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
  • advocacy,  autoimmune disease,  Crohn's,  Diet,  immunocompromised,  invisible illness,  J-Pouch,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Traveling with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    How to Own Your Crohn’s & Ostomy While Traveling to India

    February 18, 2025

    By Tina Aswani-Omprakash As IBD warriors, it’s always nerve-wracking to travel with our conditions and/or an ostomy. For me, it’s been 7 years of me traveling all over the U.S. and Europe for patient advocacy work. And even though I’ve spoken many times virtually for events in India and Pakistan, I hadn’t traveled to the region to speak given the pandemic. Now that we are out of the pandemic and back at in-person conferences, it was fantastic to be invited to speak about my experiences as an IBD patient & ostomate at Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin’s (GAPIO’s) conference in Mysuru, Karnataka, India. Plus, traveling to Karnataka meant…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Coping with IBD & Stress & Anxiety Around COVID-19

    April 1, 2020

    Real Talk about Ostomies

    October 5, 2018

    My Feature During Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week

    November 8, 2018
  • Biosimilars,  Crohn's,  health insurance,  living with IBD,  Patient Voice,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    Key Takeaways from Advances in IBD (AIBD) 2024

    January 5, 2025

    By Tina Aswani-Omprakash & Natalie Hayden **This article has also been published on Natalie’s blog: Lights, Camera, Crohn’s ** As two bloggers and patient thought leaders in the IBD community, we were thrilled and honored to attend and speak at the Advances in IBD conference in December 2024 in Orlando, Florida. In the article below, we come together to summarize key learnings for our IBD patient and caregiver community. Management of Crohn’s Disease Crohn’s can be a very progressive disease, meaning it can worsen over time and cause complications, often leading to fistulae, strictures, and therefore surgery and bowel loss. In a debate between two of the co-chairs, Dr. Miguel Regueiro…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Sophia’s Chronic Illness Journey: Forced Switching to Biosimilars in Canada

    December 15, 2019
  • Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Digital Healthcare Innovations,  health equity,  Healthcare Disparities,  living with IBD,  Patient Voice,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Highlights from ACG 2024: SAIA’s IBDesis’ Patient Experience

    December 4, 2024

    By: Madhura Balasubramaniam, Sharan Khela & Tina Aswani-Omprakash Our patient advocate team, SAIA’s IBDesis, were honoured to participate in the American College of Gastroenterology’s (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, USA, between October 25th to October 30th, 2024. As patient advocates, we are grateful for the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in the IBD and GI space more broadly. Here are some of our key takeaways from the conference! Understanding the Treatment Landscape (Madhura Balasubramaniam) Dr. Miguel Regueiro provided a comprehensive overview of the various therapies available today to treat IBD and their safety profile, as illustrated by the safety pyramid: It is very heartening for us…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    FitWitMD’s Live Discussion on Perianal Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease

    August 7, 2020

    Real Talk About Fistulae

    January 19, 2019

    ~OYC Trailblazers~ Mara Living Her Best Life with a Kock Pouch in Germany

    December 7, 2020
  • Crohn's,  health equity,  Healthcare Disparities,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Patient Voice,  Stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  Women's Health

    SAIA is proud to announce Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH as our full-time CEO!

    November 18, 2024

    SAIA is honoured to announce that Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH, is now our full-time Chief Executive Officer 🎉🎉 Written by Madhura Balasubramaniam, Sharan Khela, Dr. Neilanjan Nandi & SAIA’s Board of Directors Tina is a patient advocate and thought leader par excellence, with several years of experience in spearheading international health advocacy efforts within and beyond the GI space. Tina’s work with Own Your Crohn’s has been groundbreaking for communities of colour, especially the South Asian community, where discussions around inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have historically been clouded by cultural stigmas and misconceptions. Tina brought to light and underscored these hidden cultural considerations that shape healthcare for communities of colour across the world.…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Talking Gut Podcast Episode 20: Tina Aswani Omprakash on Resilience & GRITT

    May 30, 2020

    The Beauty of Ostomates Worldwide

    October 17, 2019

    Basmah’s Journey: The Cultural Impacts of Being an Egyptian Crohnie

    April 18, 2021
  • chronic illness,  Colorectal Surgery,  Crohn's,  Cultural Stigma,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Stigma,  Ulcerative Colitis,  World Ostomy Day

    How Ostomy Surgery Impacted My Life

    October 5, 2024

    How ostomy surgery gave Tina Aswani-Omprakash her life back and the impact these surgeries can have in IBD treatment. Originally published on IBD Social Circle’s Blog It is estimated that approximately three-quarters of Crohn’s disease patients and a third of ulcerative colitis patients will need surgery at some point or another in their disease journey. What’s often not discussed enough, though, is how many of those surgeries will lead to ostomies. So, what is an ostomy and how does it help patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? According to United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA), ostomy surgery is a lifesaving procedure. It allows bodily waste to pass into a medical…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    When Diagnoses Accumulate – My Endometriosis Journey

    August 28, 2023

    HealtheVoices 10-Year Anniversary (A Reminder of Why We Advocate)

    October 19, 2024

    Managing Crohn’s Disease and Going Back to School

    September 4, 2024
  • chronic illness,  Crohn's,  disability accommodations,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    Managing Crohn’s Disease and Going Back to School

    September 4, 2024

    In the summer of 2023, I graduated from Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. In 2018 and 2019, as I was considering supplementing my patient advocacy work with a formal education in health, it was daunting to think how I would manage Crohn’s disease while studying and keeping up with the rigors of a graduate degree program.  You see, even contemplating grad school was a huge undertaking when I was accepted into Mount Sinai’s Certificate of Public Health program in 2019. As I slowly mustered up the courage to transfer into the MPH program in early 2020, I felt scared yet hopeful…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    How Ostomy Surgery Impacted My Life

    October 5, 2024

    When Diagnoses Accumulate – My Endometriosis Journey

    August 28, 2023

    HealtheVoices 10-Year Anniversary (A Reminder of Why We Advocate)

    October 19, 2024
  • Crohn's,  Disease Prevention,  health equity,  Intestinal Ultrasound,  living with IBD,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    My Real World Experience with Intestinal Ultrasound

    August 12, 2024

    Last week, I had my first intestinal ultrasound (IUS). I had been very nervous the last month getting ready to go in for IUS as I’ve been having weird gut symptoms the last few months. My ileoscopy has been scheduled for 3 months out, so my doctor and I decided it might be best to have an IUS done in the meantime.  What is IUS you ask? It is a modality that can visualize bowel inflammation, thickening, and fistula tracts in addition to taking a look at severity and extent of inflammation. It doesn’t require bowel prep or gross contrast (!!), it’s not invasive, results can be discussed in real…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Ostomy Awareness Day: Empowering Ostomates to Live Fuller Lives

    November 22, 2019

    I’m Chronically Ill & Depressed; So What?

    June 3, 2019

    Owning My Crohn’s Mindfully This New Year

    January 5, 2019
  • autoimmune disease,  chronic illness,  Crohn's,  Emerging Therapies,  living with IBD,  Ulcerative Colitis

    What I’ve Learned About Starting an Advanced Therapy for Crohn’s Disease

    March 2, 2024

    Are you getting ready to start an advanced therapy (for example, a biologic or small molecule medication) for the first time for your Crohn’s disease? Or perhaps this is round 2, 3, or 4 when it comes to trying advanced therapies to better manage your Crohn’s? Whether it’s your first rodeo or not, it’s important to know all the ins and outs so you can make appropriate decisions for your care in conjunction with your gastroenterologist. I have been there, and this is what I’ve learned about navigating my care and feeling empowered when getting ready to start a new therapy. Read more on the HealthGrades website: https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/crohns-disease/what-ive-learned-about-starting-an-advanced-therapy-for-crohns-disease Originally Published on…

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Sjögren’s Story

    April 13, 2022

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024

    How to Own Your Crohn’s & Ostomy While Traveling to India

    February 18, 2025
  • acceptance,  advocacy,  autoimmune disease,  awareness,  coping with flares,  Crohn's,  immunocompromised,  living with IBD,  Mental Health,  Mindfulness

    Accepting My Crohn’s Disease to Finally Become Me

    January 15, 2024

    A person I admire once said, “Once you stop fighting your illness, you will allow acceptance to emerge.” I guess I had never looked at illness that way before. Society tells us to fight illness to our last breath, but is it really a fighting attitude we should have? This thought was something I began to ponder after hearing this statement. It took me months to process and understand what fighting vs. acceptance meant for my Crohn’s disease.  Read more on the Healthgrades website: https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/crohns-disease/accepting-my-crohns-disease-to-finally-become-me. Originally Published on Healthgrades.com, Written by Tina Aswani-Omprakash

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    When Diagnoses Accumulate: My Gastroparesis Story

    August 29, 2019

    12 News to Your Health IBD Segment

    June 23, 2018

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

    May 23, 2020
  • Crohn's,  Cultural Foods,  Diet,  J-Pouch,  Nutrition,  Ostomy,  Ulcerative Colitis

    How to Enjoy Your Favorite Cultural Foods Living with Crohn’s Disease

    December 19, 2023

    Eating with Crohn’s disease can be a challenge as it is, and especially so during cultural events when there are food and festivities galore. I’ve struggled immensely with my diet as a South Asian American woman living with Crohn’s disease.  Coming out of the hospital flare after flare, surgery after surgery, it was difficult to get care that would consider the cultural foods I was accustomed to eating… Read more on the Healthgrades website: healthgrades.com/right-care/crohns-disease/how-to-enjoy-your-favorite-cultural-foods-living-with-crohns-disease Originally Published on Healthgrades.com, Written by Tina Aswani-Omprakash, Medically Reviewed by Lisa Valente, MS, RD

    Read More
    Tina Aswani Omprakash

    Related Posts

    Fistulas: What You Need to Know About a Common Side Effect of Crohn’s

    May 17, 2019

    My Real World Experience with Intestinal Ultrasound

    August 12, 2024

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

    August 7, 2018
 Older 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