Crohn's disease. Its killing me. How do o beat it?!


Question: Crohn's disease. Its killing me. How do o beat it?
This disease is killing me. I need someone who has crohn's disease to tell me how I live with this is. If I had a gun when this disease first attacked me I would have shot my self. I don't know if I can take another attack

Answers:

When were you diagnosed? And what medications does your gastroenterologist have you on? Did he put you on progesterone at any point?

I take Lialda, two once a day, and generally that keeps things under control. I was diagnosed two years ago, so I'm still getting the hang of things. It was absolutely terrible at first, but not taking my medication every single day was the main culprit.

I find that what helps the most is exercising regularly. The longest I've ever gone without a flare up since this started was when I was in a really good regular exercise routine. I would say that medication is actually tied with exercise for most important factor in staying free of flare-ups. The next most important component I would say is not letting myself get stressed out. This can be very hard I know, but it just takes planning and discipline, and has the added benefit of your bring less stressed out! I identify the things which are major sources of stress in my life, whether it's a tendency to leave school work to the last minute or finances, and I address those problems before they get a chance to become major sources of stress. Some stress is unavoidable, but you can do what you can. I think being in a good exercise routine also helps a lot with stress. I also tried getting a massage once a week for a little over a month at one point (there was a special deal at my gym) and that was fantastic. I had no idea there would be such a cumulative effect. If you can afford to do that, do it! Some insurance providers will even cover it for stress related illnesses like Crohn's.

Finally, I've also found that eating fatty foods like pizza or foods with a lot of processed sugar or carbs like brownies or pasta are very irritating to my system. From all I've read though people can vary a lot in terms of what foods might trigger them, if any, to have a flare up. You can search for foods with a high inflammation rating (A high IF rating, somewhat counter intuitively, means that something is less inflammatory) on nutritiondata.com. I've posted the link below. Raw ginger is one of the best. I blend it in pomegranate juice that I then use in a smoothie, or just drink the juice alone. It's fantastic!

Once you've got the exercise and medication going, keep a journal of your symptoms and what you eat (roughly speaking). Enough that you can get an idea of what might be causing flare ups if it's related to food for you at all. Some people also say alcohol can be a common trigger, but I hardly drink at all, so I can't really speak to that.

Make sure that the people in your life know and understand what this is. Forget about being embarrassed. I'm sure you've found ways by now of dancing around the most awkward words. When people ask what that is I just say that it causes my immune system to attack my digestive tract. Most people can figure out what that means. And if they ask they usually say "does that just mean really bad diarrhea?" Well then I just say, yeah.

Also, there is a Crohn's and Colitis forum where you can ask questions of more people and family members dealing with this disease. Just remember that, especially with this illness, just because something was true for one person or several doesn't mean that it will be true for you.

Stay in touch with your doctor. Make sure you have a GI that you like and trust. I really did not like my first GI. When I asked my general practitioner/normal family doctor about it he explained that a lot of GI's, especially the older ones are kind of like plumbers. They aren't very good with people. I switched to someone who was recommended to me by a family friend. Not because they have Crohn's or anything wrong with them, but because anybody over 50 has to get fairly regular colonoscopies. So find a doctor that you can work well with if you don't have one already.

I almost forgot to add, Florastor and Align are two probiotic over the counter supplements my GI suggested and I think they've made a difference as well. Worth checking out.
And another two quick points I just thought of: Vaseline can make things much more comfortable if the pain ever gets very bad from frequent wc visits, and baby wipes/wet wipes are key not getting overly irritated. Also just much nicer and cleaner feeling.

I really hope some of that helps. Wishing you all the best!

http://www.ccfacommunity.org/Forums.aspx… http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-0009… http://nutritiondata.self.com/help/infla… http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q… http://www.google.com/search?q=align&tbs…



I have Crohn's disease and it's in full remission now. It took me years of research and many trails and errors to get here.

I have tried most medications and many alternative methods until I followed Functional medicine method of wellness. It's safe and proven method to heal chronic conditions.

You could read about Functional medicine here:

http://www.journey-with-crohns-disease.c…

There are many great natural ways to get your health back. You would need to try anti-inflammatory diet. You would want to go to sleep earlier. You would want to start moving more and getting into Yoga or other relaxation exercises.

Please, don't be upset and know that you absolutely can get better.

If you want to share your story with us on my Crohn's forum, please do it here:

http://www.journey-with-crohns-disease.c…

I wish you great health. I can help you get better. I helped many Crohn's patients to heal their gut more naturally.

http://www.journey-with-crohns-disease.c…



Have you considered natural remedies to help relieve yourself of the pain and symptoms? My friend was diagnosed with Crohn's about a year ago and ended up in the hospital at least a couple of times. The prescription meds he took made his condition worse...he took AloeElite and it's helped him relieve most of his symptoms since...I've included the manufacturer's site so you can learn more to see if it's right for you...good luck!

http://www.aloeelite.com/crohns-disease



Two suggestions:

1) Try a zero-grains diet. This means no wheat, no corn, no rice, etc.

2) Drop your total carbohydrates to under 75 g/day.

In fact, I would recommend looking at a "Paleo" type diet; read Robb Wolf's "Paleo Solution," and start there. Make sure your veggies and fruits are peeled and cooked. Keep the total carbohydrates low, and stay away from sugars, stay away from starch. Eat plenty of fish and meat. Get lots of fat and protein, almost no carbohydrates.

Been living like this >3 years myself; no pain, no discomfort, no bleeding, and my life is back to normal with no medication. Also suggested: "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall, and "Life Without Bread" by Dr. Wolfgang Lutz. If you have any doubts about the low-carb lifestyle, read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. Then get yourself a crock pot, and cook yourself lots of chicken.

Good luck to you.



Jakkel, you need to watch this video. The guy on the video has Crohn's disease but no longer suffers symptoms or takes medication. >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakGq9AKF…

RedAngel



My step mother has crohn's and she gets remicade injections every 6 weeks ask your dr about it! She is on alot of Meds to help control the attacks




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories