Sun safety is important for everyone, but if you are living with IBD (and taking certain medications) it may be even more important for you to protect your skin from the sun.

Join us (Maddie, Fionna & Maha) as we build on a discussion we stated in Episode 2 of the podcast about IBD, Body Image and Relationships with Food. 

In honor of Feeding Tube Awareness Week (February 8-12, 2021), Makenna shared a little about her experience with a feeding tube and how she views it in a positive light!

Last December, @ICNPatients shared how holiday stress and eating can affect IBD and their wellbeing. We are re-sharing today, because we are coming into the summer holiday season. With more gatherings and food offerings on the horizon, we hope you'll take a PAC moment to learn how patients with IBD might experience these celebrations:

Did you miss us? We briefly interrupted our regular, every-other-Friday podcast release schedule. It was for a really good cause though - we released a special episode of imPACt to celebrate World IBD Day (May 19) and talk about the importance of Advocacy! Now we're back and hope you'll join us today for our chat about IBD & Identity.

Fionna is an active member of the Patient Advisory Council, and is currently co-leading their communications taskforce. In this role, she is collaborating with other PAC members and ImproveCareNow to bring the stories and voices of the PAC to even more people in new and exciting ways. This spring she helped to launch the imPACt podcast, which is a new way to connect with and listen to young people talking about life with IBD. It is through the PAC that Fionna was recently able to tap into support, understanding and validation as she coped with a UC flare. She credits the PAC and this experience with helping her shift her mindset about healthy resilience, exploring the benefits of opening up and being vulnerable, and learning how to be flexible and give herself grace during tough times.

Be inspired by Fionna's #IgniteTalk 🔥

PAC members weigh in on how they like to manage stress and take care of themselves leading up to school exams or the end of a semester. Here is what they said:

IBD can feel lonely and isolating. It can really help to connect with and talk to other people who understand because they live with IBD too. Fionna shares what being part of the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) means to her and how it has influenced her IBD journey:

Here #InTheLOOP we have been honored to share hundreds of stories from people across our community. We believe strongly in the power of #TalkingAboutIBD and of stories to highlight the real voices, experiences, joys, frustrations, triumphs and struggles of patients who live with IBD every single day. Today, we are very excited to be able to share a whole new way for you to engage with the patient voice - to really hear their stories - by tuning into a brand new podcast by the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) called imPACt! In this podcast PAC members will be talking openly about IBD with a goal of raising awareness and inclusivity, and connecting with listeners, each other and podcast guests.

PAC member, Andi, once wrote: “I have learned that mental health is just as important as physical health.” Talking openly about the impacts IBD can have on mental health is important to shed light on how intertwined the two really are. Here’s Quint’s experience: