Thread: Crohn's Disease

As I have mentioned in a couple of other posts I have this, and occationally it bothers me when I go skiing. It would be interesting to hear if anyone else here has Crohn's and if you do anything in particular with it as far as skiing/nutrition goes. I haven't really talked that much to other people who has this, so I figured this might be a good place to start.

Crohn's Disease is kind of interesting from an immunologic standpoint. The syndrome itself refers to a collection of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases of the gut, all sharing a common mechanism of T cell-mediated tissue destruction in the intestinal epithelia.

In other autoimmune diseases, auto-antibodies react with self antigens. Whereas in Crohn’s disease, inflammation is directed against antigens that are mainly derived from the environment.

Things you can try to supress thre inflamation include: olive oil (a shot glass in the morning and before beddy-bye) and omega-3 fatty acids (available as supplements). There's probably more and I'll have a look.

Edit- scroll to pg. 13

my father had it and it stopped him from traveling on long flights and making even some short trips for fear he'd end up in the bathroom the entire time

some people get it more severe than others

I had myself checked to make sure it was hereditary and so far so good

there's ton of support groups on the Internet as well as nutritional info, just do your homework on it

this was pretty good if I recall:

http://www.ccfa.org/info/diet?LMI=2.5

Asacol- its a time release asprin derivitive that I take daily (for Chron's). In my case its totally non-invasive (no side-effects, no long-term concerns- its pretty much just asprin. I know pharm-solutions aren't to everyones liking, but if this daily dose helps you (I haven't had a flare-up since I started 5 years ago) you'll be muy relieved.

A buddy of mine has it...not supposed to have tomatos i think. He ended up in the hospital because it led to his intesting slowly rupturing. To make matters worse, when the docs gave him the green dye to see what was wrong, it worsened the condition and made his inestine blow up, losding 4 feet. He went from 145 to 103 pounds. it was scary but now he is back and making things work well...and his diet is better.

If you want, I can ask him some questions.

Thanks for the info guys. I went through some personal hell myself about 3 years ago and have noticed that big vegetable chunks are not the smartest thing to eat. Found some good info on food (nuts for instance, which is in the cereal I eat sometimes and makes my stomach act up sometimes so I'll quit that for sure) and other stuff. As far as Crohn's goes I think I have it in a "good" place so it doesn't affect me too much anymore, except for the occational pain when food gets stuck in my system. Any additional info from anyone is always appreciated.

Originally Posted by runethechamp

Thanks for the info guys. I went through some personal hell myself about 3 years ago and have noticed that big vegetable chunks are not the smartest thing to eat. Found some good info on food (nuts for instance, which is in the cereal I eat sometimes and makes my stomach act up sometimes so I'll quit that for sure) and other stuff. As far as Crohn's goes I think I have it in a "good" place so it doesn't affect me too much anymore, except for the occational pain when food gets stuck in my system. Any additional info from anyone is always appreciated.

make sure to get a second opinion, too, because it's not a disease to fool with

Stanford has some good docs and so does UCSF

there have been tons of new medicines developed in the past few years, make sure your doctor is up to speed on them

good luck

When Honc and I met Rune at Tahoe on a random Thursday, we were grabbing a beer after a great powder day and asked Rune how he was able to get out of work and get the goods:

"...fortunately, I have a very serious stomach illness!"

Originally Posted by gonzo

When Honc and I met Rune at Tahoe on a random Thursday, we were grabbing a beer after a great powder day and asked Rune how he was able to get out of work and get the goods:

"...fortunately, I have a very serious stomach illness!"

I guess this qualifies as one of the very few instances where you can use the words "fortunately" and "Crohn's disease" in the same sentence. It was a good day though

Yeah, there's blood in my shit, which isn't that good. Hemoglobin is down 20% or so, which explains why I've been so tired lately. My doctor wants to do a double scope on me tomorrow (endoscopy and colonoscopy) to see if he can see anything fucked up. What am I having for dinner today: laxatives. I'll see if I can post a TR over the weekend, with pictures.

I remember my doc saying to me mid-procedure: "hey look, you're the star of your own movie."

Have you gone through the family medical history? A lot of GI conditions (including chrons) are inherited. Also if you're Azkenazi Jew (eastern european) in descent, we have a propencity towards this one (damn inbreeding- I'm marrying outside the faith for sure).

Good Luck. And again, asacol.

Rune --

Keep an eye on a company called ChemoCentryx. They're a small, Bay Area drug discovery & development company. They're planning on initiating a Phase III trial by the end of the year for their lead product to treat Crohn's.

www.chemocentryx.com/product/ibd.html

my dad has crohn's....he's had to have a few operations on his intestines. He doesn't eat fruits or vegetables, and stays away from really fatty foods and sauces. Its been a problem for camping and such because he has run for the john more than the average person throughout the night and in the mornings, (an no one wants to get in and out of the tent five times if its winter camping) I don't think the disease affects the amount of activity that he partakes in...he's still skis and mountain bikes a fair amount.

I work in a poo clinic now, doing colonoscopy/endoscopy. Good luck with the scope tomorrow! Just remember, the procedure isn't as bad as being glued to the shitter for the prep.

I'd be happy to mail you some info if you'd like. PM me if you're interested.

buddy had colitis, I think, for a few years. I don't know the diff. between the different conditions but similar situation; whatever he ate- straight to the shitter, massive weight loss (sub 100 lbs), got so severe eventually he couldn't go to work had to move back in with parent. What worked for him under guidance of a nutritionist was to go on a diet of only cream of rice and baked salmon (omega3) with garlic and salt (thats it- 3 meals a day for I can't recall, months?) then integrate other chosen foods eventually. No meds, just a strict diet. He is pretty 'normal' now but won't eat some things but still loves salmon. He is a skier turned snowboarder from New Hampshire, not a park rider, one of those anonarippers. Good luck with your situation rune.

I know this post is kind of old but I just saw it.

My grandpa had crohns, my 2 cousins have crohn's, and my sister has it. My sister had it worst of all: basically missed an entire year of school, multiple blood transfusions, steroids, etc. To control it, they ended up having to remove much of one of her intestines (I forget which one and what the procedure is called). She now has one of those plastic bag things that she "empties" when she goes to the bathroom.

It's was pretty bad, but now that its under control she's in very good health. She eats way more variety of food than I do, and my cousin boozes a lot too. It's a lot of figuring out what you can/can't handle. I'm sure your doctor has a lot of info for you, but if you want to know anything let me know.

I had an article that talked about a theory where people who are more "unclean" with their food (i.e parasites in the food, ect) were less likely to get the disease. From the history in my family it seems genetic, but I don't think it's ever been proven how people get it.