As some of you know, eating with me isn’t always the easiest thing. It’s not that I’m ‘picky’, but certain foods make me feel pretty lethargic quite frankly. Not only do they make me bloated which is painful, they can cause increased urgency, my throat produces more excess mucus (gross, I know), my skin changes, and in some cases I get headaches and become irritable. Over the years, I have modified my diet and made many new recipes that work for me and my system. They may not be the perfect picture of health, but if my body tolerates it, I consider it a win. Salads are traditionally viewed as ..read more

Nicaragua, te amo! Over the past few years I have been feeling the need to make a change and do more to address my condition, but often times these feelings have been drowned out by school, work, and responsibilities. It is a constant struggle and challenge for me to mindfully take a step back from the chaos, and truly assess my own life and happiness. In the back of my mind, I knew the only way I was going to do this was by getting out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, due to the state of my health, that thought was far too intimidating. Taking the time to really relax, to let go of my death ..read more

More Health Care Talk…. The Senate returned from their July 4th holiday this week and I began to feel my chest rise with anxiety, thinking about the life changing decisions they could be making very soon. Between taking the bill to debate, to modifying with a ‘skinny’ repeal (seriously though, that name?), to a flat out rejection, I am still struggling to understand and follow the ever changing nature of what is going on with healthcare and our government. Opioid Abuse Is Real What I do know is that there are still some major issues relating to prescription drug abuse, particularly with opioid ..read more

Attention All Coffee Lovers: you are going to like this! Dad, this one is for you. He loves the Millennium Perk at Protein Bar and I am determined to make a smoothie that measures up, and I just may have! 1 banana 2 medium size scoops of peanut butter 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk 1 scoop of protein powder (I used Vital Proteins) 1 tablespoon of coconut oil 6 coffee ice cubes (See I told you Henry has to photobomb everything). I put some leftover coffee I had made into ice cube trays yesterday, thinking it would be an easier way to substitute having to put in almond milk, ice, and coff ..read more

I have always cared about dogs probably a little more than the average pet owner, however, after adopting a dog this year, I reached a whole new level of appreciation – crazy dog lady. A few weeks ago, my boss brought in a section from the New York Times for me that had various pet related articles, one of which included a story about a service dog and her owner who has anxiety and anger issues. The dog has learned to take cues from her owner when she senses these emotions and take a break to work through the aggression. When I read the story, I thought “wow that dog is incredible”, but also r ..read more

Similar to other biologics, the timing between doses of Entyvio gets further and further apart as your body adjusts to it. As your GI tract begins to change, your body is hopefully begins to be able to adequately defend itself. This time, 4 weeks went by between doses… and next time, we wait 8 weeks. Historically, this has been where my body begins to resist treatment. With prior treatments of Remicade, my body responded well at first, but never was not able to make the 8 week mark consistently. With others, like Humira and Cimzia, well, they never helped in the first place. However, fingers c ..read more

Ahhh! It’s here! All my thoughts/research/experiences dealing with Crohn’s Disease over the past ten years as well as the not so serious and fun times I have had along the way, in this little blog! I’m sure many changes will be made along the way and who knows what the success will be, but I can say it’s the most excited I’ve been about something in awhile. I wanted to make a separate account for these experiences because as I started writing, I realized many of the experiences cannot be conveyed by just me. I am only one side of the story. I want to share the platform with others as well, in ..read more

Dose 2: After trying a few different biologics in my early 20s, I swore I wouldn’t allow these medications into my body again because of the side effects that I experienced and unknown long term effects it would have on me, namely my ability to have children. While having a child is still not something that is at the forefront of my life plan, I was scared that when ‘that’ time comes (whenever that is), the option won’t be there. However, I also greatly fear any surgery related to Crohn’s Disease. I am sorry for any of you that have had to go through that, I respect you more than you will eve ..read more

The real threat to my future has to do with our healthcare system. I may lose a few of you on this, but it is a real issue that needs to be talked about, then talked about again and again to anyone you know. What does someone with a pre-existing condition look like to you? Like me? Maybe. Before being diagnosed, pre-existing conditions had no influence in my life because I didn’t know what they were and that someone could be sick without looking sick. Depending on where you are at, there is probably someone in the room you are currently in that suffers from some sort of pre-existing condition ..read more

  I was truly surprised at the amount of support I received from first posting about my journey with Crohn’s Disease. I also felt a little embarrassed that I had taken the time to write something some personal, but a lot of good has come from it. Crohn’s presents itself differently for each person affected, but those of you who share your stories about various autoimmune conditions, you inspire me endlessly. Pictured: Henry and I enjoying time at home, where we have spent most of the year when I am not at work. I unfortunately require lots and lots and lots of sleep and general rest ..read more