So I’m dating. Well, I started dating. Let me rewind. Dating is a HUGE topic in our community because there is a lot of fear around disclosure and acceptance. In the past I’ve written about dating and my opinions, but I have never actually dated since I was diagnosed with IBD. So all of my [...]

Tags: colitis, confidence, crohns, dating, happiness, happy, IBD, ileostomy, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, internet dating, j-pouch, Jackie, Jpouch, love, proud, relationships, UC, Ulcerative colitis.

Today is World Ostomy Day, and it has brought up some interesting emotions and realizations for me. I want to share some things with you. Intimate thoughts, and unflattering pictures. That picture is me before my first surgery. Very sick. Very overweight from steroids. Very scared. Very VERY horrified I’d have to have an ostomy. VERY embarrassed [...]

Tags: advocacy, Camp Oasis, colitis, confidence, disease, doctors, exercise, friends, happiness, hope, IBD, ileostomy, j-pouch, MS, multiple sclerosis, Oasis, ostomies, ostomy, poop, proud, sickness, suicide, surgery, tears, UC, Ulcerative colitis., working out

I have seen a lot of women talk about how their jpouches go completely out of whack when they are on their period. I, too, am one of those women. I understand that my uterus and my jpouch share the same real estate, but they just cannot seem to get along…at all. They remind me [...]

Tags: IBD, ileostomy, j-pouch, j-poucher, Jpouch, menstruation, ostomy, period, poop, powerful women.

Man have I been busy. I feel like I’m so disconnected from you guys. Sad face. But here is what I’ve been doing, which is some pretty awesome stuff. This is how the last 10 days went. Fly to Chicago. Meet up with Lauren, volunteer at their CCFA office. Have a great super awesome time [...]

Tags: advocacy, Camp Oasis, colitis, friends, Girls With Guts, IBD, ileostomy, michigan, patients, proud, surgery, traveling, wisconsin

I have been asked many times why I am an advocate or why I spend my free time and money on raising awareness for IBD. I have a long winded, drawn out answer for this question and depending on my audience it can be really inspiring and technical, or loaded with swear words and jokes. [...]

Tags: 6MP, advocacy, afraid, alive, angry, Asacol, austria, auto immune, awareness, awesome, bangin, bathroom, Benadryl, better person, bitch, blog, blogging, blood, butt, butt buddies, calmoseptine, Camp, Camp Oasis, canada, charmin, cheetos, colitis, colon, complication, confidence, depressed, diagnosed, Dilaudid, disappointment, disease, diseased, doctors, Dr. Remzi, Dr. Wasvary, dying, empowered, Entocort, excited, failure, family, fantastic, fat, fear, Fentanyl, fired, friends, fucking, Girls With Guts, good, grad school, guest post, Gutsy generation, hair loss, happiness, happy, hard work, heart complication, heart surgery, holy, hope, IBD, ileostomy, inflammation, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, internet best friends, intestine, IPAA, j-pouch, j-poucher, Jackie, job, Jpouch, large intestine, leakage, life, Methotrexate, Morphine, MS, Norco, Oasis, ostomy, Oxy, Percocet, poop, pooping, pouch, Predinose, raising awareness, sad, sex, shit, sick, sickness, soul, steroids, stupid, suicide, super, support, surgeons, surgery, surgery #1, surgery #2, surgery #3, surgery #4, tears, testing, tests, thankful, toilet, toilet paper, tummy tuck, UC, Ulcerative colitis., useless, weight gain, weight loss, wipes, woman, work out, working