Diagnosed w/Crohns at 60.

Hi Everyone. I have looked for someone to chat with that can relate about this dreadly disease, Crohns. I am now 63 and was diagnosed at 60. After 3 ER trips and 2 lenghty stays in the hospital, they finally gave me the news. I have stopped eating a lot of foods, because they just don't agree with me. I take Pentasa. 6 pills a day. Does everyone eat "bland" with this problem?

Hi Fonze,

I was diagnosed at 55, now57. I don't have many symptoms but did have a stricture removed in May that was mainly scar tissue. You didn't say if your ER visits were due to blockages or what?

After they found the stricture, I was on a low residue diet for over a year while having further tests and deciding what to do. Food didn't bother me much (except popcorn and corn) but did not want to get blocked up and ate smaller meals more often.

I did introduce fibre a lttle too quickly after surgery but now I am able to eat pretty well anything; raw veggies, salads, had a steak the other night, nuts, etc. (Just haven't tried popcorn yet).

I haven't been on many different drugs but Pentasa is a pretty low end drug I think.  If you are doing OK on it fine but now that you have been diagnosed and ER visits maybe there is something that would work better for you.

Keep us informed of your progress.

Hi--I just turned 41 this summer and was diagnosed with Crohn's two weeks ago. I went to the ER in December in intense pain, was given a shot of Reglan (which did nothing) and waassent home with a "stomach virus". Lots of stomach viruses in the ER today, iwas just one of many, I guess-idiots! It took me over a month to recover, I lost a significant amount of weight and thought, gee, I hope I never have to go through that again!

4 weeks ago today, I found myself in intense pain again. repeat of December--I have never been one to suffer from "stomach aches". I run, work out eat lots of fiber and work a lot, I have three kids, ages 8, 12, and 13, so illness is not something I can handle easily.

We got an appointment with a great GI doctor. I told him about my December visit to the er and he got that sent up where he saw I had been diagnosed with "enteritis". That's the first time anyone mentioned Crohn's to me-right then, he thought that that might be my problem. I am active in the bathroom in the morning, but I had no idea! At this point I was having all sorts of crazy stuff- nausea, high blood pressure, high ketones and glucose--I was really sick. They ordered all sorts of blood tests, a urinalysis, and an upper and lower GI barium study for the next day.

Did the barium study where they showed me a rigid section of my small intestine that was not working (right hand lower quadrant, naturally!) . Next stop--colonoscopy following week.

That was a Thursday. By Friday morning, I was in the most intense pain of my life. The GI doc had given me Donnatell, but this was no longer touching the pain. I couldn't stand up, any pressure from any direction on my abdomen was super painful, my gut was bloated to the size of about 6 months pregnant, all I could do was cry. Then I stopped urinating--just as the doctor's office called to tell me I had a very bad UTI. They called me in Cipro. I spent the next 3 days doing nothing but suffer--don't know what the heck took me so long to go to the ER! Guess my first bad experience at Xmas!

Monday afternoon, my husband took me to the ER--they saw me immediately, I was feverish, and they got me catheterized for some relief (I had only a passed a few drops of urine for three days, that with great and exhausting effort--the Cipro didn't help), gave me morphine (more relief) and got me scanned. Apparently, the barium study helped to cause further problems--I was obstructed. How I didn't need surgery, I'll never know, but they admitted me. I was on all sort of drugs, levaquin, IV drips, pain meds, just terrible. The I had to have a colonoscopy--and they couldn't get the bioposy--they couldn't reach the rigid bad area! By now, I was on all sorts of laxatives, so I was now unblocked (thank God). However, I had to have a blood transfusion because my counts were very low! I was in there for 4 days, missed my kids' first day of school.

So now I'm on a low fiber diet. I'm on 12 Asacol a day, prednisone, and just finished more meds a few days ago (anti biotics). I hate the meds. Dreading the meds. I am going to refuse to stay one them, too, because the side effects are awful. I am on a prescription pro biotic, and plan to look into some better and cheaper ones in the near future.

I guess I just wanted to post my experience here as an "older" person who has been diagnosed with Crohn's--I am in shock and very down about it, but trying to force myself to have a positive attitude. I've never been sick in my life, so I am just completely side swiped by this.

I have got to believe that this can be controlled with diet, and not just drugs--I think the side effects are worse in some ways. I consider myself a pretty robust person normally, but this thing has zapped me of all energy. I feel atrophied from lying in bed for so long, and refuse to give up all forms of exercise--that just flies in the face of good reason.

I have heard that peppermint oil is good for the digestive tract--perhaps that is why those mints are helping you, Fonze. And all the meds increase your appetite in an unhealthy way, too.

I'm praying for all here!

Hi new members! Just wanted to say hello and give a plug here for changing diet. In my signature below I've linked previous discussions here on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Possibly reading them will give you some further ideas! Again, welcome!

Hi Fonze

I too was diagnosed at age 60 and now am 63. I was shocked to find out I could get this disease at this age. Also, I was pretty heavy. I thought I have to be the oldest and fattest person with Crohn's in the USA!! I really had no idea what I was in for. No salads; no veggies; no fruits, cooked or raw....this has been a struggle as you well know. I have eaten baby food even. Been in the hospital many, many times. On going flare ups have sent me to "jello and mashed potatoes" heaven....my only relief! Was on Remicade for 2yrs and developed Lymphoma. Just finished up chemo and trying to intoduce foods as I have lost 75#. Between the chemo and the crohn's I was in the hospital this year 8 times!!! Usually it was partial obstructions...I have had one heck of a year but still a positive person. I am very lucky that I didn't get it till late in life so I didn't have to suffer so long and I ended up with a treatable cancer. And, I have been humbled beyond belief so that I can relate and understand totally to people who have chronic illness. I am so thankful to be alive that I thank the checker and the bagger at the grocery stores a dozen times. Also, I knew I needed to be around positive people. By suffering I did not become cynical at all; more positive. I lost my job in the process of all this, this year; but "I will survive" as the song goes. I just downloaded a diet form and found a book that may help me with some sort of better eating habits. Just wanted you to know my story and hope that you are doing ok today...sometimes, its only 1 day at a time! Take care and God love ya Fonze!! pnkaboo