Bowel Moments

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This week we talk to Dr. Tim Ritter- Senior Medical Director and lead for Clinical Trials at the GI Alliance.  Dr. Ritter has been treating patients with IBD for more than 30 years and has a special interest in clinical trials. We talk to him about what's happening in the IBD research space, talking to patients about clinical trials, what patients can expect from participating in a trial, and bourbon. 

Links: 

• Information on trials happening at GI Alliance
• Information for patients on clinical trials- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 
• Information on clinical trials for patients- Clinicaltrials.gov site
• Clinical Trials: What Patients Need to Know- FDA
• Video on participating in clinical trials- National Institutes on Aging

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This week we talk to Nicole Williams- Licensed Professional Counselor! Nicole has more than 20 years of experience in providing therapy services and specializes in working with people living with chronic illness. We talk to her about the grief and loss wheel she developed to help her patients understand the emotions that can go along with being diagnosed and living with a chronic illness, we talk about self-advocacy and being the captain of your healthcare team, we talk about resources you can use if you're living with a chronic illness, and we talk about living well and fully with IBD.

Links that Nicole mentions:
- Heartmath
- MyGoodDays.org
- Healingwell.com
- WeAreCapeable.org

Folder with resources Nicole Covers.

Books Nicole Mentions:
- 7 Steps to Living with a Chronic Illness- By Matt Cavallo
- Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties- By Laurie Edwards
- Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired- By Paul Donoghue and Mary Seigel
- Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness: How to Stay Sane and Live One Step Ahead of Your Symptoms- By Ilana Jaqueline
- How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide- By Toni Bernhard
- You Don't LOOK Sick! Living Well With Invisible Chronic Illness- By Joy H. Selak, PhD

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This week we talked to Dr. Tiffany Taft! Dr. Taft founded Oak Park Behavioral Medicine in 2012 and serves in an administrative leadership role. She completed her doctoral degree at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and predoctoral internship at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Dr. Taft helped launch the first integrated behavioral medicine service in gastroenterology in the United States at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she worked from 2009 to 2023. She is an internationally recognized expert in the psychosocial effects of chronic digestive diseases. Now as a “retired” Associate Professor, Dr. Taft has brought together an excellent team of clinicians dedicated to expanding access to specialty GI psychology services for patients in Illinois communities and across the United States.

Links: 

• cool video about Dr. Taft and what it's like to be a GI psychologist
• Working with a psychologist for IBD video
  
  

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This week we had extra special guests- we welcomed Robin's daughters- Logan and Baylee! We discussed what is was like to grown up with a mom with IBD, how that may or may not have shaped their career choices, how Robin's parenting and their close relationship has shaped the way they live their lives, and we also share some fun childhood memories. This was a fun and heartwarming episode to record- we hope you enjoy! 

Links: 

• An interesting blog on parenting with Crohn's disease- CBC
• IBDMoms- a safe space to talk about parenting with IBD
• Mamas Facing Forward- a group for moms living with chronic illnesses
• A blog on parenting with Crohn's by Natalie Hayden- Lights Camera Crohn's

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This week we talk to Brittany Rogers (formerly Roman-Green)! Brittany is an IBD-focused registered dietitian nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and behavior change specialist. She's the the co-leader of the diet and nutrition national scientific advisory committee for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the national leader of the Registered Dietitians in IBD practice group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the founder of Romanwell. She also happens to live with ulcerative colitis! Brittany is a non-diet dietitian and believes in a health at every size (HAES) approach. She's passionate about her work and helping her patients live well.  We sincerely enjoyed our conversation about intuitive eating, IBD and food myths, and where research on diets and IBD are taking us. 

Links: 

• Brittany's company- Romanwell
• Diet and Nutrition Information- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 

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This week we talk to Dr. Smita Mehta, PT, DPT, PRPC! Dr. Mehta is a pelvic floor physical therapist and part of a multidisciplinary team for IBD at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. She clarified what pelvic floor PT is, how it can help people living with IBD, how to find your pelvic floor, and so much more. This conversation was absolutely fascinating and a revelation for both of us. And Dr. Mehta is so passionate about her work! In addition to her impressive resume on pelvic floor rehabilitation, she also has certificates in Post Partum Corrective Exercise and Pelvic Oncology Rehabilitation and completed her Ashtanga Yoga Teacher's training.


Links: 

• Image on what and where are your pelvic floor muscles - from Dr. Mehta 
• Article "Gut-Directed Pelvic Floor Behavioral Treatment for Fecal Incontinence and Constipation in Patients with IBD" 
• Article: "Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in IBD" 
• Article: "Systematic review: Pelvic floor muscle training for functional bowel symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease"
• Article: "Nonrelaxing Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Is an Underestimated Complication of Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis"
• Video explaining pelvic floor muscles- Mayo Clinic
• "Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in IBD" - recorded session- Partnership between Own Your Crohn's and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

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Meet Kim K! Alicia had to miss this recording so you'll hear an intimate conversation between long time friends Robin and Kim. Kim was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was very, very young and before there were really any treatments for kids. They spend a lot of time talking about raising kids while having IBD and how that may have helped their kids become more empathetic and understanding. They also talk about how IBD has impacted their relationships and how they cope with symptoms like brain fog and fatigue. And Kim and Robin have some great advice to share on living life to the fullest.

Links:
- Moms with IBD
- Ostomy resources
- Relationships and IBD/Marriage and IBD
- Brain Fog
- Fatigue

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This week we're joined by a couple of our past guests- Dr. Anish Patel and Dr. Ashish S. Patel- to discuss what's new in IBD research and what's coming down the pipeline! We had a great discussion about biosimilars, predicting colectomy risk in kids diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, using ultrasounds to help track disease progression, precision medicine, and new therapeutics. We learned a lot, gained a lot of hope for better patient quality of life, bemoaned the healthcare system, had a lot of laughs, and realized that Anish might be trying to take our jobs as the host of Bowel Moments.

Links to articles of interest:
Biosimilars- https://academic.oup.com/ibdjournal/article/28/4/495/6278840
https://academic.oup.com/ibdjournal/article-abstract/28/4/531/6284046?redirectedFrom=fulltext 

Clinical and Host Biological Factors Predict Colectomy Risk in Children Newly Diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis

Point-of-care ultrasound in IBD

New Targets in IBD Therapy: 2021
 

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In this episode you'll meet Dr. Sunanda V. Kane! Dr. Kane is a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; physician chair of the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy’s Fellow Subcommittee; and assistant chair of patient experience in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division of the Mayo Clinic. She has a special and passionate interest in women and IBD and so we spend a lot of time talking about fertility, hormones, pregnancy, and sexuality. We also talk about her upcoming book for patients on living well with IBD, being one of few female GIs, the PIANO study on pregnant women on IBD biologics, and a brief foray into why cilantro and ginger taste weird to some people. 

Links: 

• Dr. Kane's Upcoming Book- Preorder now! 
• PIANO Study- Safety of IBD biologics during pregnancy
• Information and resources on pregnancy and IBD- MothertoBaby.org
• Pregnancy and IBD Factsheet- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 
• Sex, Intimacy, and IBD Factsheet- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 
• Video on Sexuality and IBD- Canadian Society on Intestinal Research
• Fistula Removal- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 
• (Lots more links for fistula information on Josie's episode!)

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This week we share a tequila cocktail with Josie McGarva! We talk about her Crohn's disease and her struggle with fistulas and abscesses. We also spend quite a bit of time talking about mental health and IBD and Josie's graduate work in health psychology. She's making great strides researching Post Traumatic Stress and IBD and health disparities and IBD. Very cool stuff and we're really excited. We also talked about how opening up about her disease and how getting an ostomy empowered her, gave her more freedom, and helped her connect with others. You won't want to miss this episode! Follow Josie on Instagram! @it_takesguts

Links:
A journal article by Josie's Graduate Advisory on Post Traumatic Stress and IBD
Intestinal Complications information from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Information on Fistula Removal Surgery- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Information on Abscess Draining- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Information on Fistulas and Abscesses- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada
An educational video on Fistulas- Cleveland Clinic
A video on how to change your ostomy bag- Phoenix Children's Hospital
So many great videos on living with an ostomy!- United Ostomy Association
Mental health & IBD- Cleveland Clinic

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