'When you spend much of your life being sick, it's easy to develop FOMO': Traveling with IBD

• Three million Americans suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease – either Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease.
• "Food or water-based infections can trigger an IBD flare," says Dr. Bradley Morganstern.
• Some studies have shown high altitude flying can worsen an IBD flare.

In person, I'm a 32-year-old travel writer. On paper, I'm a statistic who should stay home.

In 2007, a colonoscopy showed I had Crohn's disease. The grim diagnosis was actually a relief. For years family and doctors accused me of having an eating disorder. My stomach always hurt, and I couldn't keep on weight. I felt alone. But I wasn't. 

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