Explaining IBD to Those Without It

By Leah Clark

Imagine your abdomen is a blender. Now, someone shoves 10,000 little knives into that blender. Crohn’s disease is pressing the on button.

I have been living with Crohn’s disease now for about ten years, and this analogy is the best I have conjured when describing my pain to those that have never felt it. To my closest friends, I feel very comfortable discussing my health and my symptoms. When I’m having a bad IBD day, they know about it. Whether it’s from the expressions on my face, my absence from the group, or strictly from me telling them, they know. Describing my disease to others that don’t know more, or/and have never heard of Crohn’s disease is another story.

It’s more than just a stomach ache, or it’s more than an overall “not feeling well.” When I talk about being tired, I’m talking about my entire body aching with every step I take. I’m talking about how even the thought of getting out of bed brings me to exhaustion because I don’t want to exert energy. Fatigue is only one part of it. When I talk about pain, I’m talking about truly stabbing pain, like a pitch fork plunged into your body and every time you move, the pitchfork twists a little deeper and a little wider into your gut. I’m talking about a boulder the size of a microwave being pressed into your intestines, with each step you take another rock being added on top. I don’t even want to get into the toll my mental health takes because of my disease; I’ll leave that for another discussion.

“Imagine your stomach is a blender. Someone shoves 10,000 little knives into that blender. Crohn’s disease is pressing the on button.

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I’ve had many years of experience in processing and handling the pain associated with my disease. I’ve also had many years of explaining to people the reason why I am in pain and exactly how I am affected by my Crohn’s disease. Sometimes I enjoy talking about my disease; I see it as a way to communicate and educate others on the disease so maybe next time they meet someone with it, they can have more sympathy towards them and a better understanding. Other times, I find it a chore. Going on and on, again and again, explaining the same story I’ve been telling others for the past ten years. I always start with the same script:

1. I have Crohn’s disease. Have you ever heard of it/do you know what it is?

2. It’s an inflammatory bowel disease. Do you know what that means?

3. Basically, my intestines attack themselves and I need medicine to feel better, otherwise bad things can happen to my digestive tract.

Depending on how interested the person is, I go into more or less detail, explaining more than just “attacking my intestines.” The average person does not have a gastroenterology medical background, so I keep it light and leave out the details of my bowel movements. When I decide to go off script, it’s usually from two different reasons. It’s either because I am not feeling well and I need to express my pain someone (hence, where all of the previous analogies I’ve given come into play), or when someone is just not getting it.

Generally, people are pretty understanding when I explain my illness, but sometimes you get those wackos that feel the need to put their opinion about your illness down your throat. People have tried giving me new diet tips or foods to eat to “cure” my disease. Suggestions of “just workout more, try yoga” as if yoga is the magical cure to any problem I have. People have expressed how fortunate I should be that “at least it’s not cancer” or a different illness. One thing never to say to someone with a chronic illness is, “Well, at least you don’t have [insert any other disease].” It doesn’t make us feel better, it honestly makes us feel worse because it invalidates our own pain and suffering from the very illness we have to live with for the rest of our lives. I would never wish my disease onto another person, but when it comes to times like this, I sometimes wish they could just experience for a day what it’s like during a flare. Then they’ll see if yoga is really the best thing for me.

“One thing never to say to someone with a chronic illness is, “Well, at least you don’t have [insert any other disease].” It doesn’t make us feel better, it honestly makes us feel worse because it invalidates our own pain and suffering.”

I’m not trying to bring the mood down and paint a bad picture of what living with Crohn’s disease is like. For me, it’s not always pain and suffering. There are things I’m happy about and things in my life that wouldn’t exist without it. Bonds I’ve created with other people with IBD, self assurance and confidence in myself to overcome obstacles and challenges I face everyday, and awareness of my health are just some of these examples. My disease has shaped me into the person I am today, and although it sometimes feels like knives poking out of my gut, on the days it doesn’t, I’m happy that my IBD has given me a platform and a place in a community with compassionate people going through the same things I am.

Crohn's in College: The importance of understanding flare-ups and your disease

By Erin Ard

I've been living with #CrohnsDisease for 11 years, but even with years of experiences, mishaps, and triumphs, I feel I'm still learning how it affects me. One of the biggest realizations happened recently when I was in college. Around my junior year I had hit a wall. It was becoming increasingly harder to navigate my studies and my energy level was draining rapidly. I had been taking classes year round for three straight years, taking classes in the summer and having heavy, difficult course loads to accommodate my second major and research. Unbeknownst to me, I was actually neglecting my health.

I started consistent Remicade treatments in high school and the difference it made was 100 fold. I went from an underweight, fatigued freshmen to a strong, motivated sophomore. The change was so positively significant that I thought all of my worries about Crohn's were behind me. I could eat good food again! And play competitively in sports! And I carried this mindset into college. I thought my struggle was over and could focus all my energy on school.. And I carried this mindset into college. Turns out I was wrong.

After a few painful semesters I started to realize what was happening. I was starting to get burnt out, I was sleep deprived and running on fumes. I was struggling with my motivation and my anxiety was building. Though seemingly dormant, my Crohn's disease was still affecting my mind and body.

I had ignored all of the signs up until this point. The fatigue and anxiety I felt in classrooms. The random little fevers during an important lecture that distracted me. The joint pain that slowed my walk to class or hindered my ability to exercise. The gut discomfort during an exam that forced me to finish quickly to get the hell out of there. And finally the gut-wrenching pains that made it impossible to walk. Everything added up, but it took me three years in college to see.

Starting my senior year I sought accommodations from our Disability Center on campus, which alleviated most of the worries set in place by my Crohn's. However, I was left wondering.. Why did it take me so long to figure out Crohn's still had a big impact on my daily life?

Essentially, it came down to my personality and one big misconception. During the initial stages, Crohn's had such an emotional impact that I've always tried to shut it out. In shutting it out, I failed to seek out information from outside resources and tried to figure it out on my own. In doing so, this lead to one big misconception around the focal point of Crohn's disease - flare ups.

I never generally understood what they are, their causes, how to help remedy them, and everything else. See, before I went on Remicade I was in a constant state of flaring up. I was unable to get it under control long enough to have a normal bowel movement. Which meant I wasn't able to eat much and I didn't have a lot of energy. I lived off of my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes because they were the only meals gentle enough to my gut. Here is what I have learned since then.

Flare-ups are periods of time when the disease becomes active and symptoms reappear. They consist of prolonged symptoms like gut pain from inflammation, diarrhea, blood in the stool, fatigue, and/or weight-loss. How long the symptoms last and the severity of them is different from person to person. Some medication, like Remicade/Renflexis/Infliximab, is specifically used to control symptoms enough to enter remission (i.e. an absence of symptoms or inactive disease), which means no flare-ups! Medication may be combined with other meds or diet restructuring to help keep symptoms under control. Over time, however, the same treatment regimen may not have the same affect. So adjustments in type of medication, dosage or frequency, or further diet modifications may be needed. Here, this whole time, I had thought of my disease as in remission, inactive, and needing no more thought. When in reality, it's going to be an every day effort.

See this article from Very Well Health to learn more about flare-ups and different ways to define remission.

My personal tip is to pay attention to what your body tells you. Focus on whether certain symptoms are still present - do you have gut pain? Diarrhea? Painful bowl movements? Other non-gut related symptoms? Pay attention to how long these symptoms persist and take notes. This might mean your Crohn's or Colitis is still active and it's important to tell your health team. If one thing just isn't doing the trick, there might be additional options to help you reach your potential in healthy living. And if you haven't already, seek out information about the disability center on your campus!

I've recently started to pay more attention to my body's responses. What used to be my response to the question, "What can you eat?" has changed from, "Oh, I can eat anything!" to, "Well.. I'm still trying to figure that out." In all honesty, I AM still figuring it out. Though certain foods don't affect me like they did before medication, they still influence how I feel. And it is my responsibility to make sure I take care of myself by eating the right foods and not the wrong ones.

Be attentive. Always seek a better understanding. Don't be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. And most importantly, take care of yourself!