My Crohnstipated Life

Yes, I have it. And I’m so really well…pissed off! I was diagnosed on my honeymoon. We were in Cancun and 4 hours after we arrived I was in so much pain I could not stand up. We didn’t know what it was and I was to afraid to visit a hospital in Mexico. So, for 6 days I toughed out the pain but the moment we returned I wound up right in the ER.

I created this blog initially as a temporary site for the Dedicated Woman blog, but now that it is up and running, the only natural transition is to create this blog and dedicated it to my other cause….Crohns Disease.

What is it ?
Crohn’s Disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, the cause of which is still unclear. The disease may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, is more common in women than men and most patients present at between the ages of 15 and 30 years. Although it can occur at any age diagnosis is rare before 10 years of age, however there is an increase in the number of children affected worldwide, some as young as 3 months old.. Many studies place the incidence of Crohn’s Disease in western countries at between 2 and 6 per 100,000 population, with more than 400,000 Americans diagnosed with the disease, accounting for 76,000 hospitalizations per year. More than 10,000 Australians have Crohn’s disease.

Signs and Symptoms
Signs and symptoms will vary from person to person and may flare up or recede at different times. In Crohn’s disease some patients may exhibit the following symptoms: diarrhea (80%), weight loss (70%), anal lesions (65%), abdominal pain (55%), rectal bleeding (45%), fever (35%), fistula (similar to a weeping wound) (10%). Other features of the disorder may include: gallstones, malabsorbtion of food and nutritional deficiencies, weight loss or weight gain, eye complications like conjunctivitis, vomiting, pain, constipation, problems with joints and quite commonly mild abdominal distention and tenderness. Some people with Crohn’s can experience a small gut obstruction and/or an abdominal mass.

Treatment
Approximately 85% of patients with Crohn’s disease require surgery during the natural course of their disease. Most sufferers can lead full and rewarding lives including sport diving during periods of symptom-stability, though more than half suffer recurrent attacks after the first surgical resection and half of this group will require further surgery. Currently there is no cure for this disease. Treatment is aimed at helping control the symptoms, though with the recent breakthrough in identifying the first gene in Crohn’s, Nod2, there is hope of a cure as soon as 5 or 6 years time. (www.acca.net.au)