Brain-Gut Connection and IBS If you’re one of the millions of people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you may be aware that stress and anxiety can deeply affect your gut and sense of wellbeing. IBS is categorized as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI),1 which means that there’s a disconnection between how your [...]
What is a Specialty Pharmacy and What Makes Them Special? As Canada’s population ages and rare diseases and chronic conditions are on the rise, more complex treatments and specialty drugs are being developed and used for patient care. Although there is no universal definition of what a specialty drug is, many of them have things [...]
Marty Enokson’s Battle with Obesity I am 13 years post bariatric surgery and still living with and battling the chronic disease of obesity. After having had a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RNY), I can say that it is such incredibly hard work maintaining the weight you lose; so much harder than you think it’s going to [...]
New Hope for Gastroparesis Gastroparesis is a motility disorder affecting 4% of Canadians. It occurs when food does not move from the stomach into the intestine as quickly as it should, usually due to damage to, or impaired function of, the nerves connecting the brainstem to the gastrointestinal tract (vagus nerve). Symptoms include feeling excessively [...]
A How-to Guide for Medical Cannabis Since the legalization of cannabis in Canada, you might have considered trying recreational cannabis to treat your medical condition. While purchasing cannabis from a recreational shop may seem simpler, it is best to use medical cannabis instead. This way, you can be confident that the strain you use will [...]
Patient Support Programs Patient-focused adaptations If you’re living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and are taking a biologic medication, then patient support programs (PSPs) are useful in helping you manage your treatments. Biologics are highly effective medicines made in living cells used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases and [...]
Could a GI Condition Be Causing Your Chronic Cough? Coughs are common. Most of us have experienced viral or bacterial infections, or other acute forms of cough, typically lasting from a few days to a few weeks. However, some individuals experience a cough that doesn’t go away. Chronic cough is defined as a cough that [...]
IBD Prevalence and Costs Canada has one of the highest rates of inflammatory bowel disease (primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) in the world, affecting close to 1 in 150 individuals. We have conducted several studies on the unmet needs of those living with IBD and the results show that many individuals are still experiencing [...]
Toxic Relationships Between Your Liver and Herbs Herbal medicines continue to be increasingly popular therapies for many illnesses and conditions. More than two decades ago, we published one of our first articles on herbal medicine in the Inside Tract® newsletter.1 Since then, we have written about herbal supplements, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and other herbal remedies, [...]
Patient-Focused Health Policy We need change There has been a lot of attention lately in the media about the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), which is the mechanism under the Canada Heath Act that ensures that the provinces and territories have sufficient funds to operate healthcare services in their [...]
