Advise for life?

My name is Keagan, I am 22, almost 23. I was diagnosed with Crohn's when I was 8 years old, and I feel like I should know more than I do. I am fairly educated on aspects of diet and nutrition, as well as what meds I should and should not take, and so on. However, I can't help but feel like there is something we as Crohn's patients aren't being told. I have heard different theories about what causes Crohn's, or what flares it or how to stay in remission, but all the answers are different for everyone. I know it's understandable due to the fact that each human is wired differently, but we all have an autoimmune disease, we all get bouts of diarrhea, we all experience dramatic weight loss at some time or another, and we all know what those god awful, boiling/burning/stabbing/habanero-juice-rolling-around-in-the-gut cramps feel like. Why do doctors only mask the symptoms of the problem, instead of treat the cause? Has anyone tried Mary Jane for this? I need help, but mostly I think I just need someone to talk to about this stuff.

Medical marijaiuna is fabulous in my opinion. It helps with nausea and vomiting. Also it helps me to eat. I actually get hungry. That's rare for me, after so many years of not eating often due to pain or just getting sick.it also helps me sleep. Which is awesome because your body needs sleep to rejuvenate itself and to heal. It's also wonderful with helping cope with pain. So all in all I would say everyone should smoke or eat pot. A friend of mine makes some incredible butter and he also puts it into capsules for me. My only problem is I'm a silly stoner. I can't smoke all day like some people can. So I prefer to take my pain meds threw out the day, beside at meal times and bed. The doctors are telling me now that I have to choose one or the other. Pot is about the only thing that helps me eat and keep the food in but I can't smoke every time I have pain. That's a huge problem for me. I have four kids and laying around either in pain or being super high is a no no. So I have no clue what I'm going to do.

Welcome to the forum, Keagan!

You raise some interesting points. Really, it comes down to this: doctors can't treat the cause because they don't know what it is. Maintenance medications can put the disease into remission, which is more than just masking the symptoms - it's making it inactive, so it's not doing any damage to the body. While in remission, scopes and blood work can show no signs of IBD.

We do have a Medical Marijuana section of the forum, which you can find here. A lot of people do seem to have luck treating their Crohn's symptoms with MM. But, treating this way IS just masking the symptoms. I wouldn't advise using only MM to treat your IBD. What is your current treatment plan?

We're all here for you any time you want to talk! :hug:

Thank you guys for the reply, my current treatment plan is Remicade once a month, Marijuana as needed, promethazine25mg as needed and 10mg oxycodone as needed. My doctor told me as we'll I needed to choose between the weed and the Percs, but he doesn't need to know everything I do.. I'm in the process of quitting smoking cigarettes, today is day 2 and its not easy at all... I feel like I'm gonna die my symptoms aren't as bad as they have been in the past, but I can't seem to get my diarrhea and nausea and insane back pain under control. The Remicade does well, but I can tell when it's wearing off.

Out of interest when was the last time testing was done to check on the status of things inside? Are bloods done to check on inflammation levels? What other - if any - meds have you been on?

AB
xx

Agree with you; Western med is taught to treat the problem, not necessarily determine what cause it. I found that very frustrating when I first was diagnosed. Keep researching and find out what works best for you. Start off by what you put in your mouth (food/drink) and then make sure you get exercise. Stay healthy in your routines and log what you need to to help you determine your ill buttons. You will get in tuned and be able to research what your intuition is telling you.

Docs don't have all the answers. Look at your history and see if you can figure out what contributed to illness and build on that. build on your immune system so you do not gather any more autoimmune diseases.

Baby steps...good luck!

mickey said:

Agree with you; Western med is taught to treat the problem, not necessarily determine what cause it. I found that very frustrating when I first was diagnosed. Keep researching and find out what works best for you. Start off by what you put in your mouth (food/drink) and then make sure you get exercise. Stay healthy in your routines and log what you need to to help you determine your ill buttons. You will get in tuned and be able to research what your intuition is telling you.

Docs don't have all the answers. Look at your history and see if you can figure out what contributed to illness and build on that. build on your immune system so you do not gather any more autoimmune diseases.

Baby steps...good luck!

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Couldn't agree more, although the good GIs I had (I moved around a lot, so I have seen a variety of GIs) all stressed that drugs are just supplemental to eating right, living the right way and generally staying on top of things. Basically I could get myself in a flare up right now if I wanted to just by eating the wrong stuff on a constant basis. It's as easy as that.

Hi there,

I can't really answer the question about MM cos I have no experience of it but I gather that it can be useful for easing symptoms but that it does not make a person go into remission, I think it's a bit like me putting heat on my tum, it soothes but doesn't lessen the inflammation.

I've only been diagnosed with IBD a few months and quickly realized that no 2 people are the same when it comes to our illnesses, we may experience the same symptoms but unfortunately the same medication and food regimes will not be the same for us.....it might make life easier if it was I live with another auto immune disease which I was told could have been triggered by the same things as crohns, I will never work out why was the exact cause though. I guess what I'm trying to say is that drs can't know it all and that we have to work with them and trust their knowledge so that we can try and find remission and hold onto it. I also believe that professionals chose to specialize in IBD because they want help make a difference. It helps me to think that when I'm feeling a bit low.

I'm truly sorry that you're having such a miserable time. It's completely understandable that you need someone to talk to and this is the right place to com. We will be here to answer any queries you may have and are more than happy to help. Best wishes and lots of hugs. :ghug::ghug: