IBD is hard and it comes with a lot of baggage: painful symptoms, frequent colonoscopies, and expensive treatments. 

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (IBD) don’t just affect the physical body though, they affect the mind too. Living with the symptoms of IBD can cause frustration and fear. Remaining silent about these struggles can cause social isolation and feelings of loneliness.

Members of the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) have filmed a new video series - sharing why and how they talk about IBD and encouraging others with IBD to also talk about their disease with friends and family.

Dear Younger Me,

I know you're scared and this past week in the hospital has not been all that great. All the tests and doctors are so new to you. The doctors said you have Crohn’s disease. It’s going to be okay, I promise.

I wish I could tell you these next few years will be easy, but they won't. You're going to go through some pretty tough stuff that many kids your age will have a hard time relating to. Most won't even understand it and that's okay.

I often ask myself if I would rather live my life with or without Crohn’s. The answer, to be honest, is still unclear to me. I obviously would absolutely love to live without the pain that comes with it, but I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. Surprising as it sounds, I have found that Crohn’s comes with perks that no one talks about. If you Google “Crohn’s” (or any chronic illness for that matter), you’ll likely find some pretty crazy, freaky stuff out there. I think it’s rare to find any of the positives. Well, I’m here to tell you about some of what I’ve noticed in my own life - so buckle up ladies and gentlemen!!

Five years ago today, on February 21, 2012, I was diagnosed with IBD.

Thinking back on my five years living with IBD, I realize that there have been many ups and downs, with struggling and succeeding, falling backwards and moving forward. I was 16 years old and in perfect health, up until about two months before my diagnosis, when I started experiencing severe symptoms. It was all so sudden and impactful. I went from being perfectly healthy to being extremely sick; from having no symptoms to having every symptom on the IBD list. On the five year anniversary of my diagnosis, I thought what better way to look back and reflect than to highlight some of the extremes in my story:

It is human nature to want to learn and question the world around us. It is natural for us to seek innovation, invent new things and express new theories. This is how we improve and how we have achieved the advances we have today. Nothing is wrong with this innate desire to learn and be curious, except when you’re the one that’s being questioned and or are the object of someone’s curiosity.

Most people have a connection with music. Music can calm us:  think about the lullabies we sing to our children. It can excite us: think of the huge crowds that jump and cheer at concerts. And most certainly music can cause us to be nostalgic: think about how often we hear a song and think, "wow that brings back memories!" For those who play and create music it can be an emotional outlet. Music connects.

Music has always been an integral part of our family. Olivia plays the flute, sings and tap dances. Dominic plays the bass guitar and sings. And Jerome has made a living at being a musician, both as director of Liturgical music at Saint Michael's College and with various Jazz ensembles in the Burlington, Vermont area.  My name is Claire and even though I don't play a musical instrument, I've dabbled in singing in our church choir and love to listen to live music, especially if the musicians are my husband or kids!  

To many, a connection between Crohn’s disease (IBD), ImproveCareNow and music may seem unusual. To us it’s natural. We would like to share with you the story of how IBD has impacted our family and how it lead us to become passionately involved with ImproveCareNow. And, of course, how music is an integral part of our journey.

It’s a scene out of a typical relaxing Sunday afternoon: you’re sitting on the couch, watching your favorite TV program. There’s some occasional napping thrown in there, and it’s like you don’t have a care in the world. After the stress and busyness of school or work it makes for a restful and relaxing afternoon. To an outside observer, life during an IBD flare might look like exactly that.

The events of the last few weeks have had me reflecting on some things. And while I in no way have the writing skills of the great Sami and Jennie, I thought I would do my best to capture what I have been thinking about.

But a little bit of background for you all. I have been interning with ImproveCareNow through Cincinnati Children’s this summer and I also just experienced my first hospitalization in over 3 years. Throughout my internship, I was focusing on the motivation that drives people to be involved with a patient-focused group like ImproveCareNow.

As a patient with a chronic illness, I have become well-versed at shedding my humanity and emotions and leaving them outside the clinic room, like taking off my shoes when coming home. We are made to believe, through experience and myth, that doctors are only interested in data. I am so practiced in this belief – or perhaps in that fear – that I can recite my diagnostic and treatment history in full, like rattling off a monologue with the medicalized Latin words becoming normalized. 

Dating, especially in the early stages, is full of emotion…excitement and nervousness are sure to abound. However, with IBD patients, there’s a bit more hiding beneath the surface that the other person usually does not yet know about. How do you tell your significant other about IBD? How does one explain something so complicated? How do you work it into conversation? When is the right time? One of our new PAC members, Samara, recently started dating and has personal experience to share.