In the spring of my junior year in high school, I met with my senior year Advanced Placement English teacher. I don’t remember much of that meeting, such as what we talked about, or even its purpose.
What I do remember is the store room she took me into.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading
Men face particular challenges when it comes to their health. Looking at health statistics in the United States, men are less likely to have health insurance than women. They’re also more likely to have high blood pressure, smoke, and drink alcohol. Men also see a doctor less often than women. There are a variety of reasons for these disparities but the end result is that men might face more health problems.
Continue reading
The patient advocacy space is lacking the voices of men and especially men of color. The result is that the IBD community is not diverse enough to provide the kind of support that they need.
Jordan McConnell, the founder of Crohn’s Veteran, is looking to change the dynamics of the online IBD space. Jordan served in the military and was eventually discharged due to his Crohn’s disease. It was a shock and changed his career plans unexpectedly. His disease journey showed him that he needed to be the change and he developed his podcast and his brand to support men and the larger IBD community.
Continue reading
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.
Continue reading