• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Jeepers! A routine colonoscopy turns into Crohn's!

Well, getting to be that age, almost 50, and my doctor says, "hmmm, it's time for a colonoscopy."
Sigh, ok, I'll do it.

After the colonoscopy, the doctor tells me through my drug filled haze, "Boy you're tough! You've got Crohn's disease and there are ulcers on your colon."

Now, I have family members with colitis and ulcerative colitis. I never had the happiest bowels on earth, but I seemed in good health and thought, maybe I escaped the cycle. Or escaped the gene.

Doesn't look that way now. I have a chronic disease, forever. There is no cure, and the way medicine works nowadays, there won't be a cure because the drug companies make too much money off of people being sick. But I digresss...

I can beat this though. Last year,I started eating super healthy, organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed beef, pastured eggs from local farmers. Fanatical about exercise, lifting weights, hiking, cycling, doing yoga.
I can get better. I need to get grains out of my life. I just read about "Beating the Vicious Cycle", Gottschall's diet is very close to the Paleo diet.

I'm really freaked out about the "treatments" offered, tons of steroids that cause horrendous side effects. One drug is so powerful it can be lethal, and only available through a special enrollment process.

I believe the body wants to heal, the body can heal, if we do the right things for it.
 

afidz

Super Moderator
Hi Grumpygut! Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you have a great mindset! I think that its great that you have chosen to lead a healthier lifestyle with diet change and exercise, it can only make things better!
There are several members on here that choose to treat their disease with specific diets and have had great success, just keep in mind that everyone is deifferent and everyone gets different results. The meds for Crohn's can be scary, but for tons of people, those meds have saved their lives and given them a better quality of life. But again, everyone is different.
No, there is no cure as you said. BUT YOU CAN BEAT IT! I wish you all the luck, and I hope this forum is helpful to you as it is to so many :)
 
Hello GrumpyGut,

Welcome to the Crohns Forum. I love your name by the way.

Attitude is very important I think for any health condition and it's great that you have such a positive on. I'm very new to this way of life and feel quite overwhelmed at the road ahead. Your post has encouraged me not to feel so negative. I too am a bit scared of the meds but realise that that are very important and absolutely have an important place in Crohns disease.

I'm sorry that you have traversed down the CD road and thank you for your positive words.
 
You want to know the kicker? Last year, at almost this exact same time, I was battling breast cancer!! They say things come in threes, I wonder what the next thing will be?
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Sorry to hear about your dx.
Glad you found the forum.
It takes a while to adjust to the dx.
give yourself time.
I know when DS was dx almost two years ago at age 7 it was very hard.
glad you are fighting the fight.
 
Gee wizz GrumpyGut!! how did that turn out for you? yep things do usually come in threes so I suggest you drop something big on your toe and get the third thing over and done with, something like a.........cushion :lol: Seriously though I will hope and pray that you are wrong about the three things. :ghug:
 
Eating healthy and finding the types of food that disturbs your crohns then cutting them out. But like a lot of people above said being positive and treating your body can help some people. I don't think it's exactly fair to say with a positive outlook and eating healthy it can be over come. I've read some peoples stories on here that are trying as hard as they can and are following strict diets and still have big issues. I'd hate to discredit them, they have a much tougher form of the disease and I really feel for those people. Even though I have not experienced what they have they are very brave and tough not to give up!

Also just because you can't feel it doesn't mean it's not there. I knew someone who had it in remission for ten years then needed surgery. He wasn't getting check ups and didn't realize the damage it was causing.
 
Correction: The guy I knew who had it in remission who needed part of his intestine removed didn't have it in remission for ten years. He thought he had it in remission because he never experienced any pain and would rarely if ever have diarrhea. He started getting constipated ten years after his last bad flare and shortly after found out he had blockage from scar tissue and needed surgery. True remission will cause no damage of course.
 

afidz

Super Moderator
Yes, Crohn's can attack silently. That is why its important to get regular check ups with a GI to make sure that everything is ok.
As I said, everyone is different. One treatment method will work wonders for one and not doing anything for another. Unfortunately, the only way to find what treatment works best for you is trial and error.
Grumpygut, are you still battling breast cancer? I hope all is well in that area, I hope you start to feel better with Crohn's. Keep your chin up and keep moving forward. Thats all any of us can really do, right?
 
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