Category Archives: Crohn’s disease

Experiences Are Solitary but Learning Is Communal

There’s one question that I’ve been asked many times, and it’s one that I also ask others when I conduct interviews:

“What advice would you give to people who are newly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis?”

I see the importance of getting both new and veteran patients to give their experience with a new diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It might be fair to say that most people, in hindsight, whether this is weeks or decades later, can point out where their journey could have been improved.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 128 – CDPATH: A Prognostic Tool for Crohn’s Disease

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Are we getting close to predicting how Crohn’s disease might change over time? Dr. Corey Siegel, co-director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Jessica Caron, a patient key opinion leader who lives with Crohn’s, discuss a prognostic tool called CDPATH. This tool may help patient and healthcare providers understand how the disease may change over the next few years, and better inform a discussion of treatment options.

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Resilience is a Muscle

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When I interview someone about their journey with chronic illness, either for a written piece or for About IBD, I’m keenly aware that I’m asking them to tell me about the worst things that have happened to them.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 119 – The Restroom Access Act

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Have you ever been out in public and needed a toilet — but there wasn’t one available?

This has happened to everyone who lives with an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), which is why so many of us have “bathroom accident” stories. Needing to use the bathroom is a basic human need, but it’s treated like an afterthought. That’s where the Restroom Access Act comes into play: a law passed in several states that allows people to request access to a toilet when they live with certain conditions.

There is no such law currently in California. That’s hopefully going to change thanks to the efforts of Ashlyn Saltzburg and Kelly Silk. Ashlyn is a teenager living with IBD and Kelly is her mom. Their effort to get a law passed in California is nothing short of heroic. Learn about how they got started on this journey to have the Restroom Access Act passed in California, and how you can help.

Send your letters of support for AB 1632 to Assemblymember Weber’s Legislative Assistant, Raymond G. Contreras: raymond.contreras@asm.ca.gov

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Do You Know How to Hit Your Target?

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We all have goals in life. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can sometimes get in the way. It’s not ideal, but that’s the reality.

However, the goal of treatment should be to get us back to doing what we love to do, and minimize the effects of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis on our lives. Our doctors also have goals for us. These goals might be different, but they’re all important in getting symptoms and inflammation minimized and living life on our terms again.

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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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About IBD Podcast Episode 97 – Wine, Biscuits, and Drinking Water With Author Kathleen Nicholls

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Life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) brings challenges and many life changes but it can also sometimes bring unexpected opportunities.

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” was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in her 20s. She started a blog as a way to process her disease journey. She was stunned when people started reading it and when publishers became interested. Two books later, she shares the lessons she learned along the way.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 93 – Motherhood Unplugged With Natalie Hayden

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It’s one thing to talk to your physicians about becoming pregnant when you live with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. But what about getting the benefit of experiences from the mothers who have been through a pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding journey? Former news anchor and current blogger and Crohn’s patient Natalie Hayden gives her experiences with pregnancy and receiving biologics, as well as how she has participated in research during her pregnancies and the benefits it offers her family.

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Alien: How IBD Inspired an Iconic Movie

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Spoilers for Alien are included in this post. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it and come back. It was released in 1979, but I promise it holds up.

What any individual person takes from a piece of art is shaped by their views and experiences. Two people can read the same book, see the same movie, or view the same sculpture and take different inspiration from it. This can be true even when the intent of the artist is fairly clear, because we all view art through our own unique lens.

That being said: Alien is a horror movie. I’ll tell you why.

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Why You Should Keep That Dentist Appointment

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Taking care of one’s teeth is important to anyone, but it is especially vital for people who live with an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We often say that Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and indeterminate colitis affect the whole person. The mouth is included in this, but we often short change ourselves where oral care is concerned. Mouth ulcers can be common in people with IBD. Cavities and infections of the gum and teeth may be more common in people with IBD. True Crohn’s disease of the mouth is less common, though it does occur. This all means that while most of us have lots of doctor’s appointments already, seeing a dentist is one that we need to keep on our list as well.

All of this is why, when my dentist office opened up, even while cases of COVID-19 were high in my area, I kept my appointment to get my teeth cleaned. A few weeks later, when the pediatric dentist opened up, I took my kids for their appointments. Here’s why I went and what to expect when visiting the dentist in the era of corona.

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