Hi Tuesday crew! April is National Stress Awareness Month. How do you manage stress? How does it affect your IBD?! 👋 For fun, what does your view look like right now? If you can, share a pic! Whether you’re on a porch, in an office, or chillin in the living room

i had my first entyvio dose today. feeling anxious & just worried about the future. struggling right now so any kind words would be great. 😔

Update: 3/31/25 Hi guys. Sorry for going radio silent. A lot has happened. For the good news, I'm doing better symptoms wise! I think I might be in remission soon. The blood stopped 2 weeks ago. A lot of the remaining symptoms I had was actually due to stress and another medication I was taking, adderall. It caused my bowels to move a lot during the morning and also increased my heart rate, blood pressure, breath rate, etc. It just made me overall very jittery and nervous, which exasperated the IBS symptoms. Entyvio users! I have some questions: Do you always get sick after an infusion? I had my second dose 2 weeks ago and it really knocked me down hard. I got bronchitis and I am still recovering from it. Is there any way to prevent getting sick after an infusion? Thanks.

Certainly not condoning the horrible act of violence associated, which I imagine/hope will remove the name from the ballot. Like so many others, I battle with Insurance companies each year. Every January, for last several years, I get denied for an expensive, yet effective, medication. Every January, with my GI’s support, that denial has been overturned. This year has been no different- except for the intentional delays and only providing a “verbal” approval- as I’ve waited 2 + weeks for “corrected” documentation since I was informed. I had to notify Aetna, that the approval letter they shared had old dates. Was that by mistake or design? I’m fairly certain that these initial rejection letters are ChatGPT generated, w/o physician review. I’ve never experienced close to these issues, in my 30 years of managing IBD. The end game is to hold out for patient fatigue and allowing the insurance companies to dictate our quality of care. Like so often the case, follow the money. I truly hope that something is passed which protects all managing an illness that requires medication(s).

Some of you may find this helpful. Take care, Steve

Hello women with IBD, I am steadily working on my recognition of how important this group will be for me. I was initially diagnosed with UC 23 years ago while pregnant with my first child. Experienced remission for most of those last 23 years. Occasional flares were largely improved with steroids or Canada suppositories. For the last year, however, as I begin menopause, I have been in near constant flare. I tried prednisone, budesonide foam, and elimination diets. Nothing worked. Finally, my gastroenterologist and I came to the determination that mesalamine was no longer working for me. I transitioned to Entyvio last week and feel both anxious and hopeful. I’m wondering if others have noticed hormonal impact of IBD and any suggestions for better management.