Sending your child with IBD to school can be a nerve-wracking experience. How do you keep your child's school in the fold?
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When it comes to having a "normal" bowel movement, many people think that it means you have one (and only one) each day. But really, there's a whole spectrum of what can be considered "normal" bowel movements.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Guide, Barbara Bradley Bolen, Ph.D., reports on a recent study involving abdominal migraines which showed that the current diagnostic criteria is coming up short. Her look into this research has her asking further questions about whether abdominal migraines somehow relate to other digestive disease. Read her thoughts about abdominal migraines and if they could relate to IBS.
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Kevin Barnes is one of the growing number of people who were diagnosed with IBD at a young age -- he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 12, at a time when successful treatments were few and far between. The road to diagnosis took a year, but that was only the beginning. Even after some dozen surgeries, including a colectomy, Kevin still managed to earn a Bachelor's and a Master's degree, and today has a successful career in marketing and advertising.
Kevin is active in the CCFA (Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America) Team Challenge program, running and fundraising in four half marathons since 2008. In July 2011, the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon will be his fifth Team Challenge race. I took a few minutes of Kevin's time to find out how he trains for a marathon and manages his Crohn's disease.
Q: What made you start blogging about your health?
Kevin Barnes: I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 1975 and quickly discovered that at that time most people had never even heard of the disease. In addition, the little information circulating among the general public was often incorrect. ("Crohn's disease ... isn't that caused by stress?") So from that very early age I found myself focused on educating people about IBD. Over the years I began to share my story by talking at CCFA events and other public venues. When blogging arose, it seemed like a natural way for me to spread information about IBD to a wider audience, as well as share some of my firsthand experiences with IBD.
Q: What do you hope to get out of your blog?
Kevin Barnes: For me, the most important goal of my blog is to provide the perspective of someone who lives with IBD on a daily basis. But the blog also serves a much more personal purpose. All of my life I've been a writer and the blog is one way I exercise my need to write on a regular basis. Finally, there are a number of secondary benefits from writing the blog, such as connecting me with others who have similar interests (whether IBD, space exploration or other topics).
Q: What is your advice for people with IBD who want to train for a half marathon?
Kevin Barnes: Seek professional help ... no, really! When a healthy person begins to train for a half marathon, they are advised to first "consult a physician" to ensure that they aren't putting their body at unnecessary risk. If you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, talking with your doctor(s) before you start training is even more critical. Your doctor will help you determine whether there are specific training activities that should be modified or even eliminated altogether in order to avoid complicating the management of your disease.
You and your doctor also can determine any special steps you should take, or key areas you should focus on, in your training. In my case for example, when I began training for my first half marathon, my doctor and I worked together to develop a detailed hydration plan. Since my colon had previously been removed due to Crohn's, my body dehydrates much more quickly when running then an average person. So it was critical for us to develop an approach that would help me stay hydrated throughout the 13.1 miles of a half marathon (as well as during all the training runs leading up to that).
If possible, it also helps to find a trainer who is familiar with IBD and knows the unique challenges that the diseases can add to distance running. I've been very lucky and have worked with two trainers who know IBD (both through CCFA's Team Challenge running program). The first was an ultra-marathoner who has ulcerative colitis, while the second works regularly with runners with IBD.
Q: As a working professional with IBD, how do you manage your disease while on the job?
Kevin Barnes: I have been fortunate that both of the employers I have worked for during my career have been very understanding and supportive. My first job was with a large (100,000+ employees) management consulting firm and they were very willing to accommodate any special needs or requirements I had. Their attitude was that if my work got done (and done well), that was what mattered. My second (and current) job is at the opposite end of the spectrum, at a small marketing agency with only six employees, but the company attitude is much the same. If the work gets done well, that's what matters.
My advice for other professionals with IBD is to find that work about which you are truly passionate, then build your career in that area. Feeling that passion to want to get up every morning and do something you love can be a great motivator in overcoming the day-to-day emotional drag of long-term IBD. Plus if you love your job and love what you do, that makes it much easier to focus on those other areas of your life -- specifically managing your IBD- - that may require a little extra attention.
In my experience, I have met many professionals with IBD who are passionate and driven in their jobs. It's almost as if they are pushing themselves all the harder to succeed despite the fact that they have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. For myself, I've always felt at some level like I have something to prove -- that even though I have Crohn's disease, I can still accomplish just as much as (or more than) anyone else. And I've often suspected, based on many of the people I've met, that such overcompensation occurs frequently with IBD. Admittedly this is just conjecture based on my perception, but it would be a great topic for a research study.
You can find Kevin's blog at http://kevinabarnes.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter at @KevinABarnes . Kevin is running the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon on July 17, 2011 to raise both awareness of IBD and research funds to help find a cure. You can follow his progress and show your support at: http://www.active.com/donate/napa11wisconsin/napa11KBarnes.
And then I saw the new movie Bridesmaids.
Yes, there is a bathroom scene in the movie, and yes I found it funny. Hilariously funny, actually. The movie theater was so loud during that scene that you could barely hear the dialogue. Apparently, in some viewings, people actually walked out during the scene because they were disturbed by it.
In the days after I saw the movie, I wondered why I found this particular movie to be so funny, when in the past I, too, have fast forwarded through a scene, or even turned off a movie that had too much "gross out" humor. What made this film different? Perhaps because this was women instead of men, which bursts the idea that somehow women have different bathroom habits than men (which ties into the myth that men get colon cancer more often than women)? Perhaps because the scene was skillfully done, and didn't include the typical sound effects? Or perhaps because it advanced the story, and wasn't added to the film solely for shock value?
I'm not sure what the reason is, but in any case, it was a darn funny movie. If you do find diarrhea funny -- well, this movie will have you laughing.
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There are so many myths and misconceptions about digestive disease -- everything from IBD being caused by mental disorders to cigarettes curing heartburn. So many of these types of myths have long been shown to be false, yet they persist. How is it that some ideas become so etched into the public consciousness that almost nothing can erase them? Better minds than mine haven't been able to answer that question, but I can certain address some of the myths about digestion and provide you with the evidence that shows them to be false.
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