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Medical care can be doing everything “right” and you can still feel wrecked, anxious, and trapped in a never-ending cycle of symptoms, appointments, and fear. That gap is where GI psychology lives, and it’s why we wanted Dr. Anna Katherine “AK” Black. AK is a licensed clinical health psychologist at GI Psychology, with a focus on gut-brain therapies, trauma-informed care, and medical fatigue in chronic illness.

We get into what clinical hypnosis actually is (no stage tricks, no mind control) and why gut-directed hypnotherapy has decades of research behind it for GI conditions. AK explains the gut-brain connection in plain language, including how stress can hijack the system, how visceral hypersensitivity turns the volume up on sensations, and why you can’t just tell your gut to “calm down” with conscious thoughts alone. We also talk about how fear and pain overlap, and why techniques that shift the nervous system toward parasympathetic regulation can change real physical symptoms.

Then we name the thing so many people feel but rarely hear described: medical fatigue. If you’ve ever canceled yet another appointment, struggled to keep up with meds and procedures, or felt judged as “noncompliant,” this conversation puts words to that burnout and offers practical next steps. We also cover trauma-informed care, what providers can do with better language and screening, and why integrated teams work best. AK shares resources and explains the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation partnership group that combines community with skills like CBT and hypnosis.

Subscribe for more real talk about living with IBD, share this with someone who needs it, and please leave a rating and review so more people can find the show. What part of the gut-brain story hit closest to home?

Links:

• Join the IBD Psychotherapy Group
• Info on Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy

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A Crohn’s diagnosis at eight can shrink a kid’s world down to fatigue, fear, and the nearest bathroom. Nicole Thornton took that same reality and built something bigger: community, advocacy, and a blueprint for how young people with IBD can lead without pretending it’s easy.

We talk through Nicole’s early health journey and the moment Camp Purple Live in New Zealand changed everything by giving her friends who truly understood Crohn’s and colitis. From there, Nicole shares how she petitioned the New Zealand Parliament at just 12 years old to improve toilet access for people with inflammatory bowel disease and other urgent health needs, and how that effort evolved into the “I Can’t Wait” campaign where busin

esses voluntarily welcome patients to use staff bathrooms. We also dig into the everyday stakes behind “bathroom access” and how stigma and public accidents can shape mental health, confidence, and relationships.

Nicole also brings a global lens from her work with the International Federation of Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (IFCCA) youth group, including what she’s learned about medication access, healthcare funding, and how different countries support young patients. Finally, we get into why she’s studying nursing, how small acts of care can change someone’s life, and what it takes to balance advocacy, school, work, and chronic illness without burning out.

If you care about Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic illness advocacy, bathroom accessibility, or patient leadership, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show.

Links:

• Camp Purple Live- Crohn's & Colitis New Zealand
• IFCCA- Youth Group
• Article on Nicole's NZ parliamentary efforts
• Story on CCNZ on Nicole's trip to Brussels

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A lot of IBD news sounds like it should change your care tomorrow and then… nothing changes at your next appointment. We wanted to close that gap, so we invited back Dr. Victor Chedid and Dr. Iris Wang from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for a Research Rroundup that’s honest about what’s exciting, what’s early, and what still has major caveats for real people living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

We dig into emerging data on GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide and why several retrospective studies are turning heads with signals for fewer hospitalizations and less steroid use in IBD patients. We also get specific about the “who should not use this” question, including risks for people who are underweight or have disordered eating concerns, and why multidisciplinary support with an IBD dietitian can matter. Robin also raises a practical angle many patients care about: whether GLP-1 medications could help slow gut transit for high ostomy output or pouch output, and what makes insurance approval so challenging.

From there, we talk breakthroughs that could reshape the long game of Crohn’s care: fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease and strictures. An antifibrotic drug targeting intestinal fibroblasts is showing early promise, and we walk through what a phase 2 trial result really means, plus why it can still take years before a therapy becomes available in clinic. We also explore the surprising two-way relationship between sex hormones and the gut microbiome, what that could imply for symptom patterns, and why microbiome testing and “fix your gut” products often outrun the evidence.

We end with what makes us hopeful over the next five years: better biomarkers, precision medicine, and AI in gastroenterology, paired with a clear warning about bias and why ChatGPT-style tools can confidently generate misinformation. If you found this helpful, subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who needs a clear-eyed update on IBD research.

Links:

• Information from Mt. Sinai about GLP-1 Medications and IBD
• Preventing Fibrosis in IBD: Update on immune pathways and clinical strategies

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