About IBD

How does IBD impact the family? Couples who are thinking about having children when one or both of them have IBD often have questions about how the disease will affect their family. Amber interviews her 8-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son about how IBD does — and doesn't — affect their lives. Find Amber J Tresca at: Verywell:  https://www.verywell.com/ibd-crohns-colitis-4014703 Blog:  http://a...

With an invisible illness such as IBD, it can be challenging to protect your quality of life. Patient influencers often push themselves in the service of others and that may seem strange to those that follow along on social media. How can someone be so sick and yet be able to attend a medical conference? Sara Ringer of Inflamed and Untamed explains how what you see online can be misleading and how...

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 surge...

It's estimated that half of people who have an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) try complementary and alternative medicine to treat their disease. Eric Polsinelli of Vegan Ostomy describes how he tried dozens of complementary therapies for his Crohn's disease but never found anything that worked. He did, however, come away with vital insight about how people living with IBD can assess alternative...

The healthcare space isn't a level playing field. Minority populations face complex challenges when it comes to accessing and receiving care, which is why April is designated as National Minority Health Month. In regards to inflammatory bowel disease, it's not well known that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis also affect minorities. Shawntel Bethea of Chronically Strong and Brooke Abbott of T...

Take a journey back to 1999, when cellphones were a rarity, dial-up internet access was still used, and Amber had her first surgery of the 2-step j-pouch process. Amber's husband Mike, a writer and communicator, journaled his thoughts on the day of the surgery. This journal was recently uncovered and Amber reads it to Mike and gets his reactions and further recollections of that challenging day. Y...

Megan Johnson of The Front Butt YouTuber has presented 5 questions for people with IBD to answer and then tag someone else using #IBDAdvocacyTag. It's a great way to get to know people in the community better and hear different perspectives. My answer to the form of IBD I have is not going to be what you expect and my socially awkward moment is pretty epic: I remember every detail about it, even t...

Pregnancy and birth are different for women with IBD. There are not only challenges that come from the disease itself but the lack of awareness about IBD during pregnancy can lead to less than optimal treatment. Brooke Abbott of The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles describes how she coped with ulcerative colitis during her pregnancy and a birth that did not go as she'd hoped or as she'd expected. Lea...

Getting married is a joyful time in one's life. Until you have to bring your IBD and body image difficulties along when you shop for your wedding dress, that is. Learn how Crohn's disease affected Jaime's perceptions about body image throughout her life and how it all culminated in a trip to a bridal shop that left her angry and frustrated. Plus, we share our best tips for making the dress shoppin...

Are you unique? Do you represent most patients with IBD? Christy Stone of Crohnie Bologna tells the story of her disease journey, how she feels that she's not unique as an inflammatory bowel disease patient, why she chooses kindness, and why these things make her a better advocate. Find Christy Stone, Crohnie Bologna, at: Blog: http://www.crohniebolognaibd.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/C...

Welcome to the year-end wrap up show! I put together clips from my first 14 shows that drop the heaviest knowledge bombs about how life with IBD affects us, our careers, our relationships, and our stress levels. Do you have an IBD Elevator Speech? I got you, here's where you can learn to create yours after you listen to Brooke Abbott give hers: https://www.verywell.com/how-to-create-your-ibd-eleva...

What are your goals? Are you taking steps each day to move towards those goals? Brian Greenberg, endurance athlete and president of Chronically Better You tells us how he moved from goals after surgery—getting out of bed and making his own lunch—to training for an Ironman in 2018. People with IBD know the value of structure and Brian explains how he has learned to manage his life with Crohn's dise...

Being diagnosed with IBD as a child presents special challenges for kids and for parents. Learn how Brian Greenberg of Intense Intestines Foundation dealt with a Crohn's disease diagnosis at a young age and transitioned from being a child reliant on parents to help manage his IBD to learning how to manage it all himself. 2:15: Brian spent a lot of time in detention as a kid! 3:15: The hardest part...

Did you know that more than 70% of people with IBD have reported bathroom accidents (fecal incontinence)? Did you also know that only around 20% ask for help from their physicians? It's a sensitive topic, to be sure, which is why I offer advice on how to cope with this problem and how to avoid it in the first place. If you're struggling with this issue I have tips that you can use today but the be...

How does stress affect IBD? We know that stress does not cause IBD, but it does affect the disease. How does IBD actually cause stress, and what can we do to balance our lives in such a way that it does not affect us in a negative way? I talk with my guest, Dr Taft, about how she advises patients with chronic diseases on relieving stress and the tips and tools that have worked for her and her pati...

Are you ready to tell your story? Your legislators in Washington D.C., in your state, and your home town want to hear from you about how IBD has affected your life and the legislation you care about. Brooke Abbott of The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles and Amber tell you how to get started in health activism and how to make your voice heard in our government! 6:00: What's an IBD Elevator Speech? Hea...

If I asked you what about your IBD you were grateful for, what would you say? This is exactly what I asked IBD Advocates, and their answers are as complex, rich, and varied as they are. As you listen to their responses, you will undoubtedly find yourself nodding in agreement with some ideas and seeing your life from a different perspective with others. I hope this episode is as fulfilling for you...

What's it like to watch your partner's ulcerative colitis become life-threatening and not be able to do anything about it? My husband, Mike, tells my story from his perspective, including how we met, what it was like to watch my health degrade, and all about our fairy tale wedding. Featured Guest: Michael Tresca Twitter: https://twitter.com/worldofwelstar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldof...

On this episode of About IBD, I talk with Michael Osso of Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and learn how important clinical trials are to patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, including how we can do better to ensure trials are completed. This podcast will answer many of your questions about clinical trials, plus we discuss the brand new resource the Foundation has launching later this...

When you fly, do you board early? Once you get on the plane, what's the first thing you do? What's the second? Veteran traveler Jaime Weinstein, who lives with Crohn's disease, answers these questions and more based on her personal experiences when flying the friendly skies. Featured Guest: Jaime Weinstein Twitter: @JaimeEditor Instagram: @slightlyjaided Web Site: http://prettyrottenguts.tumblr.co...

I talk with Brooke Abbott of The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles about what it's like to be a parent with a chronic illness and how that's affected our relationship with our children. We also try to figure out how to clone ourselves and I'm so tired that I get the name of a well-known celebrity wrong -- several times. Featured Guest: Brooke Abbott Twitter: @CrzyCreoleMommy Facebook: https://www.face...

What's it like to be a competitive swimmer and one day develop Crohn's disease? Well, you don't stop swimming! Hear Ryan Stevens, Crohn's Guy, talk about the work he's doing to raise awareness of IBD. Featured Guest: Ryan Stevens Twitter: @ryan_crohnsguy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IBDSwimmer/ Web site: www.crohnsguy.com Swimming With Courage & Crohn's: http://www.janssen.com/making-a-splas...

On this episode of the About IBD Podcast, I discuss j-pouches and bust some of the misconceptions that surround them. I also give my firsthand experience as a j-poucher who gave birth twice and let you in on what it's like for me to have a midline scar from open surgery. Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com ,  Verywell ,  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest , and  Instagram . Credits: " About IBD " ©...

The second edition of the About IBD Podcast where I talk with 3 women with IBD about their experiences in telling their partners about their Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Featured Guests: Jaime Weinstein www.prettyrottenguts.tumblr.com @JaimeEditor Brooke Abbott www.crazycreolemommy.com @CrzyCreoleMommy Christy Stone www.crohniebolognaibd.com  @CrohnieBologna Music: Funky Element - Bensou...

The first edition of my About IBD Podcast where I talk about this fungus fracas, how it relates to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and why I'm not too worked up about IBD research done on mice. Find Amber J Tresca of About IBD at: Verywell:  https://www.verywell.com/ibd-crohns-colitis-4014703 Blog: http://aboutibd.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aboutIBD/ Twitter:  https://twitter....