Small Wins That Count: Inspiring Tips From Crohn’s Warriors

Living with Crohn’s disease comes with challenges, but it’s also a journey marked by resilience, progress, and hope. Three WebMD bloggers — Tina Marteney, Basmah Ali, and Lauren Wynn — share how they find strength in everyday moments. They open up about exercising on hard days, managing their treatment, working through flares, and finding community along the way. Each story reminds us that progress isn’t only about big milestones. It’s about celebrating every small victory that makes life fuller and brighter.

“Something that I have found to help my Crohn’s symptoms (even during an active flare-up) is to work out enough to get my heart rate at least above 150 beats per minute, even if I’m feeling terrible. There have been times that I feel so sick I can’t even get out of bed, but I force myself to go outside and start running. As crazy as it sounds, it works almost every single time!" — Lauren Wynn, diagnosed since 2020

“I always must bring my own food to gatherings since there are a lot of foods the average person eats that make me sick for days. It was challenging for me at first, not only because I would feel out of place, but because it’s considered disrespectful not to eat food offered by others in my culture. Most people are used to it now, but I’ve had to explain several times over the years that it’s for my health and nothing personal.” — Basmah Ali, diagnosed since 2003

“There are many steps to healing. For me, this involved getting through the initial bowel resection and temporary colostomy surgery, going through a colostomy reversal surgery, healing from that second surgery at home, and then looking forward to long-term maintenance. These steps have taken me over six months to work through, and I have heard from others that their experience has been anywhere from six months to one to two  years or longer. Healing of this magnitude takes time, focus, and patience.” — Tina Marteney, diagnosed since 2016

“The most important way to manage my Crohn’s is to take my medications as prescribed. I cannot stress enough how vital it is to keep up with your treatment. I also get routine blood tests to check for signs of inflammation and deficiencies.  Living with Crohn’s disease is a 24/7 job, and flares are the equivalent of overtime. If you are experiencing one right now, give yourself lots of grace.” — Basmah Ali, diagnosed since 2003

“It’s crucial that we not only understand the disease or diseases affecting us, but also help educate the people in our lives so they can better understand our health and needs. When they have the knowledge, they can be our support system, keeping us accountable, because self-care isn’t always easy. When it comes to caring for our health, we’re all in this together.” — Lauren Wynn, diagnosed since 2020

“I’ve always been 100% honest and up-front with employers about my health conditions, and even if I didn’t land a certain job, I never thought of it as a missed opportunity. If an employer couldn’t see past my health challenges, then I felt they weren’t really the right fit for me anyway. I wanted to work for someone who had high expectations but also led with compassion […] I’ve learned that the only way to make this journey seem even a little easier is to take that time off, to rest, and to make room for extra, extra self-care.” — Tina Marteney, diagnosed since 2016

"Flare-ups are the most terrifying words for a person living with Crohn’s disease [...] there are some factors that I know trigger them, such as overexercising, missing and/or taking the wrong dosage of medications, lack of sleep, eating foods that exacerbate symptoms, and anything that puts stress on my body. Yet I could be doing everything “right” in terms of what works for me, but a flare can still rear its ugly head." — Basmah Ali, diagnosed since 2003

“Even though I had a home health nurse visiting me twice per week, I learned more tips, tricks, and strategies for living with a colostomy from a Facebook group of extremely helpful warriors dealing with a lot of the same things as I was. The Facebook group that I found helped answer questions related to colostomy supplies, changing the colostomy bag, products to use, reassurance, support, and countless other things.” — Tina Marteney, diagnosed since 2016

“While I still strongly believe that lifestyle changes for Crohn’s are super important, I think the number one most important thing you can do is manage your stress and anxiety [...] Instead of obsessing over how I can fix my Crohn’s, I prioritize doing the things that make me happy and that help me stop negative thoughts and behaviors. I try to do all the things that I love doing in order to remind myself that Crohn’s isn’t something that should limit my life experiences.” — Lauren Wynn, diagnosed since 2020