Bowel Moments

Send us Fan Mail This week we had a great conversation with our friend Jason Wild! We talked to him quite a bit about how he found a community of people living with IBD through Camp Oasis and how he's evolved from a counselor to a "Leader in Training" lead to a Camp Director. You can tell how much he loves camp and loves the community he's formed through it. We also talk to him...

Send us Fan Mail UPDATE: Since this recording, Dr. Hamnett has launched her own practice, Spruce Physical Therapy!    You can find her on IG and TikTok @Spruce.pt. We hope you'll check her out if you are in NYC!  This week we shared a Rowdy Mermaid and had such an interesting conversation with Dr. Claire Hamnett! Dr. Hamnett is a pelvic floor physical therapist at Solstice Physiotherapy in Ne...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talked to Dr. Jeanne Tung ! Dr. Tung is the Director of the Center for Pediatric IBD at OU Health. We talked to her helping kids transition and transfer to adult IBD care and we talk to her about her involvement in ImproveCareNow which is a collaborative made up of pediatric IBD patients, parents, and healthcare providers that works to (big surprise) improve care for...

Send us Fan Mail This week we bring back Stacey Collins, RDN to celebrate(?) jpouch-iversaries. We talked about what Stacey and I have learned and what's been happening in our lives. We shared some tips and some of the not-so-pretty aspects of recovery to give you a better understanding of what to expect if you're discussing j-pouch surgery with your GI. Alicia decided to keep in some of...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Ben and Katie Portier. We talk to them about navigating Ben's IBD from dating to married life, from flares to hospital stays, to surgery, and life with an ostomy. We talk about anxiety, body image, managing relationships, and being social. We discuss finding support for yourself and offering support to others.   We hope you enjoy - Cheers! Let's get...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talked to self-described "IBD Dinosaur" Dewey Thom! Dewey has been living with IBD for more than 40 years and has lived quite a bit of that time with a J-Pouch. We talked to him a lot about the importance of finding a community of people who understand IBD. We talk about his accidental participation in a support group and his subsequent role as a volunteer f...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Courtney Robert, LCSW! Courtney is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist for the IBD Center at GI Alliance in Baton Rouge, LA! We talked to her about the IBD Center that they're building that provides a holistic approach to IBD care. We discuss trauma in IBD and the therapeutic technique called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR...

Send us Fan Mail We were so excited to talk to Tina Aswani Omprakash this week! Tina is a powerhouse in our community and we loved hearing her IBD story and all of the awesome things she's been working on- and despite the super-sized episode, we just scratched the surface! We talked to her about her very complicated Crohn's and her other autoimmune conditions. We talked about her family...

Send us Fan Mail We can hardly believe it but 1 year ago we published the first episode of Bowel Moments! Robin and I took this opportunity to reflect back on the last year, to talk about what we've learned, and to discuss how much we've loved working on this podcast. We hope that you've enjoyed the last  year and that you'll join us for all our upcoming episodes too. Please fi...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Dr. Jami A. Kinnucan! Dr. Kinnucan is a Senior Associate Consultant at Mayo Clinic in Florida (or as she calls it- the Sandy Mayo) and she is an IBD specialist. She has a special interest in and researches cannabis and IBD and so we spend a lot of time hearing all about the limited research available and on the importance of talking to your doctor about cannab...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talked to Shawn Luna! Shawn was diagnosed with UC as an adult and it was a big surprise since he hadn't had any symptoms of it when he was younger. We talked about how quickly his UC came on, how scary it was to get diagnosed, and his struggles with pain and fatigue and to get into remission which lead to him being steroid dependent. As part of this process, his...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Megan Starshak! Megan was diagnosed with UC in high school and, while it compromised her ability to do some of her favorite activities for a while, it didn't prevent her from finding new ways to enjoy her life and even led to her meeting some new people affected by IBD. Megan has devoted much of her life to helping other people with IBD share their story,...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to our friend Clayton Smith! Clayton is a self-described "autoimmune disease magnet" who lives with Crohn's, Celiac, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, a rare cardiac and soft tissue disease and who has also had 2 bouts with colon cancer. We talked to him about traveling to developing countries with IBD and how to prepare for that, we talk to him about r...

Send us Fan Mail This week we shared an Earl Gray tea with Sari Grossman! Sari has a very unique case of Crohn's disease and she has a family history of Crohn's as well.  We talk to her about growing up with Crohn's and also having a mother who is living with Crohn's. We discussed how she started navigating her own healthcare in her teens (with her Mom's coaching) and how...

Send us Fan Mail This week week we interview Jasmine Bouche- AKA JPouch Jasmine! She's the first guest we've had on that neither Robin or Alicia knew already! It was so fun to get to know her and to hear her story of getting diagnosed in college, navigating the social scene and college experience while also navigating the healthcare system- and during a pandemic! We talked a lot about he...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Stacey Calabro who has decided that makes her "Stacey C- The Deuce." Stacey has been living with IBD since she was in high school. She's been a social worker, probation officer, and finally her IBD prompted her to go to nursing school. She's done travel nursing and had some fun adventures because of it including some brushes with celebritie...

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode was SO FUN! Robin and I got to record in the same room after not getting to meet up for more that 2.5 years! AND we had the joy of talking with Eitan Kling-Levine! Eitan is a young professional living with NYC and working in healthcare marketing. After growing up in the theater, he attended NYU for acting, and during senior year, got diagnosed with ulcerat...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Dr. Tim Ritter - Senior Medical Director and lead for Clinical Trials at the GI Alliance.  Dr. Ritter has been treating patients with IBD for more than 30 years and has a special interest in clinical trials. We talk to him about what's happening in the IBD research space, talking to patients about clinical trials, what patients can expect from participati...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Nicole Williams- Licensed Professional Counselor ! Nicole has more than 20 years of experience in providing therapy services and specializes in working with people living with chronic illness. We talk to her about the grief and loss wheel she developed to help her patients understand the emotions that can go along with being diagnosed and living with a chronic...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talked to Dr. Tiffany Taft ! Dr. Taft founded Oak Park Behavioral Medicine in 2012 and serves in an administrative leadership role. She completed her doctoral degree at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and predoctoral internship at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Dr. Taft helped launch the first integrated behavioral medicine service in gastroenterolog...

Send us Fan Mail This week we had extra special guests- we welcomed Robin's daughters- Logan and Baylee! We discussed what is was like to grown up with a mom with IBD, how that may or may not have shaped their career choices, how Robin's parenting and their close relationship has shaped the way they live their lives, and we also share some fun childhood memories. This was a fun and heart...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Brittany Rogers (formerly Roman-Green)! Brittany is an IBD-focused registered dietitian nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and behavior change specialist. She's the the co-leader of the diet and nutrition national scientific advisory committee for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the national leader of the Registered Dietitians in IBD pra...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk to Dr. Smita Mehta, PT, DPT, PRPC! Dr. Mehta is a pelvic floor physical therapist and part of a multidisciplinary team for IBD at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. She clarified what pelvic floor PT is, how it can help people living with IBD, how to find your pelvic floor, and so much more. This conversation was absolutely fascinating and a revelatio...

Send us Fan Mail Meet Kim K! Alicia had to miss this recording so you'll hear an intimate conversation between long time friends Robin and Kim. Kim was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was very, very young and before there were really any treatments for kids. They spend a lot of time talking about raising kids while having IBD and how that may have helped their kids become more em...

Send us Fan Mail This week we're joined by a couple of our past guests- Dr. Anish Patel and Dr. Ashish S. Patel- to discuss what's new in IBD research and what's coming down the pipeline! We had a great discussion about biosimilars, predicting colectomy risk in kids diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, using ultrasounds to help track disease progression, precision medicine, and new th...