Hope Trachtenberg-Fifer

Health Interests

Peds & adult IBD,  IBS,  migraine & cluster h/a,  fitness & nutrition,  vegetarianism,  breastfeeding

Drugs I am Taking

Hope Trachtenberg-Fifer has not shared any drug information.

About Me

I'm very happy to join HealthCentral.com as an IBD expert. I am a Registered Nurse, medical writer and Certified Health Education Specialist. I've presented at medical, nursing, & consumer health care seminars & conferences; besides IBD, topics have included wellness & nutrition, breastfeeding management, children's health & safety, & mother/baby issues. Within several health care web sites, I've been responsible for the development of, moderation of, and growing traffic to, on-line communities & discussion boards, including “Children’s Health,” “Women’s Health,” & “Chronic Pain” forums. I'm a Community Educator for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, & I recently coached CCFA's Team Challenge Program Virtual Walk Team at the ING Miami Half Marathon. As a member of the Association of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition Nurses (APGNN), I've served on the Patient Education Committee, & I was the first hospital-based lactation consultant in southwest Virginia, as well as an original member of the SW Virginia Breastfeeding Task Force. As an RN, health educator, & medical writer, I guess, on paper, I'm a credible enough "expert." But, to tell you the truth, what turned my personal & professional interest to the area of IBD--in particular, pediatric IBD--is that three of my four children (my boys, now ages 18, 23, & 30 years), have IBD. The first two boys have Crohn's disease, & the third has ulcerative colitis. My youngest son was the first of his brothers to be diagnosed; he was ten years old. That's when I learned that Crohn's disease is a whole lot more than just "a lot of diarrhea." It's also when I learned that "chronically ill" families live in a kind of parallel universe from the rest of the world--the simpler, less complicated, nonmedical, world--we use to know. I hope that by being here, and having navigated so many back roads and mystery twists and turns of the health care maze, I can help to bridge the clinical and personal sides of the IBD experience.