Claim OwnershipWrestling the Octopus (IBD)
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© 2025 Wrestling the Octopus (IBD)
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Two long-term IBD patients, Rachel and Nigel, share their experiences and perspectives on living with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).
22 Episodes
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You can now email us at wrestlingtheoctopusibd@gmail.com - we'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas and feedback on our IBD patient podcast! And if you like what you hear, please spread the word to others with an interest in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In this specially curated episode - for want of another phrase! - Nigel takes us on his personal and often amusing journey through his A–Z of Crohn’s disease experiences. From bone marrow biopsies to varices, stomas to sedation, he sh...
The tables are turned in this episode! Now Rachel interviews Nigel about his life-changing bowel surgery in 2010. Fifteen years on, Nigel reflects on the symptoms that led to his Crohn's surgery, the emotional and practical preparations, and the highs and lows of recovery - including living with a temporary stoma and navigating postoperative ileus. With his trademark candid storytelling and humour, Nigel shares how planning, shared decision-making and trust in his healthcare team helped...
In this anniversary special, Nigel interviews me about my decision to stop taking medication (infliximab, aka Remicade) for my inflammatory bowel disease, and what reflections I have on staying in remission four years later. Discussion Points My rationale for stopping infliximab after nearly a decade of IBD remissionThe emotional weight of sharing my decision publicly and the need for sensitivityThe importance of not being labeled “anti-medication” when choosing to de-escalateHow my con...
Meet Olie Bosley. Olie is an IT and cybersecurity expert from Oxford, UK who has suffered from Crohn's disease symptoms for nearly 30 years. We invited Olie to join us for this episode as he has an important story to share: what happens when the drug that has kept you well for so long - in his case Humira (adalimumab) - without notice causes you side effects that mean you need to stop taking it. Olie speaks with candour to Nigel and me on the practical and psychological challenges this ...
In this episode, we gaze deep into the gut-brain axis with Dr. Gita Robson, a clinical psychologist who specialises in gastroenterology. Our brains and guts chatter in both directions constantly, and we wanted to understand if this had an implications in how Crohn's and ulcerative colitis patients can better manage their disease. 🔍 What We Cover Why the gut might be our “first brain”The bidirectional nature of the gut-brain axisHow inflammation, stress and mood are interconnectedThe vag...
In Episode 16 of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast, we're talking a perennial favourite with Crohn's and UC patients: diet and nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Our expert guest is Dearbhaile O'Hanlon, principal gastroenterology dietitian at Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London, UK. We discuss everything from emulsifiers and ultra-processed foods to prebiotics, probiotics and the Mediterranean diet, Nigel shares his journey through a food additive trial (and hi...
In Episode 15 of Wrestling the Octopus: the IBD Patient Podcast, Nigel and I cover a topic that receives not nearly as much attention as it should: Bile Acid Diarrhoea (BAD) / Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM) in Crohn's disease. Our expert guest is gastroenterologist, Professor Julian Walters from Imperial College London in the UK. Through Nigel's story, we also get a candid view of what BAM feels like for inflammatory bowel disease patients who have had their terminal ileum removed. What ...
Every IBD patient will have likely had a run-in with iron deficiency or anaemia at some point while living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. And for many of us it’s a constant problem. So in this episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast, Nigel and I wanted to invite an iron expert to join us and talk us through what inflammatory bowel disease patients need to know about managing iron deficiency and anaemia. And who better to invite than the iron guru himself?! Profe...
Welcome back, folks! Think of this episode as a commercial break between our interviews with patients and healthcare professionals. In Episode 13, Nigel and I shoot the breeze about our lives with inflammatory bowel disease... with a little bit of insight into what it means to be a patient with either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. We also swap notes on the annoying healthcare-related things we would like to consign to Room 101, given half the chance! We hope you enjoy listening t...
Ask anyone living with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis what their main concerns are and you'll find the topic of mental health in IBD right up there, top of the list. So Nigel and I were delighted when we found out a mental health expert wanted to come onto our podcast to share a few pearls about supporting good mental health in IBD. Welcome to Dr Stacey Boardman, an IBD clinical psychologist at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. Stacey talks to us about her role on the g...
Author Vicky Ball has lived with mild inflammatory bowel disease since 2021. She has published two teen fiction books, with a third adult fiction book in the works. In this episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast, Vicky talks to us about how she manages her career as a writer while living with IBD. She also tells us about her now-famous viral moment with her book sales. We hope Vicky's story spurs on many aspiring writers with IBD to achieve their publishing dreams! Yo...
Getting older with inflammatory bowel disease - be that Crohn's or ulcerative colitis - comes with specific challenges and tailored decision-making with our healthcare teams. This includes considering drug safety as we age, other conditions (co-morbidities) we develop as we get older, plus the safety of procedures - and much more besides. So we are delighted to welcome to this episode Dr Adam Faye, gastroenterologist at NYU Langone in the US, who delivers a tour-de-force guide to ageing with ...
Going on your summer holidays? Travelling with Crohn's or ulcerative colitis? Join us on our latest episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast as we chat with Kay Greveson, Kay is the founder of IBD Passport - a brilliant resource and educational website for people with IBD who need information on travel with their disease. We talk about the Sunflower Lanyard; what to do if you need the toilet when the seatbelt signs are on; adapting to diet in different countries; ...
In this episode of Wrestling the Octopus: The IBD Patient Podcast, Nigel and I are delighted to welcome Rob, our first IBD patient guest on the show! Rob talks to us about his diagnosis of Crohn's as a Brit in the USA. We absolutely loved speaking with him - highly relatable and a really nice guy to boot! Let us know what you think - plenty more patient episodes coming up! Follow Rachel at @bottomlineibd Follow Nigel at @crohnoid
Who can believe we've notched up 7 episodes already?! But indeed we have! If you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, you will doubtless have had (or are due to have) a colonoscopy or three. In this episode, we reflect on our past experiences of having colonoscopies. As well as the ouch! moments, there are some top tips along the way... As ever, please let us know your thoughts too - and we welcome suggestions for future topics to cover. Follow Rachel at @bottomlineibd Follow Nigel at...
In Part 2 of Episode 6 of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, we put some more IBD patient questions to consultant gastroenterologist, Dr Mark Samaan from Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London. This time we're asking what is the definition of an IBD flare, how frequently patients should be monitored - both in active disease and remission - and whether there is a place for surgery as an early treatment option. Nigel and I would like to thank Dr Samaan for generously donating his time as a medical g...
Nigel and I had the pleasure of recording a two-part podcast for Episode 6 of Wrestling the Octopus with consultant gastroenterologist, Dr Mark Samaan. Dr Samaan treats IBD patients at Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London - where the service has around 6,000 patients on its books. We are really grateful to Dr Samaan for answering some of the common questions that Crohn's and UC patients have about their disease. This episode is Part 1 of 2. Follow Rachel at @bottomlineibd Follow Nigel...
In Episode 5 of Wrestling the Octopus, Nigel and I discuss our definition of "good medicine". What does this term mean to us as patients - and how might it differ from how healthcare professionals define it? Should "good medicine" take in all the softer clinical skills that go beyond academic knowledge, or is the focus on getting the right drug to the right patient? As ever, we welcome your feedback on this episode. And don't forget that we're always glad to hear your suggestions for future t...
In our fourth episode of Wrestling the Octopus IBD, recorded to mark World IBD Day, Nigel and I busk our way through various IBD topics. Whatever comes to mind - in whichever order - that we think merits discussion. Some serious, some silly. We talk managing fatigue, the cost of living with Crohn's, the crazy things that steroids made us do, and why neither of us like the idea of wearables to track our IBD. Plus lots more. We'd love to hear your opinions too and, as ever, let us know what...
Welcome to Episode 3 in our 8-part podcast series on living with inflammatory bowel disease. In this episode we're talking about how to advocate for yourself (and others, if you're a carer) to give your health the best opportunity to thrive. Nigel and I give our opinions on what we think advocacy is and some examples of when we used to it to good effect, plus a personal anecdote of how not advocating can cause disadvantage, We hope you enjoy this episode - as ever, we would love...
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