Hi readers. First off, a HUGE apology to anybody who has been following my blog regularly. I haven’t posted in quite a while. Don’t worry – I’m fine. Health-wise, and all that. Nothing bad happened. Summer got busy. Life happened—competing priorities. Chalk it up to motivation fizzling. I am human, after all. But I’m not throwing in the towel yet. Not this guy! So here I am, trying to re-kindle my motivation to return to…
Weighing the decision The dreaded “S-word”. The thought of surgery can bring up a ton of emotions for those living with IBD. Some are negative, like fear, panic, and uncertainty. Others are more positive – change, hope, and healing. This post is for anyone with IBD who may be considering surgery. Or has undergone surgery…or is supporting someone undergoing surgery. When I was first diagnosed with IBD in 2016, the prospect of surgery rarely crossed…
Hi all. Apologies it’s been so long since I’ve posted. This week we are talking about embarrassment. IBD and embarrassment kind of go hand in hand… Adventures in IBD If you live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, chances are you have had a few embarrassing experiences. Or a lot of them. They can be hard to talk about…the humiliating medical procedures and interactions. The unpredictable bowels. The frequent sprints to the bathroom. Smells. Accidents.…
In the beginning The road to diagnosing IBD is often a frustrating process – overwhelming, scary, and embarrassing. Your whole world can feel like it’s being turned upside down. IBD can be a pain in the butt to diagnose (sorry, bad pun). Symptoms vary person-to-person. You may experience varying degrees of diarrhea, nausea, cramping, bloating, or fatigue. Initially, many chalk it up to nothing. IBD can be mistaken for a laundry list of different issues,…
Ostomy life After my ileostomy surgery, I don’t think anybody told me that I would need some sort of supportive belt or cover for my ostomy appliance. To be honest, I was so focused on healing at the time that the thought never really crossed my mind. But as I started to heal, and move around and go more places, I began to notice that my appliance would annoyingly flop around. It felt strange having…
Looking back… If only I had a time machine. If I could relay some wellness advice to the “me” of 4 or 5 years ago (the “me” that was sick and struggling and suffering), what would I say to that person? There are a few things I know today that I sure as heck wish I knew then. Things nobody told me. Things I learned the hard way. Some by trial and error. Some I…
I never leave the house without it Call it what you want…Every Day Carry Kit…travel-satchel…man purse…for those living with an ostomy, having the essential “gear” with you at all times is essential. I take mine wherever I go. And to tell you the truth…I rarely, if ever, need to use the stuff inside it (99.9%of my appliance changes are done at home). But it gives me peace of mind. And, on that rare instance where…
From physician to remission Right now there is no cure for IBD. The main goal then is to find a medication that will put you into remission (heal the lining of your GI tract) and keep you in remission. For some, this will be a relatively straightforward process: you find a med that works and stay on it (“maintenance”). Likely forever. Or until they find a cure for IBD. Or until your body develops a…
Can I buy a bowel? Wheel of Fortune jokes aside, living with IBD can be painful. It can be frustrating. Scary. Embarrassing. Agonizing…Soul crushing. I can think of a lot of gloomy adjectives to describe it. And IBD often varies so much person-to-person – age of diagnosis, symptoms, response to medications, extent of disease. No two people’s experience is the same. I’ve had quite the…ahem…colorful experience with IBD. There was a period of a couple…
What could have been… As I said in my last post, one of the most important lessons that I am still learning in regard to living with IBD is self-compassion. By no means am I an expert. I have most likely just barely scratched the surface when it comes to the potential of self-compassion, but it has been immensely helpful. I often think how things might have turned out differently had I adopted a more…
