3 ms·

> I am desperately seeking help in curing him of Crohn's. There's no known cure for Crohn's disease, only treatment to reduce symptoms. If you are really luck

> I am desperately seeking help in curing him of Crohn's. There's no known cure for Crohn's disease, only treatment to reduce symptoms. If you are really lucky it might go into long-term remission, but theres no 'cure' yet. As someone who's been dealing with severe chronic symptoms of Chron's my whole life.... I wish there was.

CWuestefeld 5y ago
unclekev is correct. I was diagnosed when I was ~12, over 40 years ago, and still have it. But despite the fact that there's no cure, there is a lot you can do to control it: * There are a lot more, better treatments today than back when I was a kid. Your GI doctor should be able to help with this. * I believe that the largest aggravator is stress. Your boy really needs to learn to handle stress. In my case, I was rather a perfectionist, and had to learn to just let go of things that I couldn't directly fix myself. And of course the disease itself is a prime stressor, so he's got to come to terms with it. * Different foods can be triggers for different people, due to individual differences plus the areas of the GI tract that are implicated. You need to experiment (keep a journal!) to figure out what these are. Don't fall for someone trying to sell a silver bullet like gluten-free. That may, indeed, help some people, but it won't others.
- rubyfan 5y ago
  Can I ask what it’s like after remission and being in your fifties with CD? Practically is CD remission what most would consider normal or do symptoms present?
  - CWuestefeld 5y ago
    Honestly, in the big lottery of life, I think I'm still a winner on net. At least for my case, with minor concessions to diet, and with having health insurance that'll pay for my (expensive) treatments, my symptoms are pretty minor. I think I could count on one hand the number of times this year I've had any serious discomfort that seemed connected to the disease. The one thing that bothers me is the persistent problem of poorly-formed bowel movements, and occasional diarrhea. You never really know when this is going to pop up. For short-term things like a night out you can plan ahead, maybe take an immodium beforehand. But there are things I'd like to do that this interferes with, at least to the point of being an embarrassing inconvenience. For example, I'd love to take a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, but it seems like managing the issue would be complicated in a situation where the best facilities you've got are a bucket in a tent set up by the guides (and even that is only when it's been set up!), so it's a bucket list thing I'll likely never get to.
- c23gooey 5y ago
  Agree with the stress aggravator. I've had two severe Crohns flare ups (one required a bowel resection), both of those flare ups can be contributed to major stress incidents (first one divorce, and second one the death of my mother) Otherwise I only have mild symptoms that are only annoying more than painful
deleted 5y ago
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CWuestefeld 5y ago

unclekev is correct. I was diagnosed when I was ~12, over 40 years ago, and still have it. But despite the fact that there's no cure, there is a lot you can do to control it: * There are a lot more, better treatments today than back when I was a kid. Your GI doctor should be able to help with this. * I believe that the largest aggravator is stress. Your boy really needs to learn to handle stress. In my case, I was rather a perfectionist, and had to learn to just let go of things that I couldn't directly fix myself. And of course the disease itself is a prime stressor, so he's got to come to terms with it. * Different foods can be triggers for different people, due to individual differences plus the areas of the GI tract that are implicated. You need to experiment (keep a journal!) to figure out what these are. Don't fall for someone trying to sell a silver bullet like gluten-free. That may, indeed, help some people, but it won't others.

rubyfan 5y ago
Can I ask what it’s like after remission and being in your fifties with CD? Practically is CD remission what most would consider normal or do symptoms present?
- CWuestefeld 5y ago
  Honestly, in the big lottery of life, I think I'm still a winner on net. At least for my case, with minor concessions to diet, and with having health insurance that'll pay for my (expensive) treatments, my symptoms are pretty minor. I think I could count on one hand the number of times this year I've had any serious discomfort that seemed connected to the disease. The one thing that bothers me is the persistent problem of poorly-formed bowel movements, and occasional diarrhea. You never really know when this is going to pop up. For short-term things like a night out you can plan ahead, maybe take an immodium beforehand. But there are things I'd like to do that this interferes with, at least to the point of being an embarrassing inconvenience. For example, I'd love to take a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, but it seems like managing the issue would be complicated in a situation where the best facilities you've got are a bucket in a tent set up by the guides (and even that is only when it's been set up!), so it's a bucket list thing I'll likely never get to.
c23gooey 5y ago
Agree with the stress aggravator. I've had two severe Crohns flare ups (one required a bowel resection), both of those flare ups can be contributed to major stress incidents (first one divorce, and second one the death of my mother) Otherwise I only have mild symptoms that are only annoying more than painful

deleted 5y ago

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