How do I help friend with Chrons?

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with Chron's. She hasn't been able to work for a couple of months and has stopped calling people back when they try to check on her. I'm afraid she is slipping into a depression, which seems understandable considering the circumstances. Does anyone have any input on how to best help her?

Comments for How do I help friend with Chrons?

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How can i help a friend with crohn's? NEW
by: Annette Young

Hi there,

Thanks for your question. Your friend is very lucky to have someone who takes the time to seek out answers.

Being diagnosed with Crohn's can be a real shock. It can take some getting used to and if you couple that with intense pain and feelings of fatigue, I can understand why she might want to shut herself away.

Depression comes very quickly with this disease. It's a silent disease in that it is isolating in so many ways. Often sufferers do not want to talk about their problems, they feel embarrassed by the very nature of the disease. They don't want to talk to colleagues about symptoms or to tell their employers. Often, it causes relationship problems too because their lifestyle can be pretty much turned on its head.

The best thing that you can do for your friend is to understand the disease and help her to accept that she has it. Once someone accepts that they have the disease for life, they can start coming to terms with it.This is so important.

She also needs to look at the food she is eating. There is no known reason for the disease but we do know that certain food types can trigger a nasty bout of pain. Eliminating dairy, spicy foods, smoking, alcohol can help and try to reduce the amount of fiber too. Foods should always be easy to digest to make it easier to go through the digestive process.

Just try to make her see that whatever she is going through, she is not alone and that there is often light at the end of the tunnel. Crohn's often goes into remission -sometimes for years so she may get her life back in due course.

I hope this helps.

Annette
advice to help a friend
by: delilah

Hi,
I would suggest you read through the forums to get an understanding about this condition and the varying symptoms of it.
I think the worst part of it is apart from the pain and upsets, is the embarrassment of being caught short for the toilet and the shame of losing control. This more than anything else alienates them from friends and families.So your first priority would be to explain to them that you understand about the fear of being caught short and the plans you could put in place to deal with if it should happen.
This will continue until your consultant can prescribe the drugs that work for you and gives you back your life!!!!!
help a freind
by: tom

hi im tom i understand how your freind feels i have been through it all with my wife who has a very severe time with it .She should see her doctor for anti depressants and to see her consultant about a medication called Remicade it is very good for keeping the didease under control. But the best tomic is to have very good freinds like you and all her family there for her . all the very best tom

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