Crohn's Disease Hitting Close to Home

Lindsay, one of my best friends, has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, which is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects any part of your gastrointestinal tract, from your mouth to your… you know. This explains all of her stomach pain, skin rashes and eye inflammations. Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, producing inflammation. While it’s nice to finally know what’s wrong with her, this disease is no walk in the park, and as of now, there is no known cure.

There are many complications associated with Crohn’s disease that Lindsay will have to watch out for. The most common is blockage of the intestine, which occurs because the disease thickens the intestinal wall when inflamed, leaving scar tissue, narrowing the passage. There is no cure for this disease, and the treatments, which include drugs, nutrition supplements and surgery, only treat the symptoms, not the cause.

But enough with this sad medical talk, let me tell you a little something about Lindsay, my 20-year-old Minn- EEE- Sow-tan buddy. First off, she is WEIRD, in the best way. Some of her passions include: musical theater, trampoline gymnastics, synchronized swimming, traveling the world teaching kids Spanish, astrology and whale sounds (har har). She’s ridiculously funny, even when she doesn’t mean to be. Sometimes, she’s inconveniently funny, at least for me. She is responsible for all of my humiliating, and far to recent pee-in-my-pants stories. Come to think of it, she is the only one ever responsible for those... accidents. ARGH.

Whenever she isn’t talking, you catch her breaking out into a full-on Broadway song, mostly at inappropriate times, like while using a public restroom. And she knows all the words- not just to the Wicked Soundtrack, but to whole movies, like Titanic, which if you remember back in Video Cassette days, took up two whole tapes.

Lindsay is obviously a character, and I know that this disease won’t break her. But I don’t want it to change her at all, because to me, she is perfect. So, I’ve been doing my alternative medicine research, and this is what I have come up with…

To Lindz, and anyone else suffering with or who knows someone suffering with Crohn’s Disease:

· FIBER, FIBER, FIBER!: Fiber and healthy digestion go hand and hand. It helps things run smoothly- all the way through. Eating a diet with fiber-rich fruits and veggies and taking fiber dietary supplements should help. Sometimes, however, fiber may make symptoms worse, so test this out for yourself.

· Fish: Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and taking Fish Oil supplements can help to prevent relapses.

· Multivitamin: Taking a daily vitamin containing zinc, folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin D prevents deficiencies, which commonly occurs with Crohn’s disease sufferers because their intestines can’t properly absorb nutrients.

· Goodbye, Sugar: Low sugar diets (sorry, Lindz) reduce symptom severity.

· Is it Dairy?: You could be lactose intolerant, so experiment by cutting dairy out of your diet and seeing if symptoms improve.

· Low-fat: You may not be able to digest/absorb fat naturally so you should experiment by cutting out foods high in fat and processed foods.

· Eat Smal Meals: Eating 5-6 small meals a day may be easier for you to digest.

· Stop Stressing!: Stress can make symptoms worse and can even trigger flare-ups. Stress management techniques include the following:

o Exercise

o Biofeedback: Usually taught in hospitals, it helps you learn how to reduce muscle tension and slow your heart rate using a feedback machine.

o Relaxation Techniques: Yoga, meditation, deep breathing etc.

These techniques should help you manage your Crohn’s. For the best results, find a doctor in your area that actively practices complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Click here to find a practitioner near you.

These are two websites that I got info from: Peace Health and Medical News Today

- H.H.H.

P.S. If anyone else has any alternative therapies for Crohn's disease, please comment!