Last winter, my husband and caregiver, Anand, and I recorded a video with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation on what it’s like to have surgery for Crohn’s & ulcerative colitis. We shared my experiences as a patient undergoing colorectal surgery and his experiences as my caregiver. The video was released in the last week or so. To view, check out https://youtu.be/InmqegoP-6c. Be sure to check out the entire video as there are other patient experiences included as well! So own your Crohn’s, own your colitis, and educate yourself on all the treatment options available to you and your loved ones! ?✨ ~~Love, Light & Peace Always~~
- Colorectal Surgery, Crohn's, Fistulizing Disease, J-Pouch, living with IBD, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health
- 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
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…
- awareness, Colorectal Surgery, coping with flares, Crohn's, Fistulizing Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, living with IBD, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Pelvic pain, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health
Pelvic Pain in IBD: An Overlooked Complication
By Tina Aswani Omprakash, Medically Reviewed by Jenny Blair, MD Originally Published by Oshi Health, Inc., on August 8th, 2019 A complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that often goes unaddressed and misdiagnosed is chronic pelvic pain (CPP). CPP is often defined as pain in the pelvic area that isn’t cyclic and isn’t related to pregnancy and that lasts for three to six months. It may affect from 6% to 25% of reproductive-age women, depending on how it’s defined, as well as men and older women. The condition can arise from a variety of causes. How I’ve Experienced Pelvic Pain So how does CPP apply to us as IBD patients?…
- 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…