IBDetermined

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to S2 episode 5! We asked a group of IBD patients and caregivers about what they hate being told when someone finds out they have Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis. One recurring topic was diet advice, which was generally unwanted advice. We know this is a sensitive topic and everybody is different! We did our best to go over how diet does or doesn't affect IBD, how...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to S2 episode 3! Reggie, our main character from our book, "Not Your Average Slice of Pizza", has become a symbol of the hope, determination, and courage that comes with a tough diagnosis, especially IBD. We wanted to raise awareness for pediatric IBD patients, adult IBD patients, and any other children/teens/adults facing a challenging diagnosis by sending Reggi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to S2 episode 3! There are a lot of things that are said to people who have IBD, some terrible, some incredible! After listening to fellow IBD patients, today we discuss something that we all hear quite a bit, that IBS is the same as IBD. They are not and we go into how they are not related, their different symptoms and complications, and how they are both treated. Hopeful...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 2 Episode 2! Today we go into dual biologics in the treatment of IBD, when they started being researched, and Mason's own experiences with being on dual biologics.   We are family friendly and want kids to be involved! Listen together, separately, but ultimately we hope we bring some attention to some well deserved topics on chronic illness.  For more inform...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to season 2 episode 1! With school starting this week we thought it would be a great time to talk about homeschooling. It is becoming more popular and for those with chronic illness it is a great option. We go over statistics on homeschool, why we chose it, and how it is structured for Mason. For more information on Crohn's disease, fundraising, and general info go to...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to our season 1 finale with episode 25! We had fun discussing our first year making a podcast, go over our most watched episodes, and share were our listeners are listening from. We also discuss future plans and season 2 of IBDetermined! For more information on Crohn's disease, fundraising, and general info go to https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org Follow us on In...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 24! Today we are talking about one of the triggers of IBD flares, which is stress. We go into a personal story about Mason's diagnosis and how stress could have played a role in his flare at the time. We are sure that you watching will also be able to make your own connections to stress and health conditions. We are family friendly and want kids to be invol...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 23! Today's topic is a very popular one about mask wearing. This episode is not about the efficiency of masks or telling anyone what they should do. It is simply to teach understanding of why you will still see some people (in the IBD community) wearing masks. We hope it creates to more respect and a different perspective on why some people are still maskin...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 22! Grief is a tough subject and a complicated one at times. Crohn's and Colitis is a difficult diagnosis and it is only natural to feel a sense of loss and grief. Going through grief with IBD is very real and in this episode we discuss our own grief with the diagnosis. We also go over not only 5 stages of grief, but 7 stages of grief. We also offer ways to...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 21! We wanted to share the story of where the Karmatude Candles originated, how we make them, and how we use them to fundraise. Making candles has turned into something very special for our family and continues to also be a way we can raise awareness for IBD. We enjoy fundraising for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation and hope to continue this business well...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 20! We have wanted to jump into the top of biologics but it is a lot to talk about. So we did our best to start at the basics in this episode. We discuss (in simple terms!!) what biologics are and the three different classes when it comes to IBD. We go over TNF-blockers, integrin blockers, and interleukin blockers. Hopefully this will help you better understand...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 19! We attended a Team Survivor event at the San Diego Blood Bank. Mason has received over 5 blood transfusions and is part of Team Survivor. We share what we learned at the San Diego Blood Bank and discuss why donating blood is so important. We also share ways and ideas you can help! We are family friendly and want kids to be involved! Listen together, separate...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 18! Outliers are something we learned about in math but totally works in our episode. Crohn's can vary so much but sometimes the public only will see those who are excelling or living above average lives with this disease. It is important to celebrate everyone though and continue to share our stories to raise awareness. This disease needs a voice and not on...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 17! We attended our local Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Gala and are excited to share the importance of these fundraising events and how you can also attend. Our recent local chapter Champions of Hope gala in San Diego raised close to $500,000 for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. We also discuss a fun item Michelle wore, which were Mason's bea...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 16! We had requests to discuss ideas, hints, or methods we use to have an easy prep for colonoscopies and MRI's. We go over the methods that worked best for Mason and should help you too! We hope this episode will help you if you are an adult or child suffering from Crohn's disease or any chronic illness, know somebody who is, or are just interested in...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 15! When dealing with any disease or chronic illness, time management can become complicated. In this episode we discuss the difficulties of time management, handling work and school, and how we manage our schedules with Crohn's disease. We know there is no one way to do this but at the very least hope that we make others feel like they aren't alone! W...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 14! Today's episode focuses on overcoming a fear of needles, shots, injections, and IV's. For children and adults this is a real fear and sometimes phobia. With IBD or any chronic illness the reality is that injections and IV's can become a way of life and it sometimes a challenge to overcome fears. After 3 years, Mason has changed from a high fea...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 13! Today's episode goes over our very exciting overnight stay at Disneyland complete with a visit to Club 33. A lot of you were curious and had questions so we are here to share details and pictures of our entire evening at Club 33. However, we didn't want to stray far from the goal of our channel which is facing challenges and overcoming them, partic...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 12! Today's episode focuses on the steps you take to fight an insurance denial for medications and biologics. Some of you are familiar with a doctor ordering a particular medication or biologic and insurance will deny it. The process might be short or it might be drawn out but we are here to help you with each step in the process. We take you through denial...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we cover a very important topic which is, mental health. Something we learned before recording this is that rates of depression are higher with Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis as compared to other diseases and the general population. Mental Health was also the most requested topic amongst those with IBD. This is only the beginning of this conve...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 10! We had some issues with editing (like the up late, sweating over your laptop in a panic it wouldn't work) so we apologize for the repeating of scenes. But it is what it is and we made it to the big 10!!We decided to give you all a behind the scenes look of our children's book, "Not Your Average Slice of Pizza". We cover the beginnings fro...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 9!  Mason is still in a flare but feeling better! We decided to proceed with our regular series since he was excited to do it. Today's episode focuses on our ideas to handle unsupportive family and friends who don't try to understand Crohn's disease (or really any chronic illness). We also go into how to help people who don't understand chron...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 8!  Still off of our scheduled programming but this is what worked for Mason this week. We find out the potential cause for his flare (spoiler alert, he has a bacterial infection which we talk more about), talk about his treatment regimen, and then look more at what a Crohn's flare is. Of course there is always more to learn then we can cover so please use...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 7! Today's episode was a change of plans since Mason is in a flare. We had an episode all planned but instead decided to have an impromptu discussion about how he is feeling and talk about flares. We both agreed it would be a little much to do a regular segment but we also know how important it is to discuss Crohn's flares and show how they look. He wa...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to episode 6! Today's episode is very important to us as it discusses the Restroom Access Act law and your rights. This law, while in other states, was just enacted this year, 2023, in the state of California. Mason and I played a role in creating the bill, AB1632, and getting it to pass into a law. We detail step by step how we accomplished this so you can learn how...