I was just diagnosed
Understand the basics, collect reliable information, and prepare your next questions.
Start here →Crohn’s doesn’t have a look.
I live with Crohn’s, too.
Michael JannicelliFounder, Crohn’s Fighters · Living with Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s is 24/7.The appointment isn’t.
I know the planning, the uncertainty, the bathrooms, the food, the hospitals, the recovery, the confidence hits, and the starting over—because I live it too. Crohn’s Fighters is built for the life between appointments.
Lived experience.Source-based information.No miracle claims.No medical advice.
Start with your situation
What do you need right now?
Choose the closest match. Each path is designed to reduce noise and help you prepare for a more useful conversation with qualified professionals.
I have an appointment
Organize symptoms, medications, concerns, and questions before you walk in.
Prepare →Surgery is being discussed
Build a question list and prepare for conversations with your surgical and medical teams.
Use the checklist →I need practical tools
Use printable checklists and planning sheets for appointments and care conversations.
View tools →I am supporting someone
Learn practical ways to listen, help, prepare, and respect the patient’s decisions.
Read the guide →I want to keep living fully
Plan around work, training, food routines, travel, relationships, and the realities of unpredictable days.
Explore lifestyle →
Why this exists
Michael Jannicelli
Michael created Crohn’s Fighters after years of living through Crohn’s disease, hospitals, recovery, work, relationships, training, and starting over. He shares what those realities have taught him while keeping source-based medical information separate from his personal experience.
Read Michael’s story →Practical tools
Prepare before the pressure is on.
These tools do not tell you what medical decision to make. They help you arrive organized and ready to ask better questions.
Appointment prep
A single-page list for symptoms, changes, medications, goals, and follow-up.
Open guide →Questions for your doctor
A structured prompt list you can adapt to the appointment in front of you.
Open guide →Surgery discussion prep
Questions and planning prompts for conversations about an operation and recovery.
Open guide →
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is part of the plan.
Crohn’s can affect how you eat, train, work, travel, rest, date, and stay connected. This section is about practical adaptation—without pretending one routine works for everyone.
- Training & movementPlan around energy, recovery, access, and guidance from qualified professionals.
- Nutrition & food routinesTrack useful patterns without turning one person’s experience into a universal diet.
- Work, school & travelPrepare for logistics, privacy, schedule changes, medication storage, and access to care.
- Relationships & intimacyCommunicate what helps, decide what stays private, and protect honest connection.
- Confidence & mental healthRecognize the emotional load and involve qualified support when it would help.
- Recovery & daily planningBuild realistic margins, plan access, and adjust without surrendering the whole day.
Understand the disease
Source-based. Plain English. Reviewed.
Medical overview pages are built from authoritative sources and clearly dated. They explain general concepts without pretending to know your individual case.
Symptoms and diagnosis
A general overview of symptoms, diagnostic evaluation, and why no single test tells the whole story.
Open guide →Treatment and care
A high-level view of treatment goals, categories, monitoring, and shared decision-making.
Open guide →Trusted resources
NIDDK, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, FDA, ClinicalTrials.gov, and emergency resources.
Open guide →Clear boundaries
What this site can—and cannot—do.
Useful patient education starts by being honest about its limits.
This site can
- Help you organize questions and observations.
- Point you toward credible public resources.
- Help you prepare for appointments and care conversations.
- Share practical perspective from lived experience.
This site cannot
- Diagnose Crohn’s disease or another condition.
- Recommend medication, dosing, diets, tests, or surgery.
- Replace a gastroenterologist or qualified care team.
- Provide emergency help or individual medical advice.
Featured real questions
The questions people don’t ask out loud.
These questions and answers come from Michael’s approved lived experience. They are not testimonials, treatment instructions, or predictions for somebody else.
Training & rebuilding
How do you rebuild after Crohn’s takes you out of the gym?
Read the answer → Body image & confidenceWhat happens to confidence when your body changes?
Read the answer → Relationships & intimacyWhat do you tell someone who thinks Crohn’s makes them impossible to love?
Read the answer → Helpful supportWhat genuinely helps when you are sick?
Read the answer →Real questions. Lived experience.
The question you don’t ask in the exam room.
Ask Mike J.
Ask about the lived experience behind planning, food, training, work, travel, confidence, relationships, hospitals, recovery, and supporting someone with Crohn’s.
Ask Mike J. offers lived-experience perspective and general information—not individualized medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or emergency help.
Ask Mike J.