News, articles, resources and more for the person with Crohn’s Disease.

The Crohn’s Disease and Stress newsletter brings you information you can use to help you, or someone you know, cope with Crohn’s Disease.

I want you to know that I appreciate your interest in receiving this information, and I promise you that I will endeavor to make it worth your time, both now and in the future.

If you enjoy this month’s edition and find it valuable, then I would appreciate if you would forward it to other people you know who have Crohn’s Disease or are the family or friends of someone with the disease. If they would like to subscribe, have them send an email to

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Many thanks!

1. Our Personal Story Feature
2. Avoiding Nutrient Deficiencies
3. New Crohn's Disease Resource
4. Latest Medications & Treatments

1. Our Personal Story Feature

Each issue we like to feature a story from one of our visitors that has touched us and that we feel will be helpful to others. Following is one from a visitor named Colton. You can read more stories like this one on our site.

"Hi, My name is Colton. I'm 16 years old and have been having all of the symptoms of Crohn's. It all started one peaceful day, when I suddenly noticed I haven't gone to the bathroom in 2 weeks, I thought well... that's strange, and just continued doing what I was doing.

And then a couple more days went by, I started freaking out, begging my parents to take me to the doctor's, to see what was up. At first they bought some laxatives for me so I took those and nothing was coming out! man, my pipes were seriously clogged. so the next day we went to the Doctor's told him what was happening, at first I, even the Doctor thought it was an impaction in my colon, so he directed my Mother to get some Magnesium Citrate (Saline Laxative)over the counter stuff.

Well I took that and it somewhat worked, water would come out but nothing else. And then finally on my 3rd dose it came out, it came out all right... in the form of loose feathery like stool. So we went back to the Doc's and told him that I was having pain in my lower right side, he diagnosed me with colitis and prescribed sulfasalizine, that stuff worked great! until I ran out, and started having more pain.

We went back after my bottle of meds was empty, told him I was still having pain, problems etc... so he decided that I should have an x-ray done to check for a blockage, if there was a complete blockage something would show on the x-ray due to the gas being visible on a standard x-ray. Nothing showed up it was negative. and then I was totally falling apart, oh man I was loosing weight like crazy not eating due to the pain, felt like throwing up, always tired I seriously thought I was going to die! when you think you're dying, man you don't care what kind of disease you have, as long as it isn't fatal, and by the looks of it, Crohn's isn't usually fatal. but seems to complicate your life.

Well.. anyways they had me drink some watered down barium to do a CT scan, I thought hey this isn't as bad as I hear everyone says it is, so enjoyed drinking my barium. Got the CT scan done and they found that the first part of my small intestine was inflamed, thick. They couldn't diagnose me with anything, because there really wasn't very much you could see. but anyways about a week ago had a barium drink, oh JEEZ that stuff is NASSSTTTTY, it can barley go through the straw! it's like sucking paint through a garden hose! but anyways I got the upper GI done and the test results are in, I have an appointment today, and I'm guessing this is the part where I get diagnosed with Crohn's...

I'm almost positive that's what the diagnosis is going to be. I'll keep you guys updated.

P.S. Thank you for all of the information available to the public on this site! :D it's great, made my day. please excuse my grammar, I'm a little slow at some things." -Colton

We appreciate your story, and admire your upbeat attitude. We wish you the best of luck and please, keep us posted.

2. How Can Crohn's Patients Avoid Nutrient Deficiencies?

Even those Crohn's sufferers who are able to eat a fully-balanced diet are at risk of malnutrition due to the inability of the impaired small intestine to effectively digest and absorb nutrients from ingested food.

Add to this the frequent loss of appetite and the increased energy requirements to combat the illness and you can see why so many people with Crohn's Disease find themselves dangerously malnourished.

What's the solution?

Many people with Crohn's, ulcerative colitis and similar conditions choose to take nutritional supplements to restore and maintain healthy levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other important nutrients. Ensuring that the body has what it needs to perform daily functions is crucial in order to keep the disease in check and prevent further illness.

People who are otherwise healthy can reap the same benefits from comprehensive supplements, as most of our diets are lacking in nutrients. So whether you have Crohn's Disease or not, a balanced supplement can provide the nutrients your body needs on a daily basis.

If you are interested in a high quality nutritional supplement, we have been taking Xtend Life's Total Balance daily for many years now with great success. What we like about it is it contains over 80 nutrients specially blended to provide maximum benefits.

It is also enterically coated, which means that it will not get broken down before it enters your system like so many other supplements on the market. Take a look at this high quality nutritional supplement and let us know what you think!

3. New Crohn's Disease Resource

We recently came across a very helpful guide for Crohn's sufferers, containing information on the disease, dietary suggestions, natural ways to relieve painful symptoms and more.

We asked the author, Sharon Dobson, to tell us what inspired her to write the Breakthrough Crohn's Disease Guide:

"Hi, my name is Sharon Dobson, author of Breakthrough Crohn's Disease Guide.

I wrote this book after watching my older sister live with the pain and misery of Crohn's Disease symptoms.

When she was diagnosed she really had no idea what to do and looked to the medical profession to help ease her symptoms.

However, she made a huge mistake, which she regrets in hindsight. She did not make any changes in her life to help relieve her Crohn's symptoms. In fairness, she did not know the changes to make and was not given any useful advice by doctors.

In the end, this lack of knowledge, and her poor lifestyle choices resulted in her having 14 inches of intestine removed.

And so, to help my sister, and all other sufferers combat Crohn's Disease more effectively, I created the Breakthrough Crohn's Disease Guide - full of useful information and natural methods to relieve Crohn's symptoms and allow Crohn's sufferers to lead a fuller and symptom free life."

Thank you, Sharon. You can find out more information here.

4. New Medications & Treatments

Nothing earth-shattering on the new treatment front, but just in case you have not heard, Zelnorm was recently pulled from shelves due to increased risk of negative cardiovascular events.

Many Crohn's sufferers take Zelnorm to treat IBS, constipation and other GI complications. If you are currently taking this medication, talk to your doctor as soon as possible about alternatives.

Well, that's all for this month's issue...until next time, here's to your health!



Health Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided for information only and supplied “as is.” It is NOT intended to substitute for the services of a licensed health care provider in the diagnosis or treatment of Crohn’s Disease or any other disease, condition, or injury.