Balancing my disease: women's perspectives of living with inflammatory bowel disease.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this research was to examine the lived experiences of women with inflammatory bowel disease, by specifically exploring their management of their illness after diagnosis.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic autoimmune disease that has no known cause or cure. It is composed of two types of conditions: Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis which have similar signs and symptoms, but have distinct physiological properties.