The last few months of 2020, I felt off. I blamed it on my chronic fatigue at first. But after listening to my body and noticing some very abnormal symptoms, I brought up my concerns with my gastroenterologist. In this blog post, I share the six signs that pointed toward iron-deficiency anemia, and four ways […]
I Joined an IBD Research Study That Will Help Us Learn to Predict Flares
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease can make our lives unpredictable. As a very organized person who loves to plan, it’s upsetting to me that IBD takes away a lot of my control over my own life and body. Will I flare again? What will I do if my current medication fails me? What other medications […]
3 Major Things a Liver Biopsy Can Tell You (Plus 7 Common Reasons Why People Get the Procedure)
Welcome back to the fourth and final installment about my liver biopsy experience! In today’s post, I’m going to talk less about my personal liver biopsy experience and more about liver biopsies in general—particularly why people get this procedure and what your results can tell you about your health. If you missed Part 1 (all […]
4 Types of Pain You Might Experience After your Liver Biopsy and How to Manage It
Welcome back to my 4-part series all about the liver biopsy experience! In this post, I’m going to share the types of pain I experienced in my liver, shoulder, back, and chest after my liver biopsy and how I helped manage the pain without medication. If you missed Part 1 of this liver biopsy series […]
How to Prepare for a Liver Biopsy (Plus Tips to Help You Safely Recover)
Welcome back to my 4-part series all about the liver biopsy experience! Today I’m going to share how I prepared for my liver biopsy, beginning one month in advance! I also offer some tips about things that helped me recover. If you missed Part 1, definitely check it out because I talk all about the […]
What to Expect at your Ultrasound-Guided Liver Biopsy Procedure
On February 6th, 2020 I had a liver biopsy at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. At the time, I was living with an unofficial diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)— a non-alcohol-related, autoimmune, progressive liver disease. We hoped a liver biopsy would help give us some answers and confirm the unofficial diagnosis. I was EXTREMELY nervous […]