About IBD

How do your pets help you with your IBD? I speak to Meredith Mangold, "The Bowel Battling Badass," about the role her dogs have played in her life. She became seriously ill with ulcerative colitis, which progressed into a rare complication called toxic megacolon. As her journey with IBD progressed, she eventually needed colectomy surgery, and has since been diagnosed with other immune-mediated conditions. Her two dogs, however, have become a big part of her advocacy work and they help her manage the pain and loneliness that come with chronic illness.

Concepts discussed on this episode:

• Toxic megacolon
• CT Scan
• Ileus
• Extra-intestinal Manifestations of IBD
• Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
• Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis

Find Meredith Mangold of The Bowel Battling Badass at Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

The back to school period is already a time of so much change but once again in this pandemic, parents and school systems are also facing difficult choices. The experiences of families during the pandemic has been diverse, which means that individual needs need to be addressed. But how do we manage that? Dr Brad Jerson Pediatric Psychologist in the Division of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Connecticut Children's, puts some framing around these issues and how we might approach them. Topics discussed include making the decision to go back to school in the building, 504 plans for kids with digestive conditions, and helping kids to transition to school in a difficult atmosphere.

Concepts discussed on this episode:

• 8 Tips to Help Kids With Special Needs Adjust to a New School Year
• What to Do When Your Child or Teen Doesn't Want to Go Back to School
• What Should Parents Know About the Delta Variant, Kids and Back to School?
• How to Check On Your Child's Mental Health

Find Dr Brad Jerson on Twitter and at Connecticut Children's.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

This is the second part of my conversation with Kathleen Nicholls, author of "Go Your Crohn Way: A Gutsy Guide to Living with Crohn's Disease" and "My Flare Lady: A Handbook for Today's (Diseased) Dame." Hear the first part in Episode 97, where Kathleen tells us about her Crohn's disease diagnosis and how blogging became the way she processes her disease journey.

We talk about how to answer when people ask us how we're doing. Which leads to another topic, and that's how providers can ask patients about whether or not they want to pursue parenthood. Kathleen also gives blogging tips, including a hard truth, and offers advice to anyone who is newly diagnosed. However, I think her wisdom is important for long-term patients as well.

Buy Kathleen's Books:

• Go Your Crohn Way: A Gutsy Guide to Living with Crohn's Disease
• My Flare Lady: a handbook for today's (diseased) dame

Find Kathleen Nicholls on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on her web site, KathFantastic.com.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

Life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) brings challenges and many life changes but it can also sometimes bring unexpected opportunities.

Kathleen Nicholls, author of "Go Your Crohn Way: A Gutsy Guide to Living with Crohn's Disease" and "My Flare Lady: a handbook for today's (diseased) dame" was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in her 20s. She started a blog as a way to process her disease journey. She was stunned when people started reading it and when publishers became interested. Two books later, she shares the lessons she learned along the way.

Buy Kathleen's Books:

• Go Your Crohn Way: A Gutsy Guide to Living with Crohn's Disease
• My Flare Lady: a handbook for today's (diseased) dame

Find Kathleen Nicholls on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on her web site, KathFantastic.com.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

The patient advocacy space is lacking the voices of men and especially men of color. The result is that the IBD community is not diverse enough to provide the kind of support that they need.

Jordan McConnell, the founder of Crohn's Veteran, is looking to change the dynamics of the online IBD space. Jordan served in the military and was eventually discharged due to his Crohn's disease. It was a shock and changed his career plans unexpectedly. His disease journey showed him that he needed to be the change and he developed his podcast and his brand to support men and the larger IBD community.

Concepts discussed in this episode:

• Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
• Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS)
• How to Prepare Yourself for Ileostomy Surgery
• Parts of the Small Intestine

Find Jordan McConnell on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Find Crohn's Veteran on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Twitch, and on their web site, Crohn's Veteran.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

What is the next innovation in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? Is it the microbiome? Stem cells? Or, is it the emerging field of bioelectric medicine?

IBD is a complicated disease to treat and can bring complications and other, related conditions. The problem is the immune-mediated nature of the disease and how it affects the entire body. For Kelly Owens, who lives with Crohn's disease, bioelectric medicine has bumped her into remission and changed her life in several ways. Today she goes by "Vagus Nerve Girl" because she had a device implanted in her chest that stimulates her vagus nerve. For her, this treatment has been a resounding success.

Episode page and transcript can be found at: https://aboutibd.com/?p=1984

Concepts discussed in this episode:

• TED Talk: How electricity could replace your medications - Neurosurgeon Kevin Tracey
• Osteoporosis
• Discovery and Functions of Acetylcholine
• Anatomy of the Vagus Nerve
• What Is Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)?

Find Kelly Owens on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and on her blog, Vagus Nerve Girl.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

Motherhood comes in all shapes and sizes. The intersection of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and motherhood is often left out of the discussion and single motherhood and IBD is pretty much ignored altogether. That's why I asked my close friend and co-founder of IBDMoms, Brooke Abbott of The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles, to tell me about her challenges and her successes living with IBD, a j-pouch, and being a single mom of a young son.

Concepts discussed in this episode:

• What Are the Five Love Languages?
• An Overview of Asacol (Oral Mesalamine)
• How Does Implicit Bias Influence Behavior?
• Black Women Suffer Most From Restrictive Reproduction Policies, Study Shows
• Racial Disparities in Maternal Health May Be at a Pivot Point
• How Prince Shook Up the Music Industry
• Motherhood Unplugged on Lights, Camera, Crohn's

Complete show notes and transcript found at https://aboutibd.com/?p=1965.

Find Brooke Abbott on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and on her blog, The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles.

Find IBDMoms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

It's one thing to talk to your physicians about becoming pregnant when you live with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. But what about getting the benefit of experiences from the mothers who have been through a pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding journey? Former news anchor and current blogger and Crohn's patient Natalie Hayden gives her experiences with pregnancy and receiving biologics, as well as how she has participated in research during her pregnancies and the benefits it offers her family.

Concepts discussed in this episode:

• What is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction?
• An Overview of Sacroiliac Joint Pain
• IBD Parenthood Project
• Mother to Baby Studies - Crohn's Disease
• Mother to Baby Studies - Ulcerative Colitis
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
• What Is Colostrum?
• Motherhood Unplugged on
• The PIANO Registry

Complete show notes and transcript found at https://aboutibd.com/2021/05/16/about-ibd-podcast-episode-93---motherhood-unplugged-with-natalie-hayden/

Find Natalie Hayden, MD on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at Lights, Camera, Crohn's.

Find IBDMoms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

We used to be told that women with IBD couldn't have children. We were also told people with IBD shouldn't have children.

The truth is this: women with IBD get pregnant and have healthy pregnancies and babies. We have more evidence and guidance than ever before. Gastroenterologist Dr Jill Gaidos, Associate Professor of Medicine in the section of Digestive Diseases and the Director of Clinical Research for the Yale Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Program discusses the finer points of pregnancy and IBD. When to seek help for fertility, what medications should be continued in pregnancy, and the risk of passing on IBD to children.

Concepts discussed in this episode:

• The PIANO Registry
• Conversations with Women in GI
• Updates on the Safety of Using Newer IBD Medications during Pregnancy

Find Jill Gaidos, MD on Twitter and at Yale Health.

Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Credits: Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney. Theme music, "IBD Dance Party," is from ©Cooney Studio.

Hey, it's Amber. I want to tell you about my limited podcast series, Healthcare Disparities in IBD.

IBD used to be thought of as a Western disease. Something that happened in developed countries like the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia. IBD was also thought to mainly affect White people and people of Jewish heritage. However, these demographics are changing, and IBD is now considered a global disease.[1]

A harmful and pervasive misconception is that IBD does not affect people of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Minority patients are sometimes told that they can't have an IBD because they are of African, Latinx, Native American, or Asian descent. This leads to a delay in diagnosis and care. In the setting of IBD, which is difficult to treat, this can lead to significant complications that negatively affect every aspect of a person's life.

In this limited series, we explore the ways in which the healthcare system is underserving minority and LGBTQ patients who live with an IBD. We cover the spectrum of this issue including the lack of research in minority populations, how cultural ideas around nutrition affects patients, how patients of color can be better supported, and how legislation can play a role.

As a long-term IBD patient myself, it's my goal to help physicians, industry, and legislators understand how inequalities affect the IBD community and what they should be doing to improve patient care.

Subscribe to Healthcare Disparities in IBD wherever you listen to podcasts.

[1]Molodecky NA, Soon IS, Rabi DM, et al. Increasing incidence and prevalence of the inflammatory bowel diseases with time, based on systematic review. Gastroenterology. 2012;142:46-e30. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2011.10.001

Credits:

Healthcare Disparities in IBD is written, produced, and directed by Amber Tresca.

Theme music, mix, and sound design is by Cooney Studio.