Learning About Crohn’s Disease

by | May 18, 2017 | Auto-immune, Supporting Each Other

A couple of weeks ago, Karen at Wellness Works NW, gave me another research assignment: Crohn’s Disease. The only thing I know about Crohn’s Disease is the Glenn Frey from the Eagles had it. Since doing my research I know a lot more. My aim in writing this article is to inform and to inspire those who have Crohn’s to live well. During my research I found some awesome blogs from those who suffer from this terrible illness. I read them, one in particular made me laugh. The other inspired me, because she does pod casts and runs and has doctors and exercises, etc. Another I found had awesome recipes that looked delicious. I will share these links to the blogs below.

Crohn’s Disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the digestive tract. Crohn’s disease is named after Dr. Burrill B. Crohn who described the disease in 1932 with Dr. Leon Gunzberg and Dr. Gordon D. Oppenheimer. Crohn’s belongs to a group of conditions knowns as inflammatory bowel syndrome aka IBS. I know about IBS, but I didn’t understand that IBS is a name of a bunch of digestive tract diseases like Crohn’s and colitis. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition in the gastrointestinal tract at the end of the small bowel knowns as ileum and the beginning of the colon. Crohn’s can affects anything from the mouth to the anus.

There are 780,000 American Men and Women who suffer from Crohn’s. Men and women equally get this inflammatory disease. Diet and stress will aggravate Crohn’s but it doesn’t cause it. It is believed that heredity, genetics, and environment causes Crohn’s.

Here are the symptoms of Crohn’s:

  • Persistent diarrhea
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Urgent need to move bowels
  • Abdominal pain and cramps
  • Sensation of an in complete evacuation
  • Constipation, leading to a bowel obstruction
  • Fever
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Night sweats
  • Loss of normal menstrual cycle

If I were researching and reading this article I would lose hope and quit. I don’t want you to do that. I have found some great tips to help someone to live well with Crohn’s Disease. I also found some awesome blogs of real life people who are living amazing live’s with this disease.

Here are some tips:

  • Don’t smoke
  • Drink alcohol in moderation
  • Exercise regularly. Include aerobic and resistance training. Exercise helps the digestive tract to work efficiently.
  • Practice relation techniques. Stress makes Crohn’s worse
  • Get enough sleep
  • Get support, find a support group.
  • Communicate what you are feeling
  • Start with the basics with your eating: eat small amounts throughout the day. Avoid greasy and fatty foods. Cut down on milk and dairy products. Limit high fiber foods and those foods that are hard for you to digest.
  • Work with a nutritionist
  • Limit caffeine
  • Stick to your treatment plan
  • Be careful with antibiotics
  • Start a journal for your Crohns. Writing down what you are eating, your symptoms, exercise etc will help you and your care team make changes and know what your body can do.

Have a question? Ask Dear Jamie

Here are some links I would like to share with you:

Jamie HollowayJamieHolloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing.

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