Personal
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My MRI Enterography Experience
A few weeks ago, I had my first MRI enterography, and it was…an experience. Leading up to the MRI, my doctor warned me that it wasn’t the most pleasant test, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I turned to trusty old Reddit threads and got the typical range of “it was the worst… Continue reading
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Insurance Ills
After my appointment with Mayo Clinic at the beginning of the year, I was feeling hopeful for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long. My doctor at Mayo submitted a request to my insurance to increase the timing and doses of my Remicade infusions. Nothing out of the norm, right?… Continue reading
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Stuck Between A Rock and a Hospital Place
Well, things have gone downhill since my last post. After starting Prednisone two weeks ago, nothing got better. Nothing. Unlike my last flare-up, I didn’t respond at all to the steroids at all. I tried reaching out to my doctor’s office a week ago to see what else we could do, and, because my timing… Continue reading
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Flaring Up
Until late September, I was feeling great. Better than I had been in years. The Inflectra/Remicade infusions were doing what they were supposed to do, and after some gentle advocating for myself, even dealing with the infusion center wasn’t so stressful anymore. I was working out, sometimes twice a day. I was able to get… Continue reading
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On Advocating For Yourself (Even if You’re a People Pleaser)
What you probably don’t know about me, because, well, you don’t know me, is I’m a chronic people pleaser. It comes out often in social settings, but, surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) it comes out in medical settings too. The first doctor I saw who diagnosed me with Crohn’s laughed at me when I asked him… Continue reading
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On Well-Meaning Friends and The Diets They Recommend
I’m not exactly shy about telling people, friends or less-than, that I have IBD. I’ll talk and talk about my colonoscopies, my stool tests, and my symptoms because I don’t see it as something to be kept secret. There’s nothing wrong with keeping medical issues close to your chest, but I choose not to because… Continue reading
My Crohn's Diaries 