DECEMBER 11, 2019

Dating With a Digestive Illness

How patients with IBD are managing modern love—and what physicians can do to help

When Natalie Hayden was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 21 years, her boyfriend at the time did not visit her at the hospital. In fact, he broke off their relationship the day she was discharged home. Three years later, Ms. Hayden was in search of a new partner when she attended a charity event where she met someone intriguing enough to warrant exchanging phone numbers.

“We made plans for a first date, and while I was getting ready for it, I developed horrible GI pains