🎙️ In episode 22 of the Colitis Unfiltered podcast, I speak with Victoria, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 24 after years of brushing off bloating, cramping and changes in her bowel habits. Despite having a brother with Crohn’s, Victoria never imagined she could have the same disease until the pain became so severe she could barely walk.

💉 After blood tests revealed high levels of inflammation, a CT scan and colonoscopy finally confirmed Crohn’s disease, along with a nearly connecting fistula in her bowel. Victoria talks about starting Remicade, navigating recurring flares, fatigue and medication side effects, and the complicated reality of relying on a treatment that helps control her Crohn’s while creating other challenges for her body.

🧠 Now a mental health counselor and outspoken IBD advocate, Victoria shares how Crohn’s disease has changed her relationship with fitness, friendships, mental health and her own body. Through social media, she challenges dangerous misconceptions about treating IBD without medication and uses her experience to remind others that chronic illness affects far more than just the gut.

For more inspiring stories from the bathroom floor, visit colitisunfiltered.com

In episode 21 of the Colitis Unfiltered podcast, I speak with Harriet, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 22 after years of believing she simply had IBS. With a family history of Crohn’s, blood in her stool led to a colonoscopy, years of uncertainty, and eventually a diagnosis that would completely change her life.

After trying multiple medications, developing allergic reactions, losing response to biologics, and struggling through pregnancy with active disease, Harriet reached the point where emergency stoma surgery became the only option. She opens up about living with anxiety, body image, motherhood, and the fear of surgery, before discovering that her stoma gave her back the freedom she’d been missing for years.

Today, Harriet is in remission on biologic treatment and has become a passionate advocate for the IBD community. Through her honest and unapologetic social media presence, she challenges misconceptions about Crohn’s disease, surgery, and life with a stoma, proving that sometimes the treatment you fear most can become the reason you get your life back.

For more inspiring storied from the bathroom floor, visit colitisunfiltered.com

In this episode of the Colitis Unfiltered podcast, I speak with Liesel, who started experiencing swollen knees, extreme fatigue, weight loss, and abdominal pain while in college. It would take nearly two years before blood in the toilet finally led to a colonoscopy and a Crohn’s diagnosis.

Liesel talks about navigating life with a chronic illness long before online communities and social media existed. She reflects on the isolation, anxiety, and depression that followed, as well as the devastating flare that led to emergency surgery just months after the birth of her first child. From living with an ileostomy to facing sepsis, multiple surgeries, osteoporosis, and even cancer linked to long-term immunosuppression, her journey has been anything but easy.

Today, Liesel is a doctor, educator, mother, and passionate advocate who uses her experience with Crohn’s disease to help others navigate illness and adversity. Her story is one of resilience, perspective, and hope, showing that even after decades of setbacks, it is possible to build a meaningful and fulfilling life beyond IBD.

For more stories from the bathroom floor, subscribe to the podcast and visit colitisunfiltered.com