IBD caused by a previous illness??

I was just curious if anyone here believes their IBD may have started after an illness.  I have heard of this theory and I just wanted to see what everyone else thinks about it.

Thanks for your replies!

I must say that I am very, very suspicious about the cause of my CD because of the "coincidental" timing of it. I was always a very healthy person, no medical problems at all, until 2000. I weighed 200lbs and went on the Atkins diet for several months, losing about 50lbs. When I had met my goal weight I slowly started reintroducing more carbohydrates into my diet. It was at that point that the diarrhea began, although mild at first. Then in 2001 I went on a week long camping trip in the WY mountains, during that time I drank and cooked with fresh mountain stream water. After that camping trip my d went from managable to really bad, and it got progressively worse over the next few years. Without trying I went down to about 114lbs, I looked horrible and felt worse. My PCP tested me for parasites, etc, and found none.
But I know in my heart that it's more than a coincidence that I was absolutely fine (I could eat anything, I had an iron stomach) before I started a very high protein diet, I think that's where my CD began and was kicked into overdrive by the stupidity of me drinking creek water.
Anyway, that's just my opinion and my story. Thanks!

I had a very bad virus in the 1970's. I developed a low white cell count after this and also gi problems. The gi problems went away until 5 years ago but the WBC problem remained. Viruses can screw up your immune system.

Virus can screw up a lot of things. I had ebv virus or mono for a good year.  And then every since then bowel problems have been getting worse and worse then postive tests for crohns. 

What I have read is the prevailing theory is that we have a genetic propensity for Crohn's and then something, possibly a virus or bacteria, "turns on" the disease and the auto-immune process begins. My Crohn's seems to occur shortly after my mom was diagnosed with Cancer, so sometimes I wonder about stress as the initiating factor. There is so much unknown about this disease. Knowing what causes it still doesn't help to cure it.

In my case, my symptoms started in the very day that my father died, so I think could it be something related with stress!

It is natural to seek to make sense (find something to blame) when hit with an adverse event, like a chronic illness. The not knowing threatens our sense of control that we like to think we have in our lives and if we can find a reason for why this thing happened it helps us reestablish that sense of control.

I got IBD months after losing my second child (SIDS) and while pregnant for my third. For many years, I built a personal narrative that said I got crohn's because the stress from losing my child suppressed my immune system. The only problem with the narrative was this niggling knowledge, which I usually suppressed, that I had had unusual symptoms while pregnant for my second child.

That same need to be in control also prompted me to blame myself for my child's death. For years I was convinced that she died because I dressed her too warmly during a family sledding outing. Intellectually I knew that the autopsy results didn't support this, but i chose to believe it, because it was better than the alternative -- that it was an act overwhich I had no control (just like getting crohn's). My healing began, first by forgiving myself for the possibility that I contributed to her death. That occurred in a hospital on the 10th anniversary of her death when a nurse and a trusted friend cut through my tearful confession by asking, "So what if you did kill her? Did you mean to?" Such a simple and direct question, but it began changing my point of view, because the answer, of course, was no of course i didn't want to hurt her. Quite the opposite. All my actions that day -- taking her out for a walk in her sled, putting an extra blanket on her when i realized her sister wanted to stop and slide on the neighborhood sledding hill -- were motivated by a desire to protect and nurture her.

So I guess, my question to everyone on this thread today is, "So what if your crohn's was caused by drinking river water or taking antibiotics, or stress, or getting mono?" I don't think any of us wished this disease on ourselves, and even if we are all right, in the end it won't change anything. We really don't control much of the big stuff that happens in our lives. All we have a say in is how we choose to deal with these life challenges.

From my observations of all of us on this web site, I'd say we are doing an incredible job of coping against some really tough tests.

Bless you all

Belleenstein,
I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you lost your daughter. You have been through so much, and I for one am so grateful that you post on this forum. It is a natural part of grief to question why things happen, whether it's a SIDS death or a Crohn's diagnosis, but in the end, we all just need to move forward. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful post, Belleenstein. I, too, am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I just can't imagine anything more tragic. In coming to terms with your loss, you have learned so much, and I thank you for sharing it so eloquently.

Crohn's disease is a loss, too. I rebelled against having to give up, bit by bit, activities that I considered parts of my life. It took me years to experience that what I do is not who I am. Oh, I might have known that intellectually somehow, but it took being virtually bedridden to make me face it. As others have said, I would gladly accept a cure, and I wouldn't want to relive all the pain and frustration, but I am still so grateful for the self-knowledge and empathy it has triggered.

Nothing traumatic happened shortly before my Crohn's got really bad; I was actually more active and happier than I had been in years. I was attending classes and seminars, volunteering as a career counselor, completing my first novel, and had just opened a licensed home day care. I never asked "Why me?" but I did say "Why now?" I can look back and see that everything worked out, and maybe "wandering in the desert" was just what I needed. Again, it's not something I want to repeat, but hopefully I'll remember what I learned.

My apologies for such a long response. I awakened too early and came here while I wait for sleep to return.

Hukleberrie I am so sorry to hear about your brother... :(  My thoughts are with you!  I hope your mother doesn't have CD! 

I haven't been technically diagnosed with Crohn's yet either...I do have several symptoms that could be Crohn's (mouth sores, diarrhea, episcleritis--which went on for about 6 months, cleared up for a month, and is back now--and rectal bleeding).  My first significant illness was in December of 2006--I had conjunctivitis in both eyes for about 3 weeks, a severe kidney/bladder infection which made my urine pink from blood.  Anyhow I got over that then about two months later I got the influenza, then I got viral spinal meningitis about 3 weeks after that and since the meningitis, everything else has just kept coming.  I honestly had hoped that my episcleritis was from having the meningitis but after 4 eye doctors evaluating it (I went for second opinion after first being diagnosed and the 2nd clinic I was seen by 3 other doctors) I finally went to an internist and she said Crohn's is the second most common cause of episcleritis and ran all kinds of blood work to check for anything and everything that can cause the eye condition.  All my blood work came back normal so I had the scopes and the biopsies did not confirm Crohn's but I have inflammation in several places--my esophagus, my terminal illiem my cecum just to name a few. 

I am the kind of person that wants an answer for everything...that's probably why I posted my question in the beginning.  Having that eye condition for months drove me crazy, especially when the eye doctors could not explain it.  They even did their own blood work as well.  They finally told me to go see a doctor because they figured something else was going on to make it last and last. 

Honestly, I have wondered if my previous illnesses have caused this.  I don't take very good care of myself when I am sick--as soon as I feel the slightest bit better, I am off and running doing housework, getting back to work, etc. 

On the other hand when I think about it, I have had bouts of diarrhea off and on for years.  At the same time, if I had Crohn's all along, I wonder why it didn't show up in my biopsies.  I guess only time will tell.  I am very thankful though, if I do end up having it, that it started now and not in my teens or 20's. 

I wish the best for you and your mother.  I sincerely hope neither one of you have Crohn's.  Take care and keep us posted!