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Own Your Crohn's

Empowering the Chronically Ill & Disabled to Lead Fuller Lives

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  • awareness,  coping with flare,  Crohn's,  Diet,  Disease Prevention,  living with IBD,  Nutrition,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Can a Low FODMAP Diet Help IBD? 7 Things to Know

    February 20, 2019

    Written by Emily Willingham, PhD Medically reviewed by Matthew Hamilton, MD When patient advocate and author of the blog OwnYourCrohns, Tina Aswani Omprakash, 35, reached an impasse with symptoms related to her inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), she turned in frustration to her nutritionist. On her nutritionist’s suggestion, Omprakash, who lives in New York City, decided to give the low-FODMAP diet a try. What Are FODMAPs Anyway? FODMAPs stands for “fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols,” all sugars that are common in foods. If these small sugars go unabsorbed and hang around in the intestines long enough, they can produce diarrhea and abdominal bloating and cramping, depending on where they linger. People who…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    OYC Trailblazers: Celebrating Melissa’s J-Pouch-versary

    February 25, 2019

    As a Chronically-Ill Brown Woman, Here’s Why I Share My Survival Story

    May 16, 2019

    What Will People Think? ~A Short Documentary by Chealynn Feaster

    December 27, 2019
  • colorectal cancer,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  Gratitude,  living with IBD,  Mindfulness,  Ostomy,  Pelvic pain,  stigma,  Traveling with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Valentine's Day

    7 IBD-Inspired Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

    February 14, 2019

    By Tina Aswani Omprakash February 13, 2019 One woman living with Crohn’s shares thoughtful Valentine’s gift ideas for the IBD warrior in your life. Valentine’s Day can be an anxiety-inducing holiday for many people. Especially for those of us living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If we’re single, our minds might run wild about when we might meet that special someone. And if we’re in a relationship, we might worry about experiencing symptoms during a romantic moment. But it’s important to remember that Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day for us to fret over romance. It’s a day for us to celebrate all kinds of love: love for significant others, family, and…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    The Beauty of Ostomates Worldwide

    October 17, 2019

    OYC Trailblazers: An Ode to My Father & Fellow IBD Warrior

    January 30, 2019

    My Feature in Everyday Health as #EverydayWoman

    February 22, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Mindfulness,  Ostomy,  patient rights,  Pelvic pain,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Real Talk About Fistulae

    January 19, 2019

    As I sit here today with a very heavy heart typing out this blog post, I’m not sure if the excruciatingly painful nodule I felt earlier this week is just another health scare or yet another horrifying abscess from a fistula. I hold back tears as I wonder what my next steps are and what I can do to keep spiraling anxiety in check. Now many of you might be wondering what I’m even referring to–abscess? Fistula? What the heck are those and why am I such a mess over them? Well, get ready for some real talk about the most harrowing experience I’ve faced as a Crohn’s patient. According…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    OstomyConnection SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Harikesh Buch works to shatter stigma and improve post-surgery care for ostomates in India.

    January 24, 2019

    OYC Trailblazers: Celebrating Melissa’s J-Pouch-versary

    February 25, 2019

    Metamorphosis

    August 13, 2018
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  Gratitude,  living with IBD,  Mindfulness,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019

    A journalist recently asked me, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years, Tina?” It was a mind-boggling question; I could barely wrap my head around the chronicity of my illnesses forget about thinking so far ahead into the future. The truth is I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, sickness or health, and I’m not so sure I want to even think about it. Sure, the future appears bright with many new medications and research in the pipeline to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). But one thing I’ve come to learn in all the ebbs and flows of living with IBD is that I need to live for today…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Being Brown and Coming Out of the IBD Closet: The Chronic Illness Experience

    August 7, 2018

    OYC Trailblazers: Celebrating Melissa’s J-Pouch-versary

    February 25, 2019

    My Health Became My Top Priority

    April 16, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  patient rights,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Allowing Acceptance In

    November 21, 2018

    Thanksgiving season is upon us, dearests! As we prepare to celebrate life, love and laughter with our families and friends, it may be tough to avoid the elephant in the room: our chronic illnesses and disabilities. As hard as this may be, we can get through the holidays together by advocating for better quality of life and allowing acceptance of our conditions in! Our bodies may not be in perfect condition but let’s be thankful today and always for the moments of health, peace and joy that shine their way into our lives. ‘Tis the season to allow acceptance to pervade our lives to cultivate more love and better self-care!…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    An IBS Journey: Tina

    April 21, 2019

    ~OYC TRAILBLAZERS~ Spotlight on Malaysian Crohnie & Ostomate Saravanan

    April 22, 2020

    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  Disease Prevention,  Influenza,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Vaccinations

    Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot This Fall

    October 21, 2018

    As I got up from dinner to use the bathroom, the room began to spin. Thinking I was just a bit dizzy, I continued on my way to the bathroom. I didn’t know it then, but the next five months of my life would be like a carousel as I stumbled my way through labyrinthitis — an inner ear infection — and a symptom that can occur along with the influenza virus. This happened nearly two years ago, but the images are still vivid in my mind. I had been dizzy for over 72 hours when I decided to go to the hospital. It was December, and the streets were festooned with Christmas…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    How a clinical trial helped this Crohn’s advocate finally reach remission

    November 24, 2019

    My Feature for Clinical Trial Awareness with Parexel

    June 1, 2019

    Lilly Singh’s ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai?’: My Anthem for Body Positivity

    April 1, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  colorectal cancer,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flare,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

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

    October 16, 2018

    Winner, winner! Inspirational role models we look up to. Ostomy awareness involves advocacy, and to be effective in advocating for change we need influencers. Advocacy can be standing up and speaking out for a cause, voicing concerns about misconceptions, or connecting with individuals and organizations who need support. All of these exceptional women have won awards this year for their public advocacy efforts. Amber Wallace won a WEGO Health Award. View image on Twitter WEGO Health@wegohealth Congratulations to 2018 #WEGOHealthAwards Best Kept Secret winner Amber Wallace! @ostomydiaries Check out all the finalist & winner videos from this year’s celebration here: https://wegoh.co/2OWMWdb  4:50 PM – Oct 8, 2018 4 See WEGO Health’s other…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    I’m Chronically Ill & Depressed; So What?

    June 3, 2019

    My Health Became My Top Priority

    April 16, 2019

    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  colorectal cancer,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  patient rights,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Real Talk about Ostomies

    October 5, 2018

    On the eve of World Ostomy Day, I write this blog post in hopes of debunking many of the myths surrounding living with an ostomy. So here goes nothing… I always get super excited when friends and family muster up the courage to ask about my ostomy. It makes me feel so connected to them and like I’m being recognized for all of me and not just the healthy-looking parts of me. I feel their concern, their love and most of all, their interest in how I live my life, chronic illness and disabilities abound. See, the thing is, living with an ostomy is often the proverbial elephant in the…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Being Brown and Coming Out of the IBD Closet: The Chronic Illness Experience

    August 7, 2018

    A Valentine’s Day Special: Dating & Relationships with an Ostomy

    February 25, 2020

    World IBD Day Panel Discussion: Experiences of Minority IBD Patients & Caregivers

    May 23, 2020
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  patient rights,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Sepsis Is a Severe, Life-threatening Complication for IBD Patients

    September 22, 2018

    It’s Sepsis Awareness Month, so I’m discussing what sepsis is and how it is often a complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal surgery. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs, potentially leading to death or significant morbidity.” WHO statistics show that more than 30 million people contract sepsis each year, and 6 million die from it. But aside from all these scientific terms and statistics, what is sepsis? To me, sepsis looked and felt like the following: It all started with a 103-degree fever, a high pulse well into the 130s, low blood pressure hovering around…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    A Direct-to-Patient Model: How Online Pharmacy Marley Drug is Revolutionizing Drug Pricing

    September 8, 2022

    My Feature During Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week

    November 8, 2018

    Weekend Long IBD Retreat Helped Me to Own My Crohn’s

    August 24, 2019
  • acceptance,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Throwback to La Caverna 2006!

    August 30, 2018

    Throwback to the summer of 2006 at La Caverna in New York City, just a few months after my IBD diagnosis when I was 22 (you can literally see how pale and anemic I was). My buddy, Sunil, and I were always the ultimate dance partners wil’in out on the dance floor. Some really fun times that I’m glad I had the chance to enjoy back then. Fast forward 12 years along with countless medications and surgeries, here Sunil and I are again at La Caverna. This time with our amazing husbands recreating dance moves from our college days. As friends for many years, we have come a long way…

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    Tina Aswani Omprakash

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    Metamorphosis

    August 13, 2018

    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019

    My Feature in Suffering the Silence’s Photo Series Campaign

    October 6, 2019
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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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