Crohn’s Fitness Food

Ashley Zuchelli shares her journey with Crohn's disease, from the onset of symptoms to her recent diagnosis. She discusses the challenges she faced in finding a doctor who would listen and the frustration of not knowing what was causing her symptoms. Ashley also talks about the impact of Crohn's on her work and how she manages anxiety. Finally, she shares her motivation for advocacy and raising awareness about IBD. In this conversation, Ashley Zuchelli shares her journey with IBD and the challenges she faced in getting a diagnosis. She emphasizes the importance of realizing when something is wrong and seeking help, even when faced with fears and uncertainties. The conversation also highlights the difficulties doctors face in diagnosing IBD and the need for patients to advocate for themselves. Ashley encourages listeners to not give up on their goals, to prioritize their health, and to listen to our bodies and not dismiss symptoms.

Takeaways

• Finding a supportive and understanding doctor is crucial in the journey to diagnosis and treatment.

Topics covered in the interview

• Ashley's Journey with Crohn's Disease

From the show

Stephanie: What have you done over the years to help manage anxiety?

Ashley: I would say meal prepping actually soothes me and it keeps my mind at ease because I know if I am hungry or if…I’m feeling good that day, I have food ready for me and it just makes me happy just cooking in the kitchen…And then I started doing the HelloFresh program, where I get ingredients sent to me and then I just cook. I don't have to think about the recipes. They have dietary restrictions on there of things you can and cannot eat, so that helps my anxiety—to make sure I have the food I need when I have a long day at work or if we go travel.

feeling so great today or, you know, I do have that type of job where if I wasn't feeling well, I can block that time and deal with what I need to deal with. If I had a flare or upset stomach from eating something or just.

Stephanie: How do you balance work and work in IBD?

Ashley: You know, Crohn's being Crohn's, acting up when it's not the best time, so I was just honest with my clients. Like if I didn't feel well, like I have to go to the bathroom, [saying] I'll be right back. We don't discuss what happens in the bathroom, but they know I need a moment to break away because of issues going on…I am grateful that I have the luxury to make my own schedule when a flare happens.

Links from the show:

• Follow Ashley: https://www.instagram.com/azuchelli4

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Shop my favorite products,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Back on medication and mindset changes during my Crohn’s journey

It’s been over 20 years since my colon started bleeding and my inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) journey began. In 2003, I ignored the symptoms of blood, pain, and bloating for nearly three years. When I finally sought help in 2006 after a severe flare, it took another three years to reach a diagnosis. In those first six years, I was left to my own devices to try and stop the symptoms and find some way of living a normal life. 

When I finally had an IBD diagnosis in 2009, I was relieved to have answers and eager for pharmaceutical help to finally eliminate my symptoms. Eventually, I ended up on a combination therapy of both Imuran and HUMIRA. I got better, but not completely. I didn’t have the uncontrollable diarrhea that kept me at home for three months during my first severe flare-up, but I still struggled off and on with pain, blood, and mucus. 

I found that I had to watch my diet in order to get the most relief, and my obsession with food and supplements became fanatical. Then, after five years, I thought I had learned and experimented enough that I could stop my medications. And so, under the supervision of my gastroenterologist, I did. I was 32 years old.

I was completely free of medications for a little over a year. But, when I started living life again – enjoying food and finding myself in stressful situations that life tends to bring – I went into a moderate flare. I went back on medications for a few months and by the end of 2016, I was off all medications once again.

After that, I had multiple minor flare-ups during the next few years involving pain, mucus, and bloating, that I was able to work through using CBD, extended fasting, meditation, and extremely restrictive diets. I didn’t seek medication or medical help and thought I was doing fine. In early 2022, I was actually feeling really good and the minor flare-ups seemed to be behind me. But, as many of you can guess how this story goes, IBD wasn’t done with me. In the summer of 2022, I had my first bout of intestinal bleeding in over five years.

I tried to seek help, but the flare happened during the middle of our move from Texas to Florida and I couldn’t get set up with my new doctors in Florida without going through a few hoops with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It was (and I’m sure still is) a requirement that I see my new primary care doctor first, and then she would need to put in new referrals for me to be seen in the gastroenterology and nephrology clinics – even though I already had those specialists assigned to me in Texas. 

By the time I got to see my new doctors, my symptoms had fortunately gone away and I was back to feeling good. But, that only got me dismissed by the VA’s gastroenterologist and another four month wait to get assigned to a gastroenterologist in the VA’s community care network, thanks to the help of my primary care provider.   

For the past year and a half, I’ve been well. But we all know that IBD is a disease of remission and flare-ups. Fast forward to today, not even a full two years later, and I’m back in a moderate flare. This time, while it’s not the worst I’ve ever been, it’s the worst I’ve been in a long time. For the past two months, I’ve been passing blood and mucus up to twelve times a day, frequently nauseous, fatigued (so fatigued!) with low iron saturation showing on my lab results, experiencing intermittent pain and extreme bloating (my fellow IBD warriors know what I’m talking about), and feeling pretty lousy overall. Even my kidney function has declined (it’s still fine and we’re still watching it, but I find it interesting to see distinct changes in my lab values while my body battles inflammation from Crohn’s).

I’ve still been able to leave the house and do things, but the dread of being anywhere not close to a bathroom is back. I’ve been avoiding meals with friends, fasting a few hours longer than usual if I’m going to be out running errands, and wondering what foods are causing my pain this time.

It’s been almost ten years since I was on HUMIRA, and during that time, I’ve changed.

For starters, I don’t want my life to be controlled by my diet. I don’t want to go back to being obsessed with food and every single bite I put into my mouth. My health journey is more complicated now. I’m on medication to lower my blood pressure and hopefully stop IgA nephropathy from causing further damage to my kidneys. I’m taking omeprazole to relieve symptoms of silent reflux, which is causing inflammation in my esophagus and stomach. And that little thing we call stress, which is also my biggest IBD trigger, is not going away – no matter how much sauerkraut I eat or meditation and yoga that I do.

I still think diet and lifestyle play significant roles in overall health, but I accept and recognize that at this point, I need more than that.

In my current state, I’m reluctant to use some of the supplements and methods I tried in the past. Now that I’m on blood pressure medication, I don’t feel safe doing periods of extended fasting because my heart rate drops low and I get lightheaded if I go longer than sixteen hours fasting. So many products have warnings against taking them if you have kidney disease and I don’t want to accidentally take an herb or supplement that either lowers my blood pressure even more or causes additional damage to my kidneys. I don’t have the knowledge or expertise to start combining natural and pharmaceutical treatments; it’s not a road I want to travel. Finally, even though daily meditation has numerous benefits, it doesn’t eliminate stressful situations from happening in life. People get sick, work has deadlines, and travel or new experiences can cause anxiety, even if they are exciting adventures.

So this time, I’m ready. 

This time, I’m not starting medication with one foot out the door. I don’t want to wonder what damage is being done by inflammation in my body during minor flare-ups that I try to ignore. I don’t want moderate and severe flare-ups to prevent me from enjoying life. I want to live my best life and I’m ready to do that with a biologic medication again.

When my symptoms began in early March, we were out of town, so I waited a week to contact my gastroenterologist. When I reached out, he ordered some blood work and a fecal calprotectin test. My CRP was quite a bit higher than my baseline levels, but still considered within the normal range. My calprotectin, however, was definitely high. 

So, with my symptoms worsening and a high calprotectin test, my gastroenterologist recommended it was time I go back on medication for Crohn’s and I agreed with him. I was finally able to receive my loading dose of HADLIMA this past Friday, April 26 (a biosimilar for HUMIRA that was introduced to the U.S. commercial market on July 1, 2023). My doctor did actually prescribe HUMIRA, but I learned that the VA announced in February that they selected HADLIMA (adalimumab-bwwd), a biosimilar, to replace HUMIRA on the VA National Formulary.(1) It’s my understanding that the change took place just this month.

As an aside, over the past week I’ve spent a lot of time on Google catching up on the progress that’s been made in the last ten years for IBD medications. I’ve learned quite a bit about biosimilars, biosimilars with an interchangeability designation(2), and JAK inhibitors that I’ll try to write about in a later post!

Even though it’s been less than a week since I took my loading dose of HADLIMA, I’m already starting to feel better. I know there are risks that come with medications, but there are risks that come with natural treatments and even greater risks when inflammation in the body isn’t treated at all. I can’t see the damage that may have been done when I ignored minor flare-ups during the years I stopped HUMIRA, but I know I don’t want this current moderate flare to take a turn for the worse and I’d like to try and prevent them altogether in the future. 

It’s been a long journey with Crohn’s disease and I know it’s far from over. As I reflect back to my first six years with IBD and being left on my own to manage symptoms, I now wonder if I would have been so determined to come off medications ten years ago if I would have received the help and diagnosis I needed at the very beginning. I don’t know the answer to that, but what I do know is that as life goes on, we evolve, we grow, and things change – including our perspectives and even beliefs we once held so tightly. 

I’m ready now, and I’m grateful. Grateful to have a supportive gastroenterologist who listens and actually believes me, grateful to have access to medications I need, and grateful for a clear path ahead for this next chapter. 

1. https://www.formularywatch.com/view/the-va-replaces-humira-with-hadlima-on-national-formulary

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Dr. Natalie Scheeler, a naturopathic doctor specializing in integrative treatments for gastrointestinal conditions, shares her perspective and valuable insights on gut health. She discusses the difference between naturopathic doctors and traditional MDs, the use of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and Helminthic therapies in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the impact of food and probiotics on IBD, and trends in flare management and remission. Dr. Scheeler also provides information about her practice, Modrn Med, and offers a final message of hope and encouragement for patients seeking alternative or complementary treatment options.

Takeaways

• Naturopathic doctors focus on preventative medicine and finding the root cause through a whole person approach using integrative treatments that can be used alongside conventional therapies.

Topics covered in the interview

• Difference Between Naturopathic Doctors (ND) and traditional doctors (MD or DO)

From the show

Stephanie: What are some of the trends that you've seen with helping people to get out of a flare and into remission?

Dr. Scheeler: …the dietary aspect is a large trend I'm seeing I think, too, with social media. There's just the ability to spread so much information and so that is oftentimes how people coming into our office and have said, ‘I've tried these diets’ or ‘I've done these diets’ versus us kind of introducing them to that idea. So that's interesting.

The other one is an herb called Qing Dai. It's a Chinese herb…which is an herb that can be really helpful for inducing remission, typically. We usually reserve it for remission induction versus maintenance therapy because there are some safety risks to that…I would always, always recommend working with a provider who's familiar with that herb…something that is important to say is that natural medicine isn't always safer, and it isn't always safe in general. There is risks associated with any treatments that you do. And so knowing those risks, having somebody who is familiar with those risks is important, especially if you are on the kind of quote-unquote conventional medications and add this stuff in, there could be interactions.

Stephanie: Can you talk a little bit about the Modrn Med practice and what types of patients you see?

Dr. Scheeler: Yeah, so ModernMed, we are a practice, we are all naturopathic doctors. There's four of us there. And we do integrative and functional medicine. A large part of our practice is gastrointestinal disease, including inflammatory bowel disease. I personally see patients exclusively via telehealth…but there is a location in LA, too, if people are interested.

With that, since I do telehealth, I'm licensed in California, Arizona, Maryland, Vermont, and Connecticut, as of now. But all of us depending can either see you as patient if we're licensed in that state or do what we consider educational consults. So with patients who live out of state, we can share some of this information with you and help you do things safely or talk with your provider too…it’s very common for us to work with other providers, especially myself working with gastroenterologists. I think when we all work as a team is when we get the best outcomes. And so patients, who may be in a state that we're not licensed in, we're comfortable talking to providers and usually there's no issues with that as long as we explain what we're doing. We always do evidence-based medicine. So as long as we share, even if they're not familiar with it off the bat, most people are open to working together and helping the patient out.

Links and studies from the show

• Modern Med: https://www.modrnmed.com/dr-natalie-scheeler

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Enjoy this interview with Megan Starshak, an ulcerative colitis warrior, adventurer, runner, cyclist, patient advocate and co-founder of The Great Bowel Movement.

In this conversation, Megan shares her journey with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), her advocacy work, and how she balances life with chronic illness. She discusses her diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and the challenges she faced in finding effective treatments. Megan emphasizes the importance of finding a supportive community and offers advice for young adults with IBD. She also talks about her involvement with The Great Bowel Movement, an organization that aims to decrease the stigma surrounding IBD. Megan shares her career in marketing and how she uses her skills to support other patient advocates. She closes this interview with a message of empowerment and the importance of not wasting the challenges we face.

Takeaways

• Finding a supportive community is crucial for individuals with IBD. Connecting with others who understand the challenges can provide a sense of belonging and empowerment.

Topics covered in the interview

• Megan's IBD Story and Diagnosis

From the show

Stephanie: Looking back at that time in your life and reflecting on when you were going through this as a college student, what advice would you give to other young adults who are living with a chronic illness?

Megan: Advice for people going through that now would be just to keep yourself informed, and know that it's okay if you don't understand the deep science of what all the treatments are or what they do, but just know that there are options out there. There are so many more options now than I had when I was that age, which is really amazing for people to have just some more things on the table. It's kind of frustrating that you do have to take charge, that we're still in a place where nobody is really going to do this for you, but it's also kind of a good growing up action too. Start by understanding what's going on in your body, what's going on with your treatment, and managing the relationship with your doctor.

Stephanie: What are your biggest takeaways from the lessons you’ve learned throughout your IBD journey?

Megan: Understanding treatments and understanding nutrition and exercise, but also realizing you have to find what works specifically for you and that it might take a little bit of trial and error and working with your doctor to figure out what's going to be best. Also, coming to terms with what you wanted maybe isn't what the reality is; I gave up running, but I found cycling. I found an entire other sport that I love that I have met some really amazing friends through. So it's okay to pivot. It's okay if your best laid plans do not come to life. You're gonna be okay.

Links from the show:

The Great Bowel Movement:

• Website - https://thegreatbowelmovement.org/

Megan:

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/itsmemegaroo

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Enjoy this interview with Leah Crumrine, a businesswoman, mother, and wife of IBD Warrior Logan Crumrine. Logan has been on the show to share his story with Crohn’s disease, but today, his wife Leah shares from her perspective about what it’s been like to walk along IBD with her husband. She shares her experience, insights, and tips for supporting those in your life with IBD.

Summary

Leah Crumrine shares her experience as a caregiver to her husband, Logan, who has Crohn's disease. She discusses the challenges they faced during Logan's flare-up, the changes in roles and responsibilities, and the importance of communication in their relationship. Leah also talks about managing food and family meal planning, communicating with their children about the disease, and the support system they had throughout their journey. She emphasizes the need for caregivers to prioritize self-care and balance, and offers advice for managing day-to-day flare-ups. Leah concludes by discussing the therapeutic aspect of advocacy and sharing their journey with others. This conversation explores the journey of Logan and Leah Crumrine as they navigate life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It highlights their journey to recovery, reaching remission, finding balance, and hope and perseverance. Leah also offers support to others facing similar challenges and emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and love.

Takeaways

• Prioritize self-care and balance as a caregiver.

Topics covered in the interview

• Introduction to IBD and Logan's Flare

From the show:

Stephanie: What kind of advice would you give to someone facing a similar situation in becoming the caregiver and provider?

Leah: I don't think that we knew going into it how much [life] would change, but I started having to take on more responsibility for things that we normally share, like cleaning the house, taking our boys to different things, going to different family events for holidays and things like that. Logan couldn't go to those things. And so my role really changed in our home to be the primary income earner, but also kind of the primary parent where, of course, those things were shared between us as well. And it was kind of shocking. I mean, I don't think anybody goes into a relationship or whatever, thinking this could totally get flipped on its head. But it really did. And the advice that I think that I would offer is to keep communicating through it and to be good to each other and yourself as a caregiver.

Of course, I didn't know that's what I was becoming, but I was becoming a caregiver. And I don't think I realized just how significant that was gonna be…it really was kind of a role reversal, role change. So, again, just the advice of keeping communication open. There were times when we would look at each other and sit there and cry and just say the words out loud. Like, ‘I didn't think it was going to be this way.’ ‘I'm so sorry you're so sick.’ ‘I'm sorry I'm sick.’ Like we just really had to say words to each other and allow each other to feel feelings and talk about it and just say, ‘how do we move forward from here?’ ‘What does this mean?’ At the time, at the height of his flare, we didn't think he was going to survive. And so we were making plans according to that. And it wasn't easy, but we had to be able to communicate through those things.

Links from the show:

• Leah: https://www.instagram.com/trailmama1 

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #caregiver

Enjoy this interview with Steve Carver, an IBD warrior, a personal trainer with over 30 years of experience, and the business and product development director at JumpSport. He shares his journey with colitis and dives deep into one of my favorite topics and activities: rebounding!

Summary

Steve Carver shares his journey with colitis and how he found recovery through a holistic approach. He discusses the benefits of rebounding and how it has helped him maintain his health. Steve also provides advice on getting started with rebounding and emphasizes the importance of consistency and discipline in managing IBD. In this conversation, Steve discusses the benefits of rebounding. He shares options for trying rebounding, including gyms and online platforms. Steve emphasizes the fun and versatility of rebounding, highlighting that it is not a boring workout! Steve encourages listeners to put in the work to overcome health challenges and live a peaceful lifestyle. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and learning from setbacks. Steve provides information about JumpSport and invites listeners to reach out with any questions.

Takeaways:

• Rebounding on a trampoline can provide numerous health benefits, including increased lymphatic flow, improved mental health, and enhanced balance and stability.

Topics covered in the interview:

• Steve Carver's Journey

From the show:

Stephanie: What are some of the things that you have found to help control stress levels?

Steve Carver: Here's the thing about stress, I think it's really important that you have other tools at your disposal to help you de-stress yourself. Whenever a stress happens in your life…there’s about a 90 second chemical reaction that happens in your brain. So it's okay to be angry, it's okay to be sad, it's okay to be upset, scared, whatever caused the stress in the first place. That chemical reaction lasts about 90 seconds. Anything longer than that is you staying on the hamster wheel and continuing to perpetuate those feelings.

So how do I stop that? So some people say, well, I can't get off the hamster wheel. So I need to distract my mind. For me, I'll do 10 deep breaths. And the first five, I'm like, doesn't seem to be doing anything, right? And then I get deeper and I exhale more and by number 10, I'm thinking only about breathing. And then I realized that I'm not as at DEFCON 5 anymore. I'm still trying to deal with whatever it was that caused me to be stressed, but now I have a clearer mind to come up with a solution that's going to be beneficial to solve the problem or if it's something that I just can't control and there's nothing I can do about it at this moment, me being worked up about it is not helping the problem. So find a way that works for you to distract your mind from the thing that caused you to be stressed in the moment.

I know that there are some monumental things that happen in life and in the moment it's very upsetting. But I always take a moment and think, okay, what can I do about it right here, right now in this moment? And too many of us regress to some other trauma in our life where we were a child and we didn't really have good coping skills; so we have a very childlike reaction to that stress. Whereas if we can understand that that's what we're doing and we're no longer there, then we can replace those reactions or those coping mechanisms with something that's more beneficial to you — and again, this takes a little bit of work and it doesn't happen overnight.

One of the coping mechanisms I have is a JumpSport trampoline. When I'm at work and something frustrates me or maybe I didn't get good sleep, I go down the trampoline and I run as fast as I can or I put on my headphones and I listen to really loud music and I bounce for about three to five minutes and sure enough, all of a sudden I'm not that stressed anymore and I'm not that upset anymore. Now, the problem didn't go away, I just stopped making it worse than it was, like pouring gasoline on a fire. And I think that is helpful for people — if they can find something for them, and certainly the trampoline is a vehicle and is a fun thing, that distracts you, it lets you get all that energy out.

Stephanie: I've heard that there are mental health benefits to rebounding. Is that something that you can talk about?

Steve Carver: Sure, let's talk about the health benefits. So I primarily got into this because of the physical aspect of it. So you go from zero gravity when you're at the top of the stroke, where you barely even just barely leave the surface — you don't even have to jump high on it — and then you push down into the trampoline surface and can create exponential gravity. The beauty of that is, on a health level, is that your lymphatic system does not have a pump, so to move lymph through your body, you need two things do that, gravity and movement…doing the fitness trampoline from JumpSport will give you up to five G's of force, so as you compress yourself down to five G's and release to zero gravity, it creates a natural pumping action…10 minutes of exercise will actually move the lymph through your system and detoxify your body while you're working out. So what does that do? What does that mean, really?

Well, if I remove all the toxins out of my body very efficiently and I help my body do that, that helps everything else be more efficient. So now my immune system is stronger because it's not bogged down by toxins. My heart, my lungs, anything that has fluid is going to be assisted by that pumping action as well. So you're going to get benefits to your endocrine system and all of all of the other ones that I mentioned. Not to mention that you're going to actually help your heart in this process so it doesn't have to work nearly as hard. So there's just a small list of just the physical health benefits.

We have our product in the UCLA Medical Center…they've realized that it produces a lot of your happy hormones. So oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins all get released into your brain while you're bouncing on the trampoline. So as a result of that, you smile and you're happy. So I always tell people, three minutes on the JumpSport is like a cup of coffee. So if you're feeling a little down, your energy is a little low, you get on the trampoline, you bounce on it for three minutes. All of a sudden you're like, I'm wide awake and I have lots of energy and I’m happy again.

Links from the show:

• JumpSport - www.jumpsport.com

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at https://www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

Enjoy this interview with Logan Crumrine, a Crohn’s disease warrior of more than 30 years, advocate, and writer.

Logan was first diagnosed in 1990. For years he fluctuated between states of flares, semi-remission, clinical trials and surgeries, and then went into complete remission for over 15 years! But remission came to an end in 2012 and he spent the next few years fighting for his life and eventually filed for disability. Today, he’s now in his second year of remission and living life to the fullest. 

Some of you will remember Logan as one of my repeat guests. He shared the first part of his story in episode 29 of this podcast in July 2019, and came back a year later in 2020 to talk about his experience and knowledge about going through the process of filing for disability. 

Today, he’s back to update us on his journey and share what it’s like to now live in remission.

From the show:

Stephanie: What kind of tips do you have for other people who are finding themselves newly in remission and still afraid to let go of the habits that they've held onto for so many years as their safety net?

Logan: I think the best advice would be that you've kind of got to do your own walk in that. You've got to kind of let go of those things as you feel comfortable. I still carry supplies in my backpack, but I don't carry as many. I don't carry an extra change of clothes, so my backpack has gotten down to just some undergarments in there and some stuff to clean up if I need to.

It's a much smaller kit, but again, I'm still learning. It's still automatic for me to put all that stuff on when I'm going out. And I think it's just, you just kind of have to challenge yourself and push yourself. It helps too that I have Leah with me, who's an incredible partner who reminds me, ‘hey, you know, you made this trip a couple of times without anything. Why don't you try it again?’

Or I'll be able to share with her that I didn't even get ready like I normally do for a trip. And then it's kind of an epiphany almost to say, ‘oh wow, we don't need that stuff all the time anymore.’

Logan: I think remission has helped my mental health and has benefited it. I still struggle with depression and sometimes, some days, it's absolutely debilitating. Right now, my depression seems to be presenting itself with insomnia. So I can be tired at seven o'clock and think, okay, I'm going to head to bed around nine and then I'm up till two. So it seems to be presenting that way.

I think being in a place with more sunlight has helped. Seasonal depression affected me really bad in Washington because where I lived in Washington, from about October to March, it's very dark and very gray. It's nice to be able to look out the window and see blue skies and sun, I'm trying to get back to exercising because that's so vital to mental health.

Stephanie: You have shared on social media about your fitness journey and just getting to a place of better overall health, what were some of the baby steps or the ways that you started to get back into that as you were feeling better?

Logan: I think that, and for the record, my hiking and walking come and go, like any kind of fitness thing, I do really good for a while and kind of back off for a little while. I think that one thing that I had to do is realize that I have to start with what I can do, even if it's five minutes of getting outside and taking a walk. I started when I was starting to get my health back. I was just literally doing laps around the cul-de-sac. And that's all I could do, just walk around the cul-de-sac very slow with a cane. It was very difficult for me to even get out and do anything. And now, I mean, where I was at the height that's kind of dropped off since we moved, but I'm trying to get back into it. I think I was doing three or four miles a day walking. I was lifting regularly because again, medications that you get on Crohn's and colitis, steroids, sometimes those things play havoc on your bones.

Links from the show:

Social Media

• www.instagram.com/logancrumrine

Studies on steroids and blood sugar:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4515447/pdf/WJD-6-1073.pdf

What if the Monsters are Afraid of Me (Book)

• https://a.co/d/elzLPAW

Previous episodes with Logan:

• https://www.podbean.com/

* * * * *

Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

• Shop my favorite products,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Enjoy this interview with Abigail Marie the Chef With IBD. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2014, halfway through culinary school. Throughout her journey, she’s navigated various medications, been hospitalized during severe flares, and even adjusted her career path as chronic illness was consuming her life.

Unable to find relief, she began experimenting with diet and eventually found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Since then, she’s improved her health and discovered a new dream: to help others with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) live better lives through healing and flavorful foods.

In this podcast episode, she share’s her story, perspective, and tips for fellow IBD patients.

From the show:

Stephanie: What advice would you give to other IBD patients who might be in a similar position where they're having to face making a career change?

Abigail: You know, I was so set on my dream of being a chef, but that's not the path that life took. And you know, you'll find another dream. Now my dream is working on my blog, doing SCD recipes and sharing with the community — sharing my story and advocating and raising awareness.

You will find something else. I know it seems so devastating, but just trust that you're on the right path and that you'll find a new dream.

Stephanie: What are some of the things you've found in your life to help manage stress?

Abigail: I keep a gratitude journal. I do that first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed, and it really helps me get the right mindset for the day. I also do a daily meditation. It's not long, it's 10 to 12 minutes, but just having those 10 to 12 minutes to myself in the morning before my day starts has been really helpful for me.

And then just practicing mindfulness, just trying to be in the moment. Chronic illness can be really scary, you don't always know what's around the corner, but you have this moment right now. So just trying to take yourself out of that worrying about the big picture. I also practice Qigong, it’s similar to Tai Chi, it's like mindfulness movement.

I do that a few times a week for 15 or 20 minutes and that really helps me move stress through my body. Whereas the meditation and the gratitude journal are more for my mind. The mindfulness movement is more for the body. So balancing both of those, mind and body.

Links from the show:

• Website - abigailmariethechefwithibd.com

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️ at www.crohnsfitnessfood.com

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here or email [email protected]

#crohns #crohnsdisease #ulcerativecolitis #ibd #podcasthost #healthpodcast #chronicillness #chronicillnesspodcast #ostomy

Enjoy this interview with Amber J Tresca, health content creator, writer, speaker, advocate, and host of the About IBD podcast.

Amber was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 16, had a colectomy at age 26, and started writing about inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other health conditions one year later! She’s been writing ever since, sharing both about her own journey and writing for a variety of health publications giving insight and technical information about IBD.

In this podcast episode, she share’s her story, perspective, and tips for fellow IBD patients.

From the show:

SG: How important it is to get care, and the right care, right away?

AT: …it’s so important. And it's important also to not get into that fatalistic state of mind that I was in, that I still don't know where it came from, but that I could only expect so much improvement and that it wasn't going to go further than that. I should have expected, I should have demanded more, but I didn't know what I didn't know.

Today we have better treatments, we have a lot more understanding, there's better testing, etc. But you still, as the patient, have to be the one (or as a parent or a caregiver) you have to be the one to make sure that all of this is happening and you have to be the one to advocate for yourself or your loved one to make sure that you're getting what you need. And I've heard lots of stories about how people advocate for themselves and the ways in which they make changes…There’s always a workaround. There's always a way that you can make the situation work for your life, but you have to explain what that is to your healthcare providers and help them help you get to where it is that you want to be.

SG: What are some of the top resources that you would recommend to people listening to go to for information?

AT: …my first place to go is PubMed, but I know that's not for everybody. Not everybody wants to wade through all of that stuff to find what they're looking for. But I do often give talks or write about how you can find good sources of information.

…government sites, educational sites, and patient advocacy group sites, so .gov, .org, .edu, is usually a good place to start and to find information.

The second thing that I would look for in information is who wrote it. And I just told you that I write all kinds of stuff without a byline. But when you read something, there should be an identifiable entity, at least. Even if it says staff writer. It shouldn't just be a bunch of very clinical advice-sounding type stuff on a page and you don't know who wrote it. You should know who wrote it and how to get in contact with them.

Three, would be looking at what the site that you are interacting with, or the app, I guess I should say, what they're getting out of it. Are they selling you something? And I'm not saying that someone who has something for sale is always off the table. I mean, if you sign up for my newsletter, I have discount codes in there too that you can go and purchase some of the things that I have vetted and that I use in my own life…But I will say it should be clear and you should have a clear understanding of if that person is selling something and then what they are selling.

…So the fourth thing is, is that you want to see that the information that you are looking at, receiving, interacting with, goes back to some primary sources. So that's where it gets back to that PubMed thing…Did they get it from a source that is, for instance, someone interviewed a clinician, which is something that you and I do, you interview someone like that, they're a source. They link back to a clinical trial. Okay, they're talking about a medication. So they link to maybe a trial on that medication. That's great. Or they link back to, for instance, a patient advocacy group or an educational resource like an IBD center, which there are several across the country. That's good to know. Whenever I see something that says like 10% of people XYZ, I want to know where that 10% came from. Where'd that come from? There's got to be something behind that for me. So that's another thing that I usually say that people should look for when they're looking for good sources of information.

…number five is your own healthcare team. Ask them for the resources, okay, because we all want to go online and look for things because it's easy and convenient and works out really well. But there are also sources that are offline, another patient that they might suggest for you to be a sort of a mentor for you, or someone else on the healthcare team, like a dietician, like a mental health specialist. Those people are great sources, primary sources, of information for you, and then they can also tell you what it is that they think would be helpful for you.

Links from the show:

• Website - aboutibd.com/about-amber

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here.

Enjoy this interview with Tim Parsons, a Crohn’s disease warrior, ambulance service chaplain, and author of the children’s book series Paramedic Chris.

Through the Paramedic Chris children’s books, Tim aims to help develop children's reading skills and also offers support for important subjects such as anxiety, fear, and working together as a community.

In today’s episode, he shares his story with IBD and how he balances life with Crohn’s.

Social media & links from the show:

• Instagram:  https://instagram.com/paramedicchriskidsbooks

Books:

• Paramedic Chris

* * * * *

Support the podcast ❤️

• Get your copy of Crohn's Fitness Food and My Rocky Road to Health,

Want to share your story? Send me a message here.