Introducing the FGID Update blog

Welcome everybody!

I am excited to launch this blog, which I created in order to share new information about IBS and other functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) that may be of interest and value to individuals with these disorders. I intend to aim for quality rather than quantity in the contents of this blog, so updates will be intermittent and will vary in frequency depending on how often I come across something that I feel is worth sharing here. In addition to covering what is new, I will also occasionally share my own perspective here on issues I consider important regarding FGIDs.

Some of the content that will be found in this blog will be unique. For example, I will be blogging live multiple times each day from Digestive Disease Week in San Diego on May 19-22. Even though there will be other people blogging from that annual gastroenterology mega-event, of course, I will be viewing it from a different angle. I will focus specifically on some of the brand-new research findings and clinical and scientific perspectives on FGIDs presented there that individuals with these disorders may want to know about. Some of that information may otherwise not enter public discussion for months or even years, because much of it fails to catch the attention of the media covering this gigantic event, and most of the work presented will furthermore not be published in journals for a while. Soon I will also be covering in this blog our UNC Center’s upcoming two-day patient education event, which I am helping to organize and host, titled “Expert Update on Treatments for Functional GI Disorders: A Symposium for Patients” (you can see the program for this event in PDF format here). It will be held on June 23-24 at the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill, NC. We will bring together there several of the top U.S. experts on FGIDs, who will give presentations designed to update patients with the various disorders on the current state of knowledge about treatments for their conditions. What is particularly exciting is that we will be broadcasting that entire event via live video streaming through the internet – all 19 hours of expert presentations and discussion panels! This will enable people across the U.S. and beyond to watch the event and even participate by submitting comments and real-time questions to the speakers through the internet. Much more on all of that in this blog soon. But for now, just remember to put the dates of this unique event on your calendar (June 23-24), for if you are reading this blog then you probably do not want to miss that.

I would like to encourage readers of this blog to participate in it by leaving comments to share their thoughts and views on the content. Also, I kindly ask you to share any content found here that you find interesting and useful with other people through tweeting, linking, re-blogging, e-mailing, etc. And if you want to stay updated on the information I provide here, do not forget to “follow” the blog: All it requires is for you to leave your e-mail address (see the FOLLOW button on the front-page right-hand sidebar) and you will be notified about new posts.

I hope you will enjoy this blog, and that you will find it useful enough to become a regular visitor.