Inflammatory bowel disease can make managing your romantic relationship very difficult. All relationships have some kind of stress, and IBD adds an unnecessary amount. In this video, I talk about my experience with a relationship when I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and talk about some things I’ve learned on the way about how to manage your relationship more effectively.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: What influence does IBD have on your relationship? Please share any details with the community: lots of people have questions and concerns in this area!
If you’ve been following my vlog for awhile you may already know what I believe about this. There are many on the Internet that claim a certain supplement, treatment, or medicine can COMPLETELY cure your ulcerative colitis without surgery. I’ve thought before about exposing such nonsense but I think even acknowledging such dubious claims gives them too much credit.
This video covers the real deal: the difference between cures and remission, and how surgery, while substantially reducing symptoms, is an imperfect cure at best.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: Where am I going wrong? Is there really a cure that I am not seeing? Please respond to this post and share your thoughts!
How do you avoid thinking about this incurable and debilitating disease? Is it even possible? With flare-ups, medicine, hospital visits, and everything else that comes with having inflammatory bowel disease, it’s hard not to have this disease constantly on your mind.
There, I said it. Many people don’t want to be defined by their diseases, but I think what people mean is that they don’t want to be judged because of their diseases. That I agree with. Definition, though: it’s much harder to avoid, especially when these diseases radically take hold of our lives and change who we are.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: Are you defined by ulcerative colitis? Let us know!
This is the first in a three-part series about everybody’s favorite bodily fluid–blood. Specifically, this video discusses several issues with blood that need to be kept in mind for those suffering with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation just released the 2009 Kids for a Cause Holiday Cards. I’ve told you about Camp Oasis before. You’re going to hear a lot more about it in the future. But if you want to support the kids who attend this IBD-related camp every summer, buy a stack of these holiday cards! The artwork featured on the cards are from none other than kids from the camp.
Camp Oasis is a very necessary program for these kids and anything you can do to send some money their way will be greatly appreciated!
After surgery, during flare-ups, and during hospital stays, you have a lot of free time in which your goal is not to do anything but get healthier. For those who are inclined to find meaning in life through work and action, having all of this downtime can be very depressing. It’s hard not to feel like a useless burden on society.
However, try not to let your downtime get you down anymore.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: How do you deal with feelings of uselessness? Reply to this post!
Of all the subjects of bowel disease that we could talk about, this one is perhaps the one that people like to acknowledge the least–wearing diapers to help manage a flare-up. There’s nothing pretty or dignified about it, but a surprising number of people share with me that they find it a useful tool to help them get out in public.
Many people are adamant about avoiding them, and if that sounds like you, at least watch this video and consider the possibility of wearing them to help get through the worst of a flare-up.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: Do you or have you ever worn diapers to get through a flare-up? Why or why not? Reply to this post!
Here’s the last video in my dream series. This one, however, is not about dreams you have at night. It’s about the dreams and the hopes and the aspirations that we all have inside of us–that one day there will be no more ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
While this dream is certainly unavoidable, how possible is it?
People email me everyday with doubts about treatment options. Sometimes the doubts are about the effects of medicine long term, sometimes they are about living with an ileostomy, and sometimes they are about living with a J-pouch.
And doubts are good! Doubts are to be encouraged. If you doubt something it shows that you care about it.
Just don’t let your doubts paralyze you into inaction.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: What doubts do you have about your future treatment options? Reply to this post!
Many of us have ostomies only temporarily. And many people around the world are in need of supplies. So if you have any extra unused, new, and clean supplies, send them our way!
We are collecting supplies to send to Haiti with a medical team!
Current progress:
1114 bags and flanges
2108 medical supplies
