About IBD
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease) are about more than diarrhea: they affect the whole person. About IBD focuses on health and lifestyle issues important to people living with Crohn's or colitis. IBD patients, doctors, therapists, and care partners give their tips and advice on topics including diet, nutrition, treatments, mental health, family dynamics, and sexuality as it relates to living with IBD.
Episodes
Pregnancy while living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) feels scary. But thanks to the groundbreaking Pregnancy Inflammatory bowel disease And Neonatal Outcomes (PIANO) study, there is now so much more data and information to help moms and their doctors make decisions. Dr Mahadevan began the PIANO registry in 2007, which followed women and their babies through pregnancy and after. What was learned from this registry was how IB...
Desiree Schmidt, a 500-hour yoga instructor and owner of a personal training business, shares her passion for helping people with chronic illnesses, which is inspired by her own experience with Crohn's disease. She discusses how yoga has been key in her journey, both physically and mentally.
Amber and Desiree discuss the benefits of different yoga forms and how to choose the right practice based on whether one is in a flare-up or i...
Brad Watson-Davelaar, founder of Gaming for Guts, shares his experiences in living with Crohn’s disease and how he found support and community through his IBD journey. He talks about his ostomy surgery and how for him, it is a beginning rather than an end.
Brad describes the upcoming fundraising event sponsored by Gaming for Guts to celebrate World IBD Day on May 19th. It will feature Canadian-themed activities in support of Crohn'...
When is the last time you pooped your pants? Amber speaks with April Michelle Harris, who lives with ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for over 13 years. April shares her journey, from her initial diagnosis to her struggles with depression and anxiety, and how she has managed to build a fulfilling life despite the many challenges that come with living with a chronic illness.
We also dive into April's n...
Going to a movie can be a frustrating experience for anyone with a digestive or urinary condition. Not only are the bathrooms sometimes far from the theaters, it’s difficult to know when to duck out if nature calls. Enter RunPee. The RunPee app is designed to help moviegoers know when the best time is to use the restroom (a peetime) during a movie without missing any important scenes. The creator, Dan Gardner, discusses how he and ...
What happens when your professional life and your IBD overlap? Sari Grossman is a research scientist, Crohn's disease patient, and advocate for patients with chronic illnesses. She shares her experience with Crohn's disease, including her family history of IBD, diagnosis at a young age, her unusual symptoms, and the impact it had on her life. She speaks candidly about the physical and emotional challenges of living with a chronic i...
Is it possible for kids to look at their touchpoints with medical care as empowering experiences? Adam Finkelstein, a medical student and author, shared his experiences of living with IBD from a young age, and how he coped with surgeries and doctor's appointments as a child. Adam provides tips for helping kids develop positive associations with going to the doctor, which include building trust with healthcare professionals, being h...
Caitlin McGinnis, LCSW was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 22 and had her entire colon removed. This experience prompted her to become a social worker and specialize in providing mental health support for patients with various digestive health issues. Through her own experiences and connecting with support groups, Caitlin has learned the importance of creating communities, bringing awareness, and being a source of s...
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...
For years we were told that diet doesn’t matter in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We know now that diet is important in IBD. What’s still not clear is how we should be thinking about it in terms of management. Helena Murphy is a photographer, yoga teacher, and Crohn’s disease patient who brought her skills and experience to writing a book entitled, "The Plant-Based Crohn’s and Colitis Cookbook." She shares her secret to publishi...
Caring for pelvic health is important for people of all genders who live with an inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis). Dr. Amanda Olson, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy and is the President and Chief Clinical Officer for Intimate Rose, has dedicated her professional life to helping people improve their pelvic health. Learn more about pelvic therapy and how she has developed resources and tool...
What did you read over the past year? If you made a reading goal: did you hit it? The books I read this year ranged from self-help to true crime to science fiction. Hear more about some of the books I enjoyed in 2022 (and in the year after I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis) and if you’ll want to pick them up for yourself.
For some people living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, the disease puts roadblocks in the way when it comes to going to school, having a career, and participating in sports. For Lauren Thibodeau, a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis led to a complication of medical catatonia, which derailed her life and her career as a college golfer. However, with her family, her medical team, and her teammates around her, she made her wa...
Does living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis make a person more resilient? And is resilience something that should be a part of management plan for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or other chronic illnesses? Mara Shapiro, healthcare journalist and Crohn’s disease patient, has had no other choice but to find a way towards resilience in her life, having lived through grief and loss early in life, followed by th...
When it comes to people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis serving in the military, the usual policy is that the two things are incompatible. The reason being that people living with an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) need care and treatments that are incompatible with being deployed. However, sometimes there are other considerations, as Dr Daniel Rausa describes. Dr Rausa was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease while serving i...
What if we knew which patients would have severe Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis? And which wouldn’t? How about if we could tell which drug would work best in which patient? Knowing these things would change how inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is diagnosed and treated. Plus, more importantly: it would improve lives. Dr Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, Vice President of Translational research and IBD Ventures at the Crohn's and Coliti...
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 severa...
There are significant unmet needs for IBD patients that include pain control, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. Some patients turn to medical cannabis for these symptoms. But is that a good idea, does it work, and what should patients and their doctors know about medical cannabis? To answer these questions and more, Amber talks to cannabis and IBD expert Dr Jami Kinnucan, who is a Senior Associate Consultant in the Secti...
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