About IBD

Amber is joined by Stacy Dylan, co-founder and executive director of Connecting to Cure Crohn's and Colitis (CtoC). CtoC is a patient advocacy group focused on addressing unmet needs in the IBD community. Stacy founded CtoC to help other families after her son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. CtoC offers support groups, mentorship programs, and gut-friendly workouts. Stacy offers advice to pare...

There tend to be more women than men who share their journey with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis). The reasons are challenging to uncover, but what's clear is that more can be done to raise the visibility of men living with an IBD, ostomy, or other digestive condition. My guest is Jordan William Henry Aggen, also known as Crohn's Trooper. Jordan emphasizes the...

Dr Iris Wang, assistant professor in the division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Associate Program Director of the GI fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and Amber Tresca discuss the stigma surrounding gut health and poop. Dr Wang shares the experience of writing a children's book focused on preventing and managing constipation titled "Boo Can't Poo!" They also discuss th...

What is being done to help prevent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the next generation? The Genetic, Environmental, Microbial (GEM) Project is a research study from Crohn's and Colitis Canada (CCC) focused on finding possible causes for Crohn's disease by following healthy people who are at a higher risk for developing the disease. To talk about GEM, Amber interviews CCC volunteer Chantel Wick...

Did you notice that suddenly one year you started paying more for your healthcare? Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are sometimes treated with medications that are expensive. Manufacturers create programs to help patients afford these drugs. In the beginning, these payments from assistance programs counted toward a yearly health insurance deductible. Then, suddenly: they stopped counting. Ov...

People with IBD are more likely to live with anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders than people who don't live with one of these conditions. For that reason, caring for mental health is as important as caring for physical health. But it doesn't always work out that way, as patients may not know how important their mental health is to their physical health, or may not have access to a mental...

Diagnosed with attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis (AFAP), retired Navy veteran Dan "Dry Dock" Shockley shares his remarkable journey of service, diagnosis, and advocacy. Following his diagnosis, Shockley became a passionate advocate for early detection and reducing the stigma associated with living with an ostomy. He emphasizes the importance of proactive medical care and maintaining a posi...

We can hold two truths: Crohn's disease is funny. It is also not funny. I speak with Matt Nagin, who has many talents, but we focus on his work as a comedian and actor living with Crohn's disease. Our discussion focuses on how people need laughter and comedy in their lives. Yet, living with an illness like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it can be challenging to find those comedic moments. Espec...

What did you read over the past year? If you made a reading goal: did you hit it? The books I read in 2023 included biographies, fantasy, fiction, and romance. Plus, I had several authors who live with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis on the show this year, so I read their books as well. Hear more about some of the books I enjoyed in 2023, how you can hear more from authors with IBD, and ways...

A diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, IBD) affects the entire family. When it's a child that's diagnosed, it changes so many things and brings a host of challenges. Families experience many unmet needs related to IBD. My guest is Lisa Fournier of IBD Connect. Lisa is the mother of two children who live with IBD. Her experiences in helping them manage IBD a...

My guest is Stephanie Brenner of Chronic Illness Psychotherapy. Stephanie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has experience in working with clients with chronic illnesses. She has also taken on a variety of roles in GI space, including previously serving on both the advisory team for the Pediatric Crohn's Guidebook and the recruitment committee for the Rome Foundation's GastroPsych organizat...

As an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and the Director of Translational Studies for the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Dr. Damas sheds light on the misconception that IBD only affects certain ethnicities. Her extensive research explores the connection between of environment and genetics in the development of IBD...

What is it like to be a teen living with Crohn's disease? If you're like Josef Miller, you channel the challenges of the diagnosis and management of IBD into action. Josef has written a book about his experiences, entitled "The Purple Rose," and created an initiative called "Positivity Beats IBD," which creates inspirational cards for people living with IBD and other conditions. Learn about Josef'...

What options are you wiling to try to manage your ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease? How about putting someone else's stool into your own colon? Fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) — using stool from a donor to repopulate bacteria in the colon — are being studied for use in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Filmmaker Saffron Cassady decided to try do-it-yourself FMT to treat her ulcer...

What do all the new oral drugs available for treating IBD have to do with military service? Being diagnosed with IBD might mean leaving the military for some service members. Part of the reason is that it's not possible to be deployed while receiving a drug that's an injection or an infusion. But when a medication works well and happens to be in pill form: that's a game-changer. Dr Anish Patel, th...

Being diagnosed with a chronic condition is a major adjustment. Digestive conditions like IBD (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) wind up affecting every part of our lives. Learning to accept the ways in which the disease affects life can be helpful. But it's important to make the distinction between acceptance and complacency. Maalvika Bhuvansunder, a young adult patient living with Crohn's...

Menopause is a topic that's not well understood in general and there's even less information when it comes to menopause and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). October is World menopause Awareness Month. World Menopause Day is on October 18 every year. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of menopause and the support options available for improving hea...

Colon cancer is being diagnosed more frequently in younger people. It's now recommended that most people get a screening colonoscopy at the age of 45. For people who  have a family history of colon cancer, the first screening should be when they are 10 years younger than the family member was when they were diagnosed.   My guest is my husband, Michael Tresca, who recently had a screening colonosco...

Diet does matter in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Not only in how it affects the digestive system, but also in overall health. Adults with IBD have greater incidences of heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, kidney disease, liver disease, and ulcers than do people without IBD.   For those reasons and more: thinking about diet and how it affects all these other body systems,...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds. One of the barriers to addressing disparities is money. It's an unfortunate fact that the healthcare system in the United States is intertwined with money. In some cases, access to care and other...

Healthcare is political. That's why it's important to push legislators to ensure care is available and accessible to all patients, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Brooke Abbott, of the Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles and co-founder of IBDMoms helps illustrate the aspects of public policy that are important in achieving equity in healthcare. In this discussion you'll learn how lack of acces...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds. IBD is still considered rare in some parts of the world, but incidence is increasing. Fasika Shimeles Teferra, MD of Ethiopia describes her journey to a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Being a medi...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds. What is it like to not have anyone on your medical team that looks like you or understands your concerns? The diversity of the human experience is often not reflected in the healthcare system. In...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds. Nutrition is a major component of managing digestive disease. Yet people living with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or indeterminate colitis may not be offered access to help managing their...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds. Why do women of color encounter so many barriers when accessing care? Where are the spaces for black and brown patients to share their knowledge, experiences, and support around Crohn's disease,...