About IBD

Did an IBD diagnosis change the direction of your life? For Danielle Golden and Joe Teeters, being diagnosed as a young adult had a profound influence on their lives. The plans they had for their lives were derailed, but they only met, formed a strong friendship, and founded Double Baggin' It because of their IBD. Learn more about their disease journeys, how they met, and how they use humor to raise awareness of IBD and ostomy life both inside and outside the IBD community.

What does it mean to act with intention? The pandemic altered the course of our year and divorced us from our intentions. However, there were learnings that we can build on to create a better, more inclusive, and informed IBD community. In this mini-episode, I share my thoughts on how the year affected me and how I plan to move forward in 2021 by getting back to my intentions.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) had questions. Now that vaccines are becoming available, people with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis need even more information in order to make decisions. I asked Dr David Rubin, Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition and the Co-Director of the Digestive Diseases Center at The University of Chicago Medicine to answer some of these initial questions about the first COVID-19 vaccines.

For many of us who live with IBD, being a performer seems impossible. Some problems include needing a job that provides health insurance, the stress of auditions, and being healthy enough to perform onstage. Justin Baker, however, has found a way to make it work for him as he lives with Crohn's disease and ankylosing spondylitis. Justin is an actor, a photographer, and a clown. He tells me how he manages stress, how empathy informs his life, and what led to emergency surgery for his Crohn's disease.

Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week is full of events that aim to raise funds and understanding of IBD. One of these is Gaming4Guts, a gaming marathon to raise funds for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Participants stream over Twitch during the event but they have formed a community, keeping in contact on the Gaming4Guts Discord server. Kenzie, John, and Mark from Gaming4Guts sat down with me to talk about their personal connections to IBD, the evolution of Gaming4Guts, and what their goals are this year.

After hearing from my 10-year-old daughter, it’s now time to hear from my 13-year-old son. He goes to school in person two days a week, with 3 days at home. We are managing it as well as I think we can expect. However, my son brings up a wrinkle in regards to the "normal" to which we are all looking forward. It is going to be challenging to go back to our prior pace and there will be new struggles along the way. Be sure to listen to the end to hear my son’s tips for parents on how to talk to their kids

How often do you check in with your family about how they're doing? Families have had to make difficult choices regarding school, playdates, and extracurricular activities. We are all concerned about how our kids are faring. But are we asking them about their worries and concerns as often as we should? Amber sits down with her 10-year-old daughter to talk about hybrid school, concerns about getting sick with COVID, what kids are missing right now, and what they want to do when the pandemic is over.

Do you worry that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will get in the way of finding a romantic partner? Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis can make dating challenging but they can also simplify it. It becomes clear pretty quickly if a potential partner is going to struggle to cope. This episode focuses on communication, as Amber and her husband, Mike, discuss how he reacted to his introduction to ulcerative colitis and why it's important to check in with your partner before discussing IBD with others.

IBD affects more than the digestive system. Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can affect the eyes, joints, and skin. Jordan Ditty was diagnosed with IBD as a child, though her diagnosis floated between Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Recently, she had her j-pouch removed and an ileostomy placed. Her quality of life improved but also a new diagnosis of a skin condition, called pyoderma gangrenosum. Learn how Jordan remains hopeful through her long journey with IBD and a host of complications.

While I take some time off, I’m sharing another podcast with you called PSC Mami. PSC stands for primary sclerosing cholangitis, and it’s a liver condition that is related to IBD, and ulcerative colitis in particular. PSC Mami brings you stories at the intersection of PSC and parenthood. The host of PSC Mami is Monika Aldarondo, who talks to parents about their perspective on life with IBD and PSC. Subscribe to PSC Mami in your favorite podcast app.