We had so much fun filming this video for Nature Outlook’s focus on Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Continue readingBowel Disease in the Internet Age
Finding the Good in the Bad with Chronic Illness
My situation is my situation. I have these health conditions, like it or not, and they aren’t going anywhere. I certainly don’t like that I have had to go through so much but I refuse to live a negative life and say that nothing good has come out of this. Truth is, there are some…
Continue readingWho Am I Now? After Being Diagnosed
Maybe you’ve thought about it before. Maybe you think about it all the time. Do you find yourself yearning to be the person you used to be? Do you think about how able your body was, dream about a sport you used to play well, or wish that your body could do all the things it used to be able to do? I used to think about stuff like this often and during difficult times I
Continue readingHow the “Ugliest Disease” Made Me Feel the Most Beautiful
For many years I was too embarrassed to talk about my Crohn’s disease so I grew up depressed and alone with my illness. The ugly things that IBD can do to the body is just awful. It fucks with areas of the body that are considered taboo by most to discuss and the symptoms inflammatory bowel disease can cause are capable of stripping you of your dignity.
I thought that Crohn’s disease was the ugliest disease you could possibly have but now…
Continue readingThe Shower of All Showers: It’s the “I’m Going to the Hospital” Shower
I’m sure when I had my J-pouch surgery I was put into positions I really don’t want to think about and who wants their surgeon looking at a hairy butt crack (not that mine is hairy, but yours could be. I wont judge). This hairy ass could affect their work if all they can think about is how hairy it is, I’ve seen Grey’s Anatomy!
Continue readingThere is Nothing That Makes You Gross, Dirty, or Unattractive Because You Have IBD
I’ve gone through some real lows during the many years I’ve had this disease. I’ve been down to 82 pounds, my hair has fallen out, my body has broken out in acne from steroids, I’ve lost teeth, and have been crippled by…
Continue readingMy Muscles Atrophied, I Couldn’t Climb Stairs, I Lost it All… but I Learned How to be More Positive
I came home at around 82 pounds which was terribly underweight for my 5’5″ body. The first thing I wanted to do when I got home was go lay down in my bedroom but I discovered that I couldn’t climb the stairs.
I.COULDN’T.CLIMB.STAIRS…
Continue readingI Spent Years Isolated and Feeling Ashamed because of Crohn’s Disease
When I was on steroids and experiencing side-effects that made me feel ugly, I was alone. When I lost my job, had to quit school, and moved back home, I did it by myself. When I was a teenage girl dealing with puberty and chronic illness, I thought I was the only one. When I was having accidents, I isolated myself. When I had J-pouch surgery, I didn’t know anyone who could relate…
Continue readingIf Several IBD Patients Lived In One House…
A medicine walk-in closet?
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