Tag Archives: support

Coping With Unwanted Advice About IBD

How To Handle Unwanted Advice About IBD

Every person that lives with a chronic illness has been on the receiving end of advice related to managing their disease. People living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are especially vulnerable to the influx opinions, perhaps because the disease is not well understood by the general public (let alone by the medial profession outside of IBD experts). Some people are quick to suggest anything from a change in diet to alternative and complementary therapies, especially when the disease appears to be affecting daily life. It can be a struggle to deflect these comments with grace, especially when the suggestions have been tried already and didn’t offer any relief.

When people who don’t live with IBD offer their “advice,” how can you cope with it? Continue reading

Creating Your IBD Elevator Speech

How to Create Your IBD Elevator Speech

An elevator speech or elevator pitch is a quick summary of a topic that can be given in about under a minute: just enough time to take an elevator ride. It’s usually thought of in a business sense, like a sales pitch or an idea you have that you present to someone in management upon a chance meeting (such as in the elevator). The use has been expanded to mean any prepared and rehearsed speech that you can give quickly on a moment’s notice. The purpose of this article is to guide you on crafting your elevator speech about your inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

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Episode 37 - I Felt a Lot of Guilt

About IBD Podcast 37 – I Felt a Lot of Guilt

What compels a person to share their personal journey with IBD? For Rasheed Clarke, author of Three Tablets Twice Daily, his writing began as a way to keep track of everything for himself and his healthcare team. It quickly turned into a tool that he used to show those around him the stark realities of a life with IBD: bloody diarrhea and all. His coworkers and friends were shocked to learn how much he was coping with every day but not everyone close to him approved of his honesty. On this episode of About IBD, Rasheed digs into the positives, the negatives, and the responsibilities that come with being an influencer in the IBD space.
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Consider These Points Before Sharing Your Story

Before You Share Your Story

As people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it is important that we share our stories. We need to share in order to bring awareness of our disease amongst the public but also to other people who live with the disease. IBD is isolating but there is a thriving community that’s willing to share information and support in order to prevent anyone from feeling alone in their disease.

However. I have concerns.
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Coming Clean About My IBD Mistakes

Coming Clean About My IBD Mistakes

I’ve made many mistakes along my disease journey. The first, and most dangerous, was to believe that my fate was already sealed.
This post was sponsored by AbbVie Inc. Personal opinions and thoughts are my own.

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week is December 1-7. If you have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, get tips from gastroenterologist Dr. Corey Siegel, a Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis expert, by visiting the online Expert Advice Tool before your next trip to the doctor’s office.

When I was 16, I was diagnosed with a disease I’d never heard of called ulcerative colitis. Approximately 700,000 people in the United States are affected by ulcerative colitis – a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by inflammation of the large intestine (colon and rectum). It is not caused by food or a contagious disease. 

Those are the facts. Now, for the reality. Continue reading

How to Cope With Your IBD Guilt

How to Cope With Your IBD Guilt

We think of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as being a disorder of the digestive tract, but anyone who has IBD will tell you that it affects the entire body. Something that is often overlooked when dealing with digestive disease is how it affects our emotions. Some people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis find that there’s one emotion overwhelmingly associated with the disease: guilt. Continue reading

About IBD Podcast 30 – I Just Kept Living With Bad Pain

Even when you’re knowledgeable about IBD, it can still sneak up on you and skew your perception of how much control the disease has over your life. Angelica Catalano, Director of Media Partnerships at The Mighty, describes how ulcerative colitis has affected her since her diagnosis at the age of 6, and how she was living with symptoms on a daily basis. Emergency surgery shook her world, prompting her to make a change in her treatment program to prevent future IBD-related complications. Through her work at The Mighty, Angelica pursues her passion of helping people with chronic illness improve their quality of life by bringing them together with the nonprofits that provide support and resources.

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About IBD Podcast 27 – Welcome to Camp Oasis

What is your favorite week of the year? For the kids, counselors, and volunteers at Camp Oasis, their favorite is camp week. Learn more about a summer camp that’s designed especially for kids who have IBD but is also the place where the campers actually feel the most freedom from their disease. Amber visited camp on visitor’s day and talked with campers, leaders in training, and counselors to find out what makes Camp Oasis so special to them.
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Episode 26 - Why Didn't I Do This Sooner_

About IBD Podcast 26 – Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?

What happens when a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease stands between you and your chosen career? This is exactly the barrier that veteran journalist and news anchor Natalie Hayden faced in the early days after her IBD diagnosis. Her decision was to gather her support system around her and get camera ready. Find out how she made it as a morning news anchor, found the love of her life, started her family, and founded Lights, Camera, Crohn’s.

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About IBD Podcast 23

About IBD Podcast 23 – I Have Power With Megan Johnson

How can we help new ostomates better adjust to their stoma? Megan Johnson, who you might better know as The Front Butt YouTuber, had a unique journey on the way to becoming a permanent ileostomate due to Crohn’s disease. Her experiences with the abysmal patient education material in the hospital after ostomy surgery sparked her desire to make accessible content that helps people adjust after surgery and “be comfortable in their own skin.”

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