Wanting to help....

I have a close friend of mine who has Chron's disease. He has been dealing with the illness all alone for many years now. He recently had a flare up and was very sick. Is there anything that I can do to help him feel better while he is going through this. He does not believe in medication at all. I didn't know if there were types of food I could get him, or anything I could actually do for him. I feel helpless and hate to see him in pain. Any suggestions for a very caring friend would be great.

Comments for Wanting to help....

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Wanting to help NEW
by: Annette Young

Hello there,

Thank you for your post. I think it is great that you want to help your friend. Many people with Crohn's disease are fiercely private and actually quite resistant to giving in and taking medication, instead they has no cure currently battle on. But, it is important that they come to terms with the fact that Crohn's disease has no cure currently and it is unlikely to get better on its own, although it will appear to go into remission at times.

When people have Crohn's they can often feel quite isolated and because the disease can have such a negative impacts on their physicality, their lifestyle, their health and emotional well-being, it can be very hard for them to reach out and tell others what they are going through.

From your perspective, you need to understand that the impacts on the individual can be quite unique. Although many of the symptoms are shared, some people suffer terribly and for others it can be fluctuating periods that irritate more than making the individual ill. This can change at the drop of a hat and what was manageable can turn into an aggressive flareup. Many people find this inconsistency to be difficult to handle and it can impact their relationships, their careers and just their day-to-day living can be difficult. Symptoms vary but include - abdominal pains, cramp, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, joint pain and more. Not all of these symptoms occur at the same time but the trouble is that your friend may have trouble eating and absorbing the nutrients in the food. He should not smoke at all or drink alcohol and he should try to eat fresh foods, avoiding dairy where possible and to not have any spicy foods.

Because the intestines can be so painful, you can imagine that the process of digestion and make the individual not want to eat so easy to digest foods are preferable and these can include salmon, chicken, turkey, mashed potato, soups and even pureed vegetables. He should not drink any carbonated sodas but to ensure that he keeps himself hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

Ideally, he should be seeking medical assistance and taking some medication to help keep the Crohn's disease under control, left and checked it can be very, very serious. You can give him plenty of support and encouragement and to try to keep his morale up as this can make a big difference.

I hope this helps and to let us know how your friend progresses

Annette Young
I'm in the same situation. NEW
by: Anonymous

That sounds like me, a friend of mine has Crohn's, but he hasn't told anyone, (I learned through his mom) and I don't know if he knows I know. All of the sudden, he lost a lot of weight, and I don't know what I can do to help him. We're in high school, and I don't know if there is anything I can do, or if he would want it, because he didn't tell anyone. Is there anything I can do to help him? He is still scary skinny, but stopped loseing weight.
As a guy with Crohns
by: Anonymous

It depends on your friend,im fiercly private and only my immediate family know how much ive been through. To every1 else i just say i have crohns and am not well. I do not like people visiting me in hosptial as i feel they feel sorry for me. Some people are open about their crohns,colostomy whereas some prefer some people prefer not to have any help. Im sorry that this dosen't really help. I just suggest asking him what you can do to help
Crohns aid
by: Peter Bray

Research everything you can about Crohns disease for your friend and join support groups and see what works for other Crohns survivors...some medical support and/or medicines may be necessary---a rock-hard attitude devoid of medicines is about as inappropriate for health as eating rocks for breakfast...e-mail me back at PetrBray@AOL.com and I'll send you my free 12 newspaper columns ("WAR on Crohns") on the subject of Crohns from my 24 years of helping my adult daughter Cathy, 44, now with a looped, temporary ileostomy, taking aloe vera, probiotics, enzyme supplements, immune system enhancers, and NO MORE useless Western Medicines that only suppressed her symptoms while the pathogens ate away at her colon--beware useless immuno-suppressive, mediocre "auto-immune" 1960s thinking--find a real gastroenterologist! They do exist.

Peter Bray
Benicia, CA

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