Wrestling the Octopus (IBD)

Send us Fan Mail In our latest episode of Wrestling the Octopus: the IBD Patient Podcast, Nigel and I chat with Professor Peter Irving, IBD consultant at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital in London, about the confusing but incredibly common overlap between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) . We were keen to record this episode as many IBD patients have an IBS overla...

Send us Fan Mail In this candid episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast , Rachel and Nigel dive deep into the lived reality of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) -  from emergency symptoms to complex procedures, new medications, bowel prep dilemmas and the importance of patient‑centred care . Nigel’s Recent Medical Rollercoaster Nigel recounts a frightening episode of passing blood...

Send us Fan Mail In honour of World IBD Day 2026, Nigel has curated his "best bits" from our Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast over the last 12 months. If you're living with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis - or caring for those who do - this is a chance to catch up on some clips from our previous episodes - including surgery, living with a stoma, colorectal c...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 33 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, Rachel chats with Nigel about her feelings on getting inflammatory bowel disease symptoms after 15 years of Crohn's remission - the last five years being without drugs. Follow Rachel at @bottomlineibd Follow Nigel at @crohnoid

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 34 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, the tables are turned. This time, Rachel asks Nigel about his battery of recent tests and what the reality is like of managing multiple health conditions that stem from his Crohn's disease. Living with inflammatory bowel disease is a full-time job in itself, and Nigel illustrates this well in this highly relatable episode. Follow Ra...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 32 of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast, we meet Crohn's disease patient, Neil Barker . Neil recounts his history of living with IBD, bowel and brain cancer. His story offers an honest, deeply human look at what it means to manage a chronic illness while trying to maintain hope, identity and everyday life. Neil reflects on the early signs of Crohn&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Blood clots are not the first thing most people think of when they hear Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis - but they should be on the radar of each one of us living with inflammatory bowel disease. This episode of Wrestling the Octopus IBD dives into clots and thrombosis in inflammatory bowel disease. Our guest is Professor Beverley Hunt OBE, consultant in thrombosis and haemo...

Send us Fan Mail For Episode 30 of Wrestling the Octopus: the IBD patient podcast , we are joined by Lead Stoma Care Nurse, Natasha Rolls at University Hospital Foundation Trust Bristol and Weston. Natasha provides brilliant tips and practical guidance for everyday life and gut health for people with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis . 🌟 Key themes discussed 💬 Why stomas are not a last...

Send us Fan Mail Did you know that up to 30% of people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will have abnormal liver tests at some point? In this episode of Wrestling the Octopus IBD , Nigel and I are joined by two expert hepatologists from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London to explore the link between IBD and liver disease - what causes it, what to look out for and how it&a...

Send us Fan Mail We can hardly believe it's been 12 whole months since we started this podcast on patients' reflections on living with inflammatory bowel disease. Happy first birthday, Wrestling the Octopus IBD! During this year, we have spoken with fellow patients and also healthcare professionals to further patient education on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. We are indebt...

Send us Fan Mail The fear of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) when living with inflammatory bowel disease can weigh heavily on our minds as patients. So Nigel and I resolved to get an expert guest on the podcast who could talk us (and our patient listeners) through the risks and how we can minimise them when living with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Enter Professor James East! Prof...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 26 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD! After 10 years studying IBD patients in remission, the first results from the PREdiCCt study have now been published - and it's essential reading: https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/19/gutjnl-2025-337846 Nigel and I took the opportunity to sit down with Nathan Constantine-Cooke, a postdoctoral researcher from the Univ...

Send us Fan Mail We've seen a shift in mood around conversations on medical cannabis in inflammatory bowel disease . While it's most definitely an area that needs tightly controlled monitoring and evidence-based advice, there's a thaw in the discussions that is seeing more IBD healthcare professionals having open talks with their patients about it - and vice versa. So we were deligh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, Nigel and Rachel talk with Mr Raj Mankotia , Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, to demystify the world of IBD-related surgery . With over 25 years’ experience, Raj talks us through first‑time elective or semi‑elective surgery for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis - why it...

Send us Fan Mail In episode 23 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, Nigel and I welcome consultant radiologist, Dr Gauraang Bhatnagar (Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust) and consultant gastroenterologist, Dr Will Blad (Barts Health Foundation Trust) to our podcast to discuss intestinal ultrasound (IUS) in inflammatory bowel disease. 🩺 Key Discussion Points 1. What is Intestinal Ultrasound (IUS)? Non-i...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 22 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD! A reminder of our new email address if you'd like to get in touch: wrestlingtheoctopusibd@gmail.com In this Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week special, Nigel and I take a look in the rear view mirror to ponder our decades of lived experience with inflammatory bowel disease - from treatment and attitudes, to advocacy and pa...

Send us Fan Mail You can now email us at wrestlingtheoctopusibd@gmail.com - we'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas and feedback on our IBD patient podcast! And if you like what you hear, please spread the word to others with an interest in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In this specially curated episode - for want of another phrase! - Nigel takes us on his personal and often amu...

Send us Fan Mail In this anniversary special, Nigel interviews me about my decision to stop taking medication (infliximab, aka Remicade) for my inflammatory bowel disease, and what reflections I have on staying in remission four years later.  Discussion Points My rationale for stopping infliximab after nearly a decade of IBD remission The emotional weight of sharing my decision publicly and the ne...

Send us Fan Mail The tables are turned in this episode! Now Rachel interviews Nigel about his life-changing bowel surgery in 2010. Fifteen years on, Nigel reflects on the symptoms that led to his Crohn's surgery, the emotional and practical preparations, and the highs and lows of recovery - including living with a temporary stoma and navigating postoperative ileus.  With his trademark candid...

Send us Fan Mail Meet Olie Bosley. Olie is an IT and cybersecurity expert from Oxford, UK who has suffered from Crohn's disease symptoms for nearly 30 years. We invited Olie to join us for this episode as he has an important story to share: what happens when the drug that has kept you well for so long - in his case Humira (adalimumab) - without notice causes you side effects that mean you nee...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we gaze deep into the gut-brain axis with Dr. Gita Robson, a clinical psychologist who specialises in  gastroenterology. Our brains and guts chatter in both directions constantly, and we wanted to understand if this had an implications in how Crohn's and ulcerative colitis patients can better manage their disease. 🔍 What We Cover Why the gut might be our “fi...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 16 of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast , we're talking a perennial favourite with Crohn's and UC patients: diet and nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Our expert guest is Dearbhaile O'Hanlon, principal gastroenterology dietitian at Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London, UK.   We discuss everything from emulsifiers and ult...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 15 of Wrestling the Octopus: the IBD Patient Podcast , Nigel and I cover a topic that receives not nearly as much attention as it should: Bile Acid Diarrhoea (BAD) / Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM) in Crohn's disease. Our expert guest is gastroenterologist, Professor Julian Walters from Imperial College London in the UK. Through Nigel's story, we also get a cand...

Send us Fan Mail Every IBD patient will have likely had a run-in with iron deficiency or anaemia at some point while living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. And for many of us it’s a constant problem. So in this episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast , Nigel and I wanted to invite an iron expert to join us and talk us through what inflammatory bowel disease patients n...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, folks! Think of this episode as a commercial break between our interviews with patients and healthcare professionals. In Episode 13, Nigel and I shoot the breeze about our lives with inflammatory bowel disease... with a little bit of insight into what it means to be a patient with either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. We also swap notes on the annoying h...