Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Who Blogs about IBS?


The Internet has opened up a whole new world for healthcare consumers. An enormous information imbalance has gradually decreased, giving patients opportunities to cross-check physician recommendations and ask better questions. Perhaps even more importantly, the Internet has provided new venues for support groups and healthcare consumers to join in on the conversation and share their experiences. 

Support groups are not a new phenomenon. The power of self-help groups was first demonstrated by alcoholics. Alcoholics Anonymous (founded in 1935) helped many of those considered hopeless, something that the medical establishment was not able to do.

Of course, there have been worries that the Internet might fuel hypochondriacs.  But even those critics admitted that "if a computer makes you sick, you can then use it to help you get better." 

Computer-mediated communication has added more power to emerging Health 2.0  due in large part to the fact that anonymity can enable discussion of very sensitive issues, and that remote communication helps people separated by great distances get together. Moreover, networking formats have supported information exchange in real time in addition to e-mail, and search engines have helped people identify relevant groups. 

What's next? Better personal health records, better search engines, and tools to interpret the wealth of information generated by dynamically-evolving networks that can mirror the subtle details of daily life.

Meanwhile, despite what some people think, blogging is alive and well; there were 10 blog posts by IBS sufferers in the last 7 days! 

Of course, willingness to converse depends on the nature of the conversation. Not too many people want to discuss their Irritable Bowel Syndrome on twitter or facebook, but there are constant streams of  related posts and constant conversation.

Today, we are announcing a new Irritable Bowel Blog and are listing existing blogs, some old and some recently updated.  We will try to keep you updated. You can also perform a google blog search (although it does not capture many recent blogs) or check the IBS Stories and IBS group blogs for current information.

Recently updated blogs:

Blog title
Author
Last post in March 2011
Last update
An Tobarin wordpress blog
Irritable bowel syndrome
March 30, 2011
FOODMAP diet chart
March 29, 2011
Gena's Blog (IBS group blogs)
I Want Pizaaaa
March 29, 2011
Ruled by the bowel?
March 28, 2011
ChrissyLynn's Blog (IBS group blogs)
Not a happy camper
March 28, 2011
Shauni.x's Blog (IBS group blogs)
18 and starting to cope
March 27, 2011
tjesspersen's Blog (IBS group blogs)
I hate IBS!
March 27, 2011
SickPetals' Blog (IBS group blogs)
I'd welcome cabin fever
March 27, 2011
Em's Blog (IBS group blogs)
FFS!
March 25, 2011
Food tips to keep your belly stable
March 25, 2011
cherice's Blog (IBS group blogs)
Never satisfied
March 23, 2011
J_17's Blog (IBS group blogs)
P.S.
March 22, 2011
IBS (Blisstree.com)
IBS is Why I'm Still Single 
March 13, 2010
Emz's Blog (IBS group blogs)
First post because I'm pleased with myself 
March 13, 2010
cleung's Blog (IBS group blogs)
Another episode - mild
March 12, 2010
Sophie's Story
March 12, 2011
carolann's Blog (IBS group blog)
Fruit
March 9, 2011
Crispypip's Blog ( IBS group blog)
Keeping a journal
March 8 ,2011
Tests, after all this time.... 
March 1, 2011


Bloggers from other sites occasionally mention IBS:
See, for example,
Deb Schulze's post of 03/30/2011 on How to make fiber work for you  (Baltimore Sun),
Susan Dopart's post of 03/23/2011 on gluten free diet (Huffpost),
Siouxsie Wiles' blog on integration of medical and natural health care (Sci blogs)

Some Internet marketers copy IBS-related information in their blogs too - like Wielislaw who recently re-posted Are your bowels irritable? in his 07s65 blog.


A few worth-mentioning old blogs:
Blog title
Author
Latest post
Last update
Misery Loves Company (Everydayhealth blogs)
November 12, 2010
October 28, 2010
IBS (Everydayhealth blogs)
My favorite restaurant
May 17, 2010
Foods that relieve constipation
March 12, 2010
I discovered Annato caused my IBS problems
November 19, 2009
Family Health (Everydayhealth blogs)
August 9, 2009
August 3, 2009
“Award-Winning” IBS Memoir
May 28th, 2008
It's back!
February 14th, 2008

Microblogging:
Twitter Lists Description
@COEMHealth/irritable-bowel-syndrome
@boweltalk/ibs People with or supporting those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
@ericbenchimol/gastro-nutrition
@SharedDiaries/digestive-health Irritable Bowel Syndrome, related conditions, causes and management
@PSCSupportUK/gastro
@DrCesarYaghi/gastroenterology
@boweltalk/gastro Medical info re: bowel, colon, digestive, gut and gastrointestinal (GI) topics
@IBSgroup/ibs
@IBSgroup/support