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,…
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…
Inflammatory bowel what? So what the heck is IBD anyway? I’ve been talking about it a lot, but I have yet to actually define it. Whoops. Most of you reading are likely already well versed in IBD: you are living it, or you know someone who is living with it. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, new to IBD, or need a refresher…here are a few quick IBD facts. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)…
The person behind the keyboard… I guess you should know a few things about the person speaking to you from the other end of the keyboard. My name is Chris. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2016. Since then, there have been many, many ups and downs. Horrific experiences I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Yet also experiences of love, understanding and unconditional support which I am so grateful for. I have failed and fallen…
Blog Post #1 Alright people in internet land. Disclaimer: I know nothing about blogs. Zip-zero actually. I do know a fair amount about IBD though. Ulcerative colitis. I’ve lived it for the past 7 years. It has been quite the ride. Lots of struggles. A few successes. I’ve learned a lot. And I continue to learn and heal… My goal here is create a place where people living with IBD can come together and chat.…
