Living with IBD is a complex journey of ups and downs. Each of us patients seem to have our own set of unique challenges and personal needs to support our care. Many of us also have individual preferences, lifestyle changes that we have to adopt, and short and long-term goals that require consideration when managing a chronic illness that can be so unpredictable and impactful on day-to-day life. For this (and many other) reasons, finding good care from a good doctor is vit

It's #worldIBDday2019! Over the past decade with IBD, i've come to view this annual recognition of IBD across the globe as a celebration: "HEY! We've made through another year with IBD! We did it!" The fatigue-filled days that felt too long, the nights spent managing pain in bed, all of the discomfort and uncertainty that comes with bowels that aren't functioning properly, joints/eyes/skin inflammation that just wont quit, and all of the pokes, pricks, meds, tests, and all

Happy December! It's the unofficial start to the holidays in my house AND the beginning of Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week... so things are feeling incredibly festive! Over the past two years, though, celebrating this week seems to top even the best of holiday preparations and I can't say that I'm too sad about that fact. Awareness weeks has officially turned into its own holiday for me, as I look to acknowledge my past experience with the disease, celebrate the communit

A few months ago, I received a call that would stop me in my tracks: would I like to share my thoughts on what defines a quality gastroenterologist at this year's Digestive Diseases Week (#DDW2018)? I think that I said "YES!" before the question was even finished. I was so excited that I got right to work. In some ways, I knew exactly what I'd want to say, but in a lot of other ways, I struggled to find just the right words. From a patient's perspective - or at least THIS

In order to get well enough to take on the role of motherhood in the way that I wanted, I would need to take Cimzia (throughout my first pregnancy) and then Humira (started after a rough flare and shortly before my second pregnancy). I was nervous at first, but, armed with evidence-based research, I was able to make my own informed decision to exclusively breastfeed both of my children while effectively treating my Crohn's disease. I'm not one to engage in a mommy-battle of

Working while managing a disability that doesn't take a break between the typical 9 - 5pm work-day is sometimes nerve-wracking. How will my boss, coworkers, and clients handle situations that require me to put my symptoms first? Will symptoms hold me back from achieving the professional goals that I set for myself? Can I do it all; take care of my kids, the house, my marriage, and my health? These thoughts go through my head as I start applying for jobs, and it makes me s

From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a mother. But, when I began experiencing symptoms of Crohn’s disease at age 21, I became worried about how my future may look. Knowing instinctively that I wanted to be well to have a child, I set out on a mission to heal the angry disease that was taking over my intestines. After struggling on lower-tiered medications, a hospitalization for an obstruction led me to realize that the deep healing that I desired would only come us

Chronic illness can be tough and lonely. It seems that most people can appreciate that fact and they know what it generally means to be lonely. But “lonely” takes on a new definition that goes deeper and darker with the personalized, persistent, and relentless class of illnesses considered to be chronic, or lifelong. When I was diagnosed, I quickly learned this new definition for lonely. While doctors were considering a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, and determining a cours

As the fireworks faded on the first day of 2017, I felt excited and motivated. “This would be the year,” I remember telling my husband, “that I’ll have my strongest body yet.” As an active woman, a busy mom, and a person with Crohn’s disease, it was important to me that I do everything in my power to stay on top of my health. But, could I really do it? Due to my diagnosis, I’d always assumed that I just wouldn’t be able to be as strong and fit as my active friends. What i

Visit The Mighty to view a version of this article. It was a beautiful, hazy day in August when I was formally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. From over the phone, the doctor’s words seemed in such stark contrast to my surroundings that I had trouble digesting them. It was warm, and I was exhausted; all I could mutter was, “OK.” Appreciating the reality of being diagnosed with a lifelong, incurable chronic illness wasn’t on my mind. Instead, assigning a name to the beast taki