Crohn’s derailed my career, my prospects of finishing graduate school and my ability to pursue meaningful relationships. But I was scared to try any new medication, let alone partake in a clinical trial. I was young and didn’t want to be burdened by a strict drug regimen or potential side effects. After I had more than 20 corrective surgeries…
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Healthline’s Best Crohn’s Disease Blogs of 2020
Originally published by the Healthline Editorial Team on May 12th, 2020: https://www.healthline.com/health/crohns-disease/best-blogs#1 Researchers may not understand every aspect of Crohn’s disease, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to effectively manage it. That’s exactly what these bloggers are doing. The authors behind this year’s best Crohn’s blogs are actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their visitors by sharing sound medical advice and personal stories. It’s an important reminder that you’re not alone in your journey. Own Your Crohn’s Tina was 22 when she received her Crohn’s diagnosis. Since the last couple years, she’s been using this blog as way to advocate and normalize chronic conditions like Crohn’s. Living with Crohn’s…
- advocacy, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, immunocompromised, J-Pouch, living with IBD, Ulcerative Colitis
COVID-19 Survivors: Stories of Hope in the IBD World
The last 8 weeks since the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus a pandemic have been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster ride for many of us. From uncertainty around chronic illness and medications making us a higher risk to jarring numbers of lethal infection rates, we are all grappling with much despair. Given all the sadness in the media right now, I thought it relevant to share stories of hope, ones where IBD patients, their caregivers and their doctors have not just survived but are making a full recovery. Check out the stories below of 4 IBD patients, a caregiver and a gastroenterologist, all survivors of COVID-19 and heroes…
- 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
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…
- advocacy, awareness, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crohn's, immunocompromised, living with IBD, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis
Managing IBD in the Era of COVID-19
Last Friday, Gastroenterologist Dr. Supriya Rao and I had a conversation on Instagram Live about how to manage inflammatory bowel disease given the difficult circumstances around COVID-19. To watch and learn more, please check out the video below: For additional information, please feel free to reach out to @gutsygirlmd on Instagram or me here on my blog. For your reference, I have also put together a summary of tips on how to optimize our use of telehealth during the pandemic to manage our IBD optimally from a distance: https://ownyourcrohns.com/telehealth-ibdcare-covid19/. This post also references guidance from the IOIBD and AGA that we IBD patients should be aware of when discussing our…