About IBD Podcast Episode 105 - What Remission Means to a Teen With Ulcerative Colitis

About IBD Podcast Episode 105 – What Remission Means to a Teen With Ulcerative Colitis

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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and indeterminate colitis) is being diagnosed in young people with greater frequency. Research on how to treat pediatric patients, and indeed how to prevent IBD in the first place, is still lacking. What’s not in short supply is the strength and resilience shown by pediatric IBD patients and their families. Meet Brooke, a pediatric patient at Connecticut Children’s Hospital who credits her dedicated IBD team with her ability to live a life filled with summer camp, dance, and tennis lessons, without the symptoms of ulcerative colitis. 

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Behind the Scenes of Healthcare Disparities in IBD

Behind the Scenes of Healthcare Disparities in IBD

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In 2018, I was doing on-site interviews for About IBD Podcast. I was attending a medical conference and there were several other patient influencers there as well. It was an opportunity to get a lot of audio recorded for production of several upcoming episodes.

I love recording in person. I’ve recorded in all sorts of spaces: show floors, hallways, and press rooms. I try to use my own hotel room, or even my basement, when I can and when it makes sense. I was conducting interviews in my room in Chicago when Shawntel Bethea and Brooke Abbott, of The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles, showed up at my door.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 104 - Lt Col Joshua Nelson

About IBD Podcast Episode 104 – Living With Ulcerative Colitis as an Air Force Pilot With Lt Col Joshua Nelson

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Did you know that being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease is a disqualifying condition to serve in the United States military? However, it seems that it’s not always an automatic reason for discharge. Lt Colonel Joshua Nelson was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and needed to have ileostomy surgery. It cast into question his future as a pilot in the Air Force Reserve. Learn his story of how he worked with his medical team in order to keep doing the job he loves, his advice for others like him, and tips on flying that any ostomate can use.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 103 Cover

About IBD Podcast Episode 103 – J-Pouch Surgery for Ulcerative Colitis With Vikram B. Reddy, MD, PhD

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Ulcerative colitis surgery is sometimes viewed as the last stop for treatment but it can be a good option to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dr. Vikram Reddy, Division Chief of Yale Medicine, Colon and Rectal Surgery, answers questions about j-pouch surgery including how patients feel about it, how he manages his patients after surgery, what complications might occur, and why surgery for ulcerative colitis is complicated and nuanced.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 102 Cover

About IBD Podcast Episode 102 – Finding Success with Nutrition Therapy – Dannielle Jascot, MS, CNS, CDN

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IBD is not a condition that is easy to diagnose or treat. People who live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have needs that include guidance on nutrition. Diet is notoriously difficult to study but some research is starting to be done. Dannielle Jascot, MS, CNS, CDN, certified nutritionist and IBD patient talks over the recent results of the DINE-CD study, which compared the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and the Mediterranean Diet.

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J-pouch Patient Bill of Rights Of Support

J-pouch Patient Bill of Rights

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I was overdue.

All of us who live with chronic illness know understand the difficulties of working in all the appointments and procedures. Even when doing OK, there’s a list to get through every year. Now with being over 40 years old, that list also continues to expand. 

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About IBD Podcast Episode 101 - Barbara Olendzki, RD, MPH, LDN - Every Mom Matters: The MELODY Trial

About IBD Podcast Episode 101 – Barbara Olendzki, RD, MPH, LDN – Every Mom Matters: The MELODY Trial

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What should people who live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) eat? What diet plans are available? Barbara Olendzki, the Director of the Center for Applied Nutrition and an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, helped developed the inflammatory bowel disease anti-inflammatory diet (IBD-AID). The IBD-AID is currently being studied in pregnant people in the MELODY Trial. Barbara gives the lowdown on the IBD-AID, the MELODY Trial, and how and why she got started in the nutrition field.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 100 - The Snuggles Are the Thing

About IBD Podcast Episode 100 – The Snuggles Are the Thing

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How do your pets help you with your IBD? I speak to Meredith Mangold, “The Bowel Battling Badass,” about the role her dogs have played in her life. She became seriously ill with ulcerative colitis, which progressed into a rare complication called toxic megacolon. As her journey with IBD progressed, she eventually needed colectomy surgery, and has since been diagnosed with other immune-mediated conditions. Her two dogs, however, have become a big part of her advocacy work and they help her manage the pain and loneliness that come with chronic illness.

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About IBD Podcast Episode Cover 99

About IBD Podcast Episode 99 – Making a Plan for Back to School With Dr Brad Jerson

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The back to school period is already a time of so much change but once again in this pandemic, parents and school systems are also facing difficult choices. The experiences of families during the pandemic has been diverse, which means that individual needs need to be addressed. But how do we manage that? Dr Brad Jerson Pediatric Psychologist in the Division of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Connecticut Children’s, puts some framing around these issues and how we might approach them. Topics discussed include making the decision to go back to school in the building, 504 plans for kids with digestive conditions, and helping kids to transition to school in a difficult atmosphere.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 98

About IBD Podcast Episode 98 – A Wee Spark of Inspiration

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This is the second part of my conversation with Kathleen Nicholls, author of “Go Your Crohn Way: A Gutsy Guide to Living with Crohn’s Disease” and “My Flare Lady: A Handbook for Today’s (Diseased) Dame.” Hear the first part in Episode 97, where Kathleen tells us about her Crohn’s disease diagnosis and how blogging became the way she process her disease journey.

We talk about how to answer when people ask us how we’re doing. Which leads to another topic, and that’s how providers can ask patients about whether or not they want to pursue parenthood. Kathleen also gives blogging tips, including a hard truth, and offers advice to anyone who is newly diagnosed. However, I think her wisdom is important for long-term patients as well.

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