Welcome to the second episode in a 3-podcast series we're doing in collaboration with the ICN SWAP group (SWAP stands for Social Workers & Psychologists). In this episode, you'll hear me (Ryleigh) and my fellow PAC member Avery talking with Lauren Potthoff, PhD - an IBD psychologist at Lurie Children's in Chicago - about mental health during IBD flares.

Join me (Autumn), Henry & Samantha for a conversation about medical trauma in IBD with ICN SWAP (Social Workers & Psychologists) group members Dr. Jennie David (licensed clinical pediatric IBD psychologist) and Dr. Alexandra Fuss. We are honored to have them join us to discuss this important topic.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at six years old, a year after I started experiencing symptoms. I have now been managing this chronic illness for 16 years! In addition to being diagnosed young, I was living in the Netherlands at the time -- while I wasn't born here, all of my family is from here and Dutch was my first language.

Medications and biologic drugs are often a big part of managing IBD. Shira and Fionna were texting about their personal experiences with meds and biologics when they realized others in the IBD community might benefit from being able to listen in on their conversation. So, we decided to make a podcast episode about it! 

Hi, my name is Adam, and I am a 24-year-old medical student. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was two years old and had my colon removed when I was 12. Recently, I published a children's picture book, Up and Adam, about my childhood experiences facing IBD with a positive attitude. This is the story of how and why I created Up and Adam and how I hope my book can help young kids by offering a tangible connection to someone who knows what they're going through and can remind them they are not alone. 

The Patient Advisory Council (PAC) is continuously focused on advocating for IBD patients and promoting the patient perspective in IBD care. PAC Projects (like toolkits and podcasts) are one way we do this. Here are some of the things we've been working on lately:

Hello everyone - it's Fionna from the Patient Advisory Council communications team. I'm excited to share that after a bit of a break the PAC is back with an exciting new episode of our imPACt podcast where we chat about a commonly used, but often not discussed, IBD nutritional therapy.

Hi! My name is Sanjana and I was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in April 2021. A fun fact about me is that I love doing art!

When I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 14 years old, I was shocked. I was lucky enough to already have some familiarity with the disease, but I never thought it would happen to me. I had every single textbook symptom, but I still felt so numb and so distant from the new reality I had to face. This isn’t an uncommon feeling, and it can be really hard to know where to start. IBD is a complex disease, so here are some things I found helpful while learning to navigate those first few months after my diagnosis.

My name is Autumn; I am 20 years old and I am currently in college. I am from Ohio and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July of 2008, when I was just six years old. I have had Crohn’s for nearly 14 years. Something most people don’t know about me is that I absolutely love to travel. Long road trips (at night is my favorite!) and going and seeing places I have never been to before is something I really love and enjoy… I see a lot of adventures in my future! A couple places I would love to visit one day would be Canada and Disney World. OH...I really want to fly on a plane!