The Life Changing Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The Life Changing Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH ​​ I've had UC for 4 years also. Diagnosed with a colonoscopy after 5 months of diarrhea, losing 1/3rd of my otherwise normal weight and enough blood to require a 2-pint transfusion. Pausing a conversation to use the restroom is biologically necessary, but can be socially awkward. People living with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) find themselves saying “Excuse me” many more times a day than they would like and experience pain with symptoms nobody enjoys talking about. The two most common inflammatory bowel diseases [...]

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Aug 2021By |0 Comments

Exploring Treatment Options with Others Online: Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Exploring Treatment Options with Others Online: Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH According to the CDC, in 2015, an estimated 1.3 percent of US adults (3 million) reported being diagnosed with irritable bowel diseases (IBD): either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.1 There are 70,000 new cases diagnosed every year.2 These immune-mediated diseases can cause destructive inflammation and can permanently harm the intestines. Symptoms can include diarrhea with fever, abdominal pain and cramping and fatigue among others.3 Every patient’s symptoms vary in type, severity, and frequency, so Inspire members go online to discuss their [...]

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May 2020By |0 Comments

Engaging with communities on Inspire: Inspire’s Ostomy Support Community

Engaging with communities on Inspire: Inspire’s Ostomy Support Community Engaging with communities on Inspire:  Inspire’s Ostomy Support Community Ostomy surgery is a procedure performed on people who have a diseased or malfunctioning colon, small intestines or bladder. After the procedure, bodily wastes - either urine, feces or indigestible food - leave the body through a created opening in the abdomen, called a stoma. Waste is collected in medical appliances. Bearing this significant change in basic bodily functions, coping with and accepting this transformation requires support. Providing this support is the Ostomy Discussion Community on Inspire, an example [...]

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May 2018By |0 Comments

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Living With Ostomy

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Living With Ostomy “The same thing could be said about guys who go to war, that unless you've been there you can't really understand what it is like and so your really best buddies are the ones that have been warriors like you…Those are the people you can really relate to the best, even more so than your own family.”  ~member of the Ostomy Support Community on Inspire. People who have been through the operation that removes all or portions of their colons, ileums or bladders must live with and adapt [...]

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Dec 2017By |0 Comments