Colitis Unfiltered

Franck Tabouring

27 episodes listed below

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IBD stories told without hiding.

The gist

Colitis Unfiltered gives people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease room to tell the full story. Episodes trace first symptoms, diagnosis, flares, treatment decisions, surgery, ostomies, and the emotional work of living with a body that changes the rules.

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About Colitis Unfiltered

Colitis Unfiltered is an interview-driven health show centered on ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and the lives built around them. It listens closely. Episodes follow guests through the full shape of illness, beginning with first symptoms that were confusing, sudden, embarrassing, or easy for others to minimize. Bleeding, diarrhea, nausea, weight loss, pain, and fatigue are treated as real events with real consequences, not background details. The show is especially attentive to the long gap between noticing something is wrong and finally getting a diagnosis. It spends time with uncertainty. Guests describe being dismissed, searching for answers, returning to doctors, and trying to keep ordinary life moving while their bodies become less predictable. Surgery often becomes the episode’s hinge. Stomas, ostomies, J-pouches, colectomies, fistulas, complications, infections, and permanent changes are discussed in plain language, with enough space for fear and relief to coexist. The show does not present surgery as a simple cure. It also does not treat it only as loss. Many stories turn on the complicated realization that a bag, a scar, or a new routine can bring freedom after years of flares and restriction. Mental health runs through the series as strongly as medicine does. Guests talk about depression, control, body image, cancelled plans, isolation, support groups, family misunderstanding, and the exhaustion of pretending to be fine. The interviewer often slows the conversation down, restating what a guest has lived through before asking what it meant emotionally. That rhythm gives the show its strength. It is neither clinical nor sensational. It is direct, intimate, and grounded in the daily mechanics of chronic illness. Colitis Unfiltered is for people who want IBD described without stigma, but also without forced brightness. Its best moments come when a guest connects survival to practical wisdom: listen to the body, ask better questions, prepare for surgery, find people who understand, and allow acceptance to arrive unevenly.

Made for: For people living with IBD, ostomies, or chronic digestive illness, and for loved ones trying to understand what the condition actually changes. It also suits health listeners who prefer first-person illness stories over polished wellness advice.

What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its patient chronology: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, setbacks, and acceptance are followed as connected life events. It makes space for both medical detail and the awkward, emotional, bathroom-floor reality of IBD.

In their own words

With Colitis Unfiltered, I explore the many ways ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and chronic illnesses impact individuals, relationships, work and daily living. We don't talk enough about inflammatory bowel disease. It's time to change that. To raise awareness. To crush stigma. It's time to talk sh*t. Literally.For more stories from the bathroom floor, visit www.colitisunfiltered.com

As heard by us

Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026

Frank Tabering turns IBD treatment histories into candid accounts of surgery, mental health, changed bodies and the uneven work of recovery.

Colitis Unfiltered builds its interviews around the long aftermath of a diagnosis. Frank Tabering asks guests to retrace early symptoms, failed treatments, worsening flares and the decisions that led to surgery.

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Surgery stops being the monster under the bed when Frank lets ostomy patients turn on the light.

Press play if you want

  • candid first-person accounts of choosing surgery after treatments and flares take over
  • the frightening parts of a stoma discussed alongside the lives people rebuilt with one
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
ulcerative colitis diagnosisCrohn’s disease flaresstoma and ostomy lifeIBD surgery decisionsmental health and chronic illnessmedical dismissal and delayed diagnosisfatigue and loss of controlstigma around bowel symptoms

Talks about

Best episodes of Colitis Unfiltered

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Colitis diagnosis, surgery and survival: Clare’s IBD turning pointApr 8, 2026

A blunt, steady look at relief, surgery, and the complications that do not simply stop.

Colitis Unfiltered keeps its focus on Claire and the hard edge of indeterminate colitis: an abrupt hospital trip at 18 in Nottingham, UK, followed by surgery and a longer aftermath that does not tidy itself away.

IBD, surgery and acceptance: Jess’ long colitis battleMar 26, 2026

A colitis story about surgery, mental strain, and learning to live with a stoma.

The episode follows Jess through ulcerative colitis from the tummy problems she first noticed in her 20s to the diagnosis at 32, the bleeding and weight loss, the hospital stay, and the stoma after surgery.

Ulcerative colitis, surgery and humor: Janelle’s decision to let goJan 29, 2026

A steady, humane account of surgery, empathy, and the humor that helped Janelle through ulcerative colitis.

Janelle's story follows a long stretch of symptoms, the frustration of not being fully understood, and the choice of surgery that, in her telling, gave her life back.

Childhood IBD, Surgery and an Ostomy: Kristin’s long road forwardJan 15, 2026

A clear, humane look at childhood IBD, surgery, and the relief that can follow.

Kristen's story starts with an ulcerative colitis diagnosis at nine in Cleveland, then moves through hospital stays, missed school, failed treatments, surgeries, and a permanent ostomy.

Ulcerative colitis, surgery and a stoma: Ant’s life with a bagDec 29, 2025

A candid look at surgery, stigma, and the better outcome Ant describes.

Colitis Unfiltered follows Ant, who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 19 in London and later chose surgery, leaving him with a stoma. The episode gives that decision the most attention, along with the fear wrapped around it, and Ant is clear that his quality of life…

Podcasts like Colitis Unfiltered

Episodes

  1. 1

    Ulcerative colitis, resilience and research: Maria’s refusal to give up

    Hidden gem

    Maria, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 23 in Raleigh, North Carolina, describes stopping mesalamine after an insurance change and entering a flare roughly three years later that has not ended.

    Sep 24, 2026·30m·2 clips
  2. 2

    IBD, treatment failure and hope: Savannah’s search for remission

    Sep 10, 2026·39m
  3. 3

    IBD, masculinity and shame: Jack’s road to speaking out

    Aug 27, 2026·36m
  4. 4

    IBD, intimacy and self-worth: Trina’s mission to rebuild confidence

    Aug 13, 2026·58m
  5. 5

    IBD, an ostomy and a new purpose: Alicia's path to advocacy

    Jul 30, 2026·32m
  6. 6

    Pain, Crohn’s and perspective: Victoria’s seasonal IBD flares

    Jul 16, 2026·33m
  7. 7

    Crohn’s, motherhood and advocacy: Harriet’s fight to reclaim her life

    Jul 1, 2026·32m
  8. 8

    Crohn’s, motherhood and resilience: Liesel’s refusal to give up

    Jun 4, 2026·41m
  9. 9

    Ulcerative colitis, gut health and remission: Kylie’s naturopathic IBD journey

    May 21, 2026·25m
  10. 10

    Crohn’s at nine, control and letting go: Kyle’s IBD evolution

    May 8, 2026·35m
  11. 11

    Flares, denial and acceptance: Jaime’s J-Pouch journey

    Apr 23, 2026·41m
  12. 12

    Colitis diagnosis, surgery and survival: Clare’s IBD turning point

    Hidden gem

    Claire's story starts hard.

    Apr 8, 2026·36m·2 clips
  13. 13

    IBD, surgery and acceptance: Jess’ long colitis battle

    Hidden gem

    Jess's colitis story begins with symptoms that were first dismissed as IBS.

    Mar 26, 2026·39m·2 clips
  14. 14

    Ambition, Crohn’s and acceptance: Lewis’ new IBD normal

    Lewis shares his journey with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's, discussing symptoms, diagnosis, and learning to listen to his body.

    Mar 12, 2026·37m
  15. 15

    The long way to diagnosis and recovery: Sarah's ostomy​​ marathon

    Sarah shares her eight-year journey to an ulcerative colitis diagnosis, complications, ostomy surgery, and reclaiming her life.

    Feb 26, 2026·49m
  16. 16

    Crohn’s, loss of control and acceptance: Oktober’s hard IBD reset

    Oktober shares his journey with Crohn's disease, from diagnosis at 18 to multiple failed treatments and permanent stoma surgery, highlighting the physical and mental challenges beyond common misconceptions.

    Feb 12, 2026·36m
  17. 17

    Ulcerative colitis, surgery and humor: Janelle’s decision to let go

    Hidden gem

    Janelle traces her ulcerative colitis from diagnosis to surgery.

    Jan 29, 2026·40m·2 clips
  18. 18

    Childhood IBD, Surgery and an Ostomy: Kristin’s long road forward

    Hidden gem

    Kristen was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at nine in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Jan 15, 2026·37m·2 clips
  19. 19

    Ulcerative colitis, surgery and a stoma: Ant’s life with a bag

    Hidden gem

    Ant talks about getting diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 19 in London.

    Dec 29, 2025·36m·2 clips
  20. 20

    Childhood Crohn’s, ostomy and nursing: Leah’s long way back

    Dec 18, 2025·44m
  21. 21

    Motherhood, IBD and PhD: Kelli’s long road to remission

    Dec 4, 2025·46m
  22. 22

    From high school to the hospital: Kinsey's life with a J-pouch

    Kinsey shares her journey with ulcerative colitis from diagnosis at 15 to living with a J-pouch, emphasizing resilience and advocacy.

    Nov 20, 2025·25m
  23. 23

    From PhD to IBD: Yasmin’s scientific Crohn’s journey

    Oct 30, 2025·47m
  24. 24

    From misdiagnosis to advocacy: Kim’s unfiltered Crohn's journey

    Oct 16, 2025·28m
  25. 25

    From colitis to cancer: Nadia’s 25-year IBD struggle

    Nadia shares her 25-year journey with ulcerative colitis, leading to a colorectal cancer diagnosis and life with an ostomy.

    Oct 9, 2025·32m
  26. 26

    Growing up with colitis: Hannah's fight for survival at 16

    Hannah shares her journey of being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 16, struggling with flares and failed treatments, and ultimately deciding to have surgery to reclaim her life.

    Sep 28, 2025·42m
  27. 27

    Fighting for her gut: Melissa’s relentless battle with ulcerative colitis

    Melissa shares her journey of being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 46 and her refusal to undergo colon removal surgery.

    Sep 13, 2025·29m