Coping With Crohn's Disease

by Ian
(Charleston SC)

I have been diagnosed with crohn's and celiac disease for about 3 years. My previous flare ups were bad but manageable. But its not until recently that i am having significant problems such as severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody in stools, anemia. I do take Mesalamine which seems to sometimes help, but the flare ups recently over power the medicine. I am Looking for better coping mechanisms to help get through each day at work and school while I am seeking different treatment options. Open to any suggestions.

Comments for Coping With Crohn's Disease

Click here to add your own comments

Coping with Crohn's NEW
by: Annette Youngdown

Hello there,

Thank you for your post. This must be very frustrating for you. Sadly Crohn's disease can be such an aggressive condition that flare-ups occur often without any warning at all.

Many people are able to manage Crohn's disease but sometimes it takes an intuitive response. First of all, it is important to identify how the disease affects you personally. Do you have a good diet for example? Or is your diet quite poor in terms of nutrition? If you are at work and at school, it sounds to me as if you are juggling your life and probably have very little time to be able to look after yourself. Life on the go can be quite difficult and if you're relying on processed foods, this could be your problem.

The other aspects I want to bring to your attention is that stress can play a major part in causing flareups. At one time doctors felt that stress was one of the main causes of Crohn's disease but research has indicated that this is not the case. It is true however that stress really can become a powerful trigger and if you are worried about yourself your work, and of course your schooling, it may not be surprising that your Crohn's is reacting.

I would recommend that you go to your doctors and ask for further advice. If you are on medication it may mean that the medication has to be changed. I am all for taking a natural approach to health and if you have funds available, you could certainly try acupuncture as there are some people who really believe that it helps. My feelings in the first instance, is to look at stress management techniques i.e. relaxation techniques and meditation and to also look at the foods you eat. The whole approach to Crohn's must be simplistic, you have to ensure that you have a good diet to enable your body to fight back and this would be my starting point. When you start analyzing your own condition, you may well find that a simple solution in terms of management presents itself.

I wish you the best of luck,

Annette Young
Help naturally NEW
by: nikki

ive recently tried acupunture and i find it is helping its not a quick or cheap fix its taken 2 months to really take affect and i always take 3 aloe vera tables as well as chinese herbs along with my medication from my specialist and ive been without a crohns cramp for a month now.. so its been helping me

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Ask A Question About Crohn's Disease.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.