National He « A Guy With Crohn's

For today’s post, I chose to interview someone I recently met in the IBD community. She has a great website and I wanted to help spread her word around. I won’t spend much time talking about it. Instead, you can read the interview and explore her sight. So without further adieu, here is Sarah from www.myjourneywithcrohns.com)

1. What is the name of your blog and how did you come up with that name?
The name of my website is called My Journey with Crohns (
www.myjourneywithcrohns.com) and what inspired me to come up with the name
was my last visit to the hospital. I was laying in that hospital bed and
was talking to my mom about it, and I said to her “Wow this is going to be
with me forever, such a journey to go through.” And from that I came up
with the name :).

2. What/who inspired you to create your blog?
My last flare/attack, which led me to my first “real” hospital stay,
inspired me to create this website. I had wished for a place I could go to
that obtained, not only a western medicine approach to treatment but
eastern, as well as stories of others who were diagnosed with crohns,
recipes, news updates, funny stories (always good to try to laugh) and more
. I also wanted a place I felt I could connect to someone who knew what I
was going through. I also had such an urge to help others who are going
through what I was going through. My heart goes out to everyone who suffers
with it because I understand how unfair it can be and I just have so much
compassion for my Crohns Community, so if I can help in any way then I will
do it. So with that, I began this website, but with that I also discovered
so many others that share their stories and tools through their own blogs.
That is the amazing thing about Crohn’s Disease, the community behind it is
incredible. That is why I also share on my web site others who have
website/blogs of their own and have their take on their experience with
crohns and things they feel they would like to share.

3. When were you first diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and how did it
affect your life at the time?
I was diagnosed at the age of 14 but had suffered from symptoms since I was
12, after returning from a trip to Lebanon where I had got a horrible
stomach virus. If there is a connection there, who knows, but I think that
virus woke up this autoimmune disease with no off button.
In terms of it affecting my life, it definitely made being a teenager in
high school a bit more difficult. I would miss a lot of school and be asked
why I would appear to fluctuate in weight all the time. I am pretty sure
some may have thought I had issues with eating. Little did they know, but I
also never shared that I had Crohn’s Disease. I think I never shared for
two reasons. One, I was a teenager and it was tough enough dealing with the
issues that come with that, let alone to share that I had a disease that
made me poop a lot and gave me a lot of pain. Second, I didn’t really
understand what I had to begin with or how serious it was, so how can I
explain something to some when I did not even really know what I was
talking about. Back when I was diagnosed, there was still little studies
done about Crohns and it was not something ever talked about in society.

4. When was your Ah Ha moment when you decided to start speaking up about
IBD.
My Ah Ha moment was this year actually. When I got sick (again, but this
time really bad) and realized that this disease can really impact the rest
of my life if I don’t take it seriously. One of the ways for me to do that
was to open up about having it, because as crazy as it sounds, half my
family STILL had no idea that I had Crohn’s Disease till this year, 14
years after being diagnosed (let alone half my friends). I never shared
because I never thought it deserved to be shared because it was not a big
deal. I had it under control, at least I thought I did. The last 6 months I
dropped 20 pounds, going from 125 to 105, which is very noticeable and hard
to give excuses for. I became pale, lost all my energy and just wanted to
move back to LA to be near my family because I could tell something bad was
coming. I was right, I got an obstruction and I was hospitalized and at
that moment I realized, I have Crohns. Not my version of Crohns, where it
was a normal to go to the bathroom after every meal and have these mini
attacks, but CROHNS, the one that, if I don’t take seriously can really F
up the rest of my life! I hope I am explaining that right, hard to express
that eye opening moment but maybe some of you can relate to it.

5. Who are your inspirations in the IBD community and what makes them
special?
My inspirations are all my twitter friends and Facebook friends I have met
who have Crohns. That community is a combination of moms, dads, sisters,
brother, students, bloggers, teenagers and so on, who help support one
another and show compassion to those who are struggling with their Crohns.
This community has touched my heart and the work I do and hope to
accomplish, I do for them!

6. If you could meet anyone in the IBD who would it be?
I would love to be able to have a huge party with all my twitter and
Facebook friends who have Crohns, and meet them all! Sounds silly, but I
feel it would be a great party. I can not just pick one to meet!

7. What advice would you give someone who is recently diagnosed with
Crohn’s?
I would say that I know it may seem daunting and scary BUT you are not
alone and to reach out to others who have it, it helps a lot. Also know,
you will be ok. Especially during those scary/painful flares, to remind
yourself, that it will pass. I would also say that it is ok to feel all the
emotions that come with it and share it, it is important to have a good
support network that you can talk to about it. If you can not find that
support at home, you will definitely find it on twitter, Facebook and so
many other great websites that have great forums just for that.

8. Has Crohn’s Disease ever stopped you from doing something?
Only once, it stopped me this last time from continuing to work but it
became a blessing in disguise because then I would have never found the
time to create www.myjourneywithcrohns.com and this has become my heart and
love!

9. What is your biggest pet peeve about myths people believe about Crohn’s?

The most annoying thing I encounter is the common thread of people
thinking, “oh crohn’s is the pooping disease, that is why you are so
skinny.” It is the ignorance of others not knowing that it is way more then
“pooping” and that being “skinny” is not a plus from it (as it is usually
said in a way that implies, “oh that is why you are so lucky to be so
skinny.”) That is another bit of a pet peeve (going on a tangent for a
minute), because this past year, before I got sick, I was “fit”, I went to
yoga and palates every other day and was eating right. For the most part my
Crohns was under control, and the second someone found out I had Crohns, I
would always here “Oh that is why you are skinny” (in a way that sounded
like they got their answer as to why I looked the way I did and the world
made sense) and all I wanted to say was, “No, I actually work very hard to
take care of myself, this is not from Crohns. I do this to help prevent me
from getting a Crohn’s Flare.” There are two types of “skinny” with Crohn’s
in my opinion, and people do not get this. The “sick” skinny and the “fit,
I actually take care of myself” skinny. Sorry this just annoys me because I
have heard other friends with Crohns get that taken away from them, the
credit that they take care of themselves and thus may be “fit” from it.
Bottom line, people need to stop commenting on every pound you lose and
gain, especially because you never know the true story behind that person.