Breaking the streak… Not too long ago, I had an almost two-year streak of zero hospital stays going. Sadly, that streak was broken in February. And again a few days ago. Life is unpredictable like that. Like most people, hospital stays always leave me feeling shaken, humbled…, and rattled. The hospital can be a hard place to deal with. Incredibly hard sometimes. After several glorious years of staying away from the hospital, I had forgotten…
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow’.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher Impact of IBD Honesty alert: IBD ravaged my life. That is not saying, of course, that I didn’t help it along the way. I have heard many stories similar to mine – about the physical and mental toll that IBD can exert on one’s life. The journeys are all…
Dealing with doctors If you are living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, there is a good chance you are going to have a fair amount of interaction with the health system. Especially early on during diagnosis or during a flare. This usually involves a lot of doctors appointments. Unfortunately, this is just a fact of life for many of those with IBD. Picture this: you are sitting in a small exam room waiting to…
As I said in a previous post: “Oh, prednisone, what a magical, terrible drug you are”. And I mean it. For people with IBD who are in the midst of a bad flare – prednisone can literally be a lifesaver, as it can knock down inflammation FAST. Of course, I am not a doctor, and everything I say in this post should be taken with a grain of salt. However…for better or worse, I do…
One of my goals for the new year is to do more “mindfulness stuff” – meditation, breathing exercises, gratitude and the like… Meditation has always been one I’ve needed help with though. For the longest time, I thought that the goal of meditation was to achieve total clarity of the mind. You know…where nothing is going on inside your head and thoughts except stillness. Because I could never really achieve anything remotely resembling that (my…
Hi All. After another lengthy hiatus…I’m back at the keyboard. Here’s hoping 2024 brings us all good things. I’d like to start the new year by saying a huge thank you to those who have posted comments and positive feedback on my blog. Your words are incredibly touching, and it warms my heart to know that even just a few people are benefiting from this project. This latest post is focused on a topic that…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
