Skip to content
Own Your Crohn's

Empowering the Chronically Ill & Disabled to Lead Fuller Lives

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Authorships
  • SAIA-IBDesis
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Authorships
  • SAIA-IBDesis
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Me
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Body Positivity,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Dating & Relationships,  Gratitude,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Ostomy Awareness Day,  Self-image,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019

    Last month, Amber Wallace Ogle of Ostomy Diaries & I got together with Hollister, Inc. (a major ostomy manufacturer) to bring our audiences a discussion on how to lead a fuller life with an ostomy. Our aim was to engage viewers from around the world who may be struggling with self-image, body image, family life and relationships with an ostomy. And it was a grand success! We reached nearly 1,500 viewers from over 46 countries and from the feedback received, it was a video that helped many. Here’s to many more conversations like this where we can help ostomates feel less like outcasts and more like the beautiful human beings…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    I am NOT a Burden: A South Asian Perspective

    July 1, 2020

    Love Knows No Disability

    July 2, 2019

    ~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After

    September 23, 2020
  • advocacy,  award,  awareness,  Crohn's,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    The Healio Disruptive Innovator Award: Moving the Needle on IBD Care

    November 16, 2019

    A few weeks ago on Diwali Day, I won the Healio Disruptive Innovator Award for the Patient Voice category at the American College of Gastroenterology’s conference in San Antonio, Texas! This award is presented to the patient advocate who helps move the needle on GI care most in a particular year and whose voice resonates most with the 200 world-renowned doctors part of Healio Gastroenterology. Even though I wasn’t able to travel to Texas for the award ceremony, I’m deeply honored and humbled to be recognized with such a prestigious award. It has been a very long and arduous journey and being able to advocate and help destigmatize inflammatory bowel…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    South Asian IBD & COVID-19

    January 26, 2021

    No More Secrets: An enlightening film that reveals the stigma of having an ostomy in India

    September 24, 2018

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

    August 7, 2019
  • Ableism,  acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  Body Positivity,  colorectal cancer,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Ostomy Awareness Day,  Self-image,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis

    The Beauty of Ostomates Worldwide

    October 17, 2019

    Happy #OstomyOctober, everyone! After doing a piece about things we can do with an ostomy last year, it only seemed appropriate this year to highlight how diverse the population living with all types of ostomies is. Just to backtrack, many of you might be wondering what an ostomy is. According to the United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA), “ostomy surgery is a life-saving procedure that allows bodily waste to pass through a surgically created stoma on the abdomen into a prosthetic known as a ‘pouch’ or ‘ostomy bag’ on the outside of the body.” There are generally three types of ostomies: (1) colostomy, (2) ileostomy and (3) urostomy. A colostomy takes a resected…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Inspire’s #KeepUsAllSafe COVID-19 Campaign

    April 12, 2020

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

    December 27, 2019

    The Other Side of Crohn’s: Caregiving

    December 9, 2019
  • acceptance,  awareness,  Body Positivity,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Dating & Relationships,  Egg-Freezing,  J-Pouch,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Pregnancy in IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    ~OYC TRAILBLAZERS~ Katie’s Story: Baby-Making Prospects & Egg-Freezing with a J-Pouch

    September 4, 2019

    A Nursing Student Tells OYC Her J-Pouch Story and How That Led to Her Courageous Decision to Freeze Her Eggs to Someday Have Children. By Katie Gene Friedman When I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in my senior year of college, my colitis responded to medication and didn’t take up much of my life. Consequently, I only disclosed my diagnosis to my then boyfriend, best friend, and immediate family. During a bad flare and particularly stressful semester in grad school studying social psychology, that group expanded to include the nucleus of my social circle and some professors. At that point, my disease affected what I was doing but not…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    ~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After

    September 23, 2020

    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story

    August 29, 2019

    No More Secrets: An enlightening film that reveals the stigma of having an ostomy in India

    September 24, 2018
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Body Positivity,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  Diet,  J-Pouch,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Pelvic Floor Dysfunction,  Self-image,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

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

    August 24, 2019

    Everyday Health blogger Tina Aswani Omprakash details her experience on a weekend-long retreat for women living with IBDs.

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024

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

    February 25, 2020

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

    May 16, 2019
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Crohn's,  Lobbying,  patient rights,  Ulcerative Colitis

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

    August 7, 2019

    Originally published by Amber Tresca on August 6th, 2019: http://aboutibd.com/2019/08/06/summer-of-activism-ibd-advocates-you-should-follow-on-social-media/ Improving the quality of life for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) takes commitment and focus to understanding the issues affecting patients and caregivers. Real change means engaging with all stakeholders, including physicians, industry, and government, as well as patients and caregivers. A future that includes more effective treatments and compassionate care for those touched by IBD will only happen when those who have the best interests of patients at heart take their seat at the table. There are many activists in the IBD community that are doing this hard work and you can strengthen their achievements by amplifying their…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Immunocompromised in the Age of Coronavirus

    May 1, 2020

    Inspire’s #KeepUsAllSafe COVID-19 Campaign

    April 12, 2020

    ~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After

    September 23, 2020
  • Ableism,  acceptance,  advocacy,  awareness,  caregivers,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Dating & Relationships,  Disability Justice,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    Love Knows No Disability

    July 2, 2019

    Nine years ago today, the love of my life, Anand, and I were married in a beautiful Hindu temple with several of our relatives and friends in attendance from all over the world. It was a momentous occasion for me not just in a traditional sense but because of how close I had been to death just two years prior. But as beautiful as the wedding was, the process of getting married wasn’t exactly a fairytale or a bed of roses. You see, a couple years prior, I was freed of an extremely warped and diseased colon on the 4th of July, 2008 (see blog post: My Very Own Independence…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Inspire’s #KeepUsAllSafe COVID-19 Campaign

    April 12, 2020

    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
  • acceptance,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  PTSD,  Stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    World PTSD Day 2019: The Faceless Woman

    June 27, 2019

    In honor of World PTSD Day today, I release a poem I wrote some weeks ago surrounding the medical trauma I’ve faced as a Crohn’s patient. This poem is not for the faint of heart so I will not be offended if you cannot read it. Post-traumatic stress is a term that’s often thrown around lightly but it has serious implications for people who have been in battle for their country, for their lives and against chronic illnesses. Everyday is a minefield with an array of flashbacks and memories that keep us from living our best lives. I urge you all to learn more and to respond to those who…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Edgar Flores opens up about surviving near-death and the challenges of living with an ostomy in Mexico

    November 4, 2018

    “I Had an Ostomy—and It Changed My Life”

    December 11, 2019

    My 9/11 Story: Paying Kindness Forward

    September 11, 2019
  • advocacy,  awareness,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  J-Pouch,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    J-Pouch Failure – Tina’s Story

    June 15, 2019

    Originally published by Amber of Colitis Ninja on June 12, 2019: https://colitisninja.com/2019/06/j-pouch-failure-tinas-story/ J-POUCH TAKEDOWN ANNIVERSARY Next month is my 5 year takedown anniversary for my j-pouch. I have stated many times that the j-pouch has a 94-96% success rate. But you don’t hear many success stories on the internet because most of them are out there living their lives and not boasting about it on the internet. Because you don’t hear a majority of the success stories out there, I feel compelled to keep sharing my own story of life with a j-pouch.  SUCCESS & FAILURE STORIES I have given a lot of thought to how I would address this year’s takedown anniversary. I thought…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024

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

    December 9, 2018
  • acceptance,  awareness,  Body Positivity,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Fistulizing Disease,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Ostomy,  Self-image,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health,  World IBD Day

    Why My IBD Scars Make Me Proud

    May 23, 2019

    How I learned to love what once made me shudder. By Tina Aswani Omprakash Originally published by Everyday Health on 5/17/2019: https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/my-health-story/why-my-ibd-scars-make-me-proud/ This year’s World IBD Day theme is “Making the Invisible Visible,” and I’ve been taking a long hard look at what that means to me. The reality is that living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has meant donning an invisibility cloak for most of my adult life. But over the past 14 months, I’ve striven to make my invisible illness visible. From sharing my story widely on social media to using my platform to educate others on how IBD wreaks havoc on patients like me, I’ve come to realize that visibility is necessary for…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

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

    May 23, 2020

    When Diagnoses Accumulate – My Endometriosis Journey

    August 28, 2023

    My 9/11 Story: Paying Kindness Forward

    September 11, 2019
 Older Posts
Newer Posts 

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!

Sign Up for New Blog Posts!

Please follow & like us :)

Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Follow Me
Post on X
LinkedIn
Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Key Takeaways from Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2023
    Key Takeaways from Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2023
  • ~OYC Trailblazers~ Mara Living Her Best Life with a Kock Pouch in Germany
    ~OYC Trailblazers~ Mara Living Her Best Life with a Kock Pouch in Germany
  • ~OYC Trailblazers~ Tanya's Pregnancy Journey Living with Crohn's Disease in India
    ~OYC Trailblazers~ Tanya's Pregnancy Journey Living with Crohn's Disease in India
  • When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Sjögren's Story
    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Sjögren's Story
  • 7 Tips for Traveling With IBD, From Someone Who Gets It
    7 Tips for Traveling With IBD, From Someone Who Gets It

Clinical Trial Finder

Copyright ©2018-2024 Tina Aswani Omprakash. All Rights Reserved.
Savona Theme by Optima Themes