Month: October 2014

Thoughts on my Anniversary

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As the eighth anniversary of my first surgery approaches, I find myself recalling the days leading up to it and the events that followed in vivid detail, as tends to be the case each year. I don’t really do it with a sense of brooding or sadness; often times it feels as though I’m almost watching a highlight reel of someone else’s life, as I still occasionally struggle with incorporating both halves of me into the same person, if that makes any sense at all. With so many surgeries occurring over a two year period in my life, one of the two that stay with me the most was the first surgery I had, the emergency colectomy done on November, 2nd, 2006.  I know why the first one is so important, of course, as that is the day my life changed forever.  It is the day I was given a second chance, and a day that my worst fears (at the time) were realized.  Up until that day, regardless of how horrid I felt, how …

Establishing a Team of Doctors

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One of the more important subjects for those with IBD or any sort of autoimmune disease is establishing the right team of doctors. Finding good ones, keeping them, and developing a relationship that allows for a sense of trust, which I feel is hard to come by these days.  Let’s face it, if you’re reading this, it’s not likely that you are going to be the “once a year for my annual physical” type of a patient.  You’re much more likely to be the “I need your cell phone number, vacation schedule and access to your Outlook calendar” kind.  And it’s not just one doctor you’re looking for, but likely a combination of two or even four that must talk not only to you, but to each other, to make sure everyone, including the patient, is on the same page.  This is a tremendous feat and involves a pretty kick ass Primary Care Physician.  Make no mistake about it: you will need an excellent GI doc, possibly a skilled surgeon and maybe even a hematologist, …

Awareness Month Rant

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So remember when I warned you that I was probably going to offend people on a regular basis?  Yeah, that might start today.  I’ve waited until almost the end of another pink-infused October, with it’s constant reminders about Breast Cancer Awareness, to discuss this.  First, let’s put it out there that I think what the Breast Cancer community has done to promote awareness of the disease is nothing short of amazing, and it has no doubt helped save countless lives that may have succumbed to the horrid disease.  I applaud those that donate their time, money and resources to the cause.  And still, every October as we are inundated with everything in varying shades of pink from football jerseys to water bottle labels and can holders, it upsets me that more recognition is not dedicated to the colon and it’s maladies.  Of course, May 19th is World IBD Day, though I’m sure that if you asked the average person, they’d have no idea it existed, and way back in 2000, President Clinton declared the month …

My Story

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So what the hell qualifies me to provide advice for those with IBD? To make a long (and ongoing) story somewhat shorter, I first developed symptoms in my senior year of college.  It seems like it happened practically overnight, me going from a very healthy college student working two jobs to one that was taking two dozen trips to the bathroom every day, hunched over in pain,  having no idea what this was or what I did to cause it.  I made it through my senior year and, as planned, began to get things set in motion for a move to attend graduate school in the fall of 2002.  That summer, all hell broke loose. My mother and I went from doctor to doctor, looking for answers; meanwhile, I had somehow convinced myself that this was entirely stress-induced, a product of moving, starting a new job and graduate school all at once. I was told it was IBS, depression, and possibly a psychosomatic response to all of the pressures I was putting on myself.  We …

Welcome!!!!

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I suppose I should preface any of my posts by making it clear that there is a lot of information out there on Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in general. There are books and websites that focus on areas ranging from what to expect when you’re newly diagnosed to different diets that are recommended to treat the symptoms.  This is not one of those, though I may post information about these subjects from time to time.  By no means am I attempting to discourage you from reading any of this information, as I firmly believe that informed decisions are a hell of a lot better than uninformed ones.  I would strongly advise anyone with IBD to read as much and as often about the disease, research and treatments as you can.  Read the monotonous stuff about medical trials.  Read the studies on the effects varied diets have had on the symptoms.  Read about alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, massage therapy, medicinal marijuana and chiropractic care.  Find good doctors that you trust …