My New Food Adventure: IBD and Diet

Having Crohn's Disease as well as being pregnant, both get us thinking about what we are putting into our bodies. My husband, son and I currently eat what I consider to be a fairly healthy diet. We rarely get fast food or take-out, we eat lots of fruit and veggies, avoid too much dairy, and cook a lot from scratch. However, the information out there about what is good for you is changing. Butter and eggs are no longer bad? Fat is good? Crazy! There's also a lot of new information coming out regarding foods which reduce inflammation in the body. Hey, we have an inflammatory disease! So what should we do?

Scar Tissue And Pregnancy

I occasionally get asked what sort of things women should know when pregnant if they have Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis. In my first article about this topic (read the article here), I shared a lot of information and things to consider.

But what about my personal experiences? I'm now half-way through my second pregnancy and so far all is going well, but I have experienced some issues related to my Crohn's Disease. After my first baby was born, I had a small return of my symptoms, but my GI Doc put me on Salofalk which I'm still taking and my symptoms greatly improved. I'm still in remission today.

However, other than having to continue on the Salofalk to be on the safe side (which my Doc reassures me is a very safe medication), I've also had a much more difficult issue cropping up.

Where Has The Time Gone?

For my regular readers, you might be wondering where the heck I've been? I always told myself I wouldn't be one of those IBD bloggers who disappear when they feel well, and start posting again only when they flare up. I don't want this blog to be about the negative times.

Well, I apologize dear reader, I don't have a good excuse other than... bam! Motherhood is busy! Ok, ok, all kidding aside, a number of factors have been keeping me occupied. Indeed my 1 and a half year old super cool little guy is keeping my on my toes. My web development business I operate from a home office is also keeping my hopping - that's a good thing!

Also... and here's the big news: I'm once again pregnant and expecting my second baby in March! So... everything is a whirlwind these days.

However, I still have a lot to write about, including more information about Crohn's Disease and pregnancy, children and more. So please stay tuned, there are more informative posts coming soon!

Universal Health Care Isn't Scary

I was recently spending a lazy hour channel surfing and watched a short segment on the ongoing debate across the border in the USA about universal health care. The speaker was ripping on it calling it a slippery slope to all kinds of alarming sounding things. Socialism was tossed out like a bad word, and there was a lot of fear-mongering coming from this man. I'm not sure what his political position was, but given he was on TV he was obviously someone that people listen to.

Important News: Biologic Drugs Linked to Liver Damage

In recent very important news, a study has linked biologic drugs used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases to acute liver damage. Bad news for people like us who have looked to these drugs (like adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, infliximab, and natalizumab) as saviours from our Crohn's or Colitis symptoms. What does this mean? Talk to your doctor about tests and/or monitoring for your liver if you have already taken these. And if your doctor is suggesting these drugs, factor this into your decision.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Moms out there - You Rock! This is a great time to thank our mothers for all they've done for us. If you have Crohn's Disease, your Mom has probably come to many doctor appointments and tests with you. Gave liberal doses of hugs and listened to tearful phone calls when the stress and pain of it all feels like too much.

When Forgetting is Bliss

Life has been rolling lately at a wonderful pace. I'm in the absolutely perfect point in my life. My son who is now 14 months old is challenging and wonderful and being able to stay at home with him while running my own business part-time from home is a perfect balance. Between my relationship, being a Mom, taking a little time for myself now and then and pursuing my intellectual interests it feels like this is what my life was always meant to be.

So, the other day I was checking the mail and,

BAM!

... a letter from the Crohn's And Colitis Foundation of Canada asking for a donation. I stood and gawked at the letter with a little light rain pattering on my head and thought "Oh yeah! I have Crohn's Disease.... right.... bummer..."

People With Crohn's/Colitis: Amy Brenneman

For a change of pace I thought I'd profile a famous person who has Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis from time to time. Here's the first one, enjoy!

Amy Brenneman is a well known actress who's accomplishments range from climbing the Himalayas to Judging Amy. She's a mom, writer and producer and an active spokeswoman for Healthy Child, Healthy World.
starring in a long running TV series:

She also has Ulcerative Colitis.

Changes To Following This Blog

In their endless evolution of services, Google (aka Blogger) have changed a feature that I've used for a while on this blog - Google Friend Connect is being discontinued. This means that the widget in the sidebar which shows followers and allows readers to click and follow the blog will no longer work when it is discontinued very soon.

So, to try to stay available to readers and get new posts out to those who are interested, there are now two new ways to follow this blog. Down there on the sidebar you'll see a box to subscribe by email address via FeedBurner (email addresses are covered by Google's privacy policy) and a box to subscribe to the RSS feed using your favourite feed reader (use 'Atom' for the general feed URL).

For convenience, the feed url for blog posts is:

http://www.brightsideofcrohns.com/feeds/posts/default

Thank you for reading, more excellent posts are coming soon!

Crohn's And Colitis - How To Be A Supportive Partner

A question I commonly get asked from readers is something like "I don't have IBD myself, but my spouse/partner/friend does. I feel so helpless, how can I be supportive?" Well, here they are, my tips for being a gold star, superhero partner or friend.

Crohn's and Colitis are usually invisible diseases. This means that while the individual might look just great on the outside, on the inside they may be suffering varying levels of pain, exhaustion, fear, malnourishment, severe diarrhea or constipation, lack of appetite, nausea, heartburn, joint pain and muscle aches, anxiety, depression and more. We are often embarrassed about our disease and the symptoms it causes and so we try to put on a brave face. Sometimes that brave face catches up to us and we break down.

Having a friend, spouse or partner who truly understands and knows how to be supportive in the right ways can make a world of difference. Feeling alone with our disease is crushing.... feeling understood can be a ray of sunshine. Here are some tips to help you be supportive in the best ways possible.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my readers out there! January is a great time to think back and reflect on what we've been through and how far we've come. If you're feeling great these days, try to fully appreciate it. Remember some of the things you vowed you'd do once you felt better (clean out the basement? exercise? wrestle the kids?) and make a renewed effort to actually do those things. I myself am kicking my own butt to get more physical activity like I promised myself I would during my last flare up.