Theroies of causes of IBDs

There are many threads discussing the possibility that IBD is caused by bacteria. Do a search on anti-MAP, for example:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=2240333
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=2216130

Researchers believe that it's possibly a combination of genetics and environmental trigger(s) that cause IBD, which in turn messes up the immune system...that's why having your intestines replaced with new ones wouldn't make any difference because the nature of the disease is to attack the intestines due to the immune responses in our system being messed up/confused. The immune system has to be "fixed" in order to fix the disease itself since that's where the disease lays.

Some highly suspected possible trigger(s) are; hormonal effects, toothpaste, birth control pills, food/diet (the CCFC has not ruled out food/diet as being a possible environmental trigger for IBD), of course there are more, these are just off the top of my head at the moment. They also cannot confirm if each patients trigger is caused by one or a combination of possible environmental triggers.

I def have a screwed up immune system as all my medical issues are immune system based and so it really doesn't like my body much.

I personnaly think there is more than one crohn's..
I think that the receptor Th1, Th2 and maybe th17 are mostly responsible.
What make them go nuts ? Here is the part where there might be more than one possibility :
1. The presence or the absence of certain bacteria.
2. The mutation of certain gene and etc. (Would make sense for all ''bad stuff'' like cigarettes, diet soda etc)
3. Some nutriment lack over the years (vitamins and stuff) (It could maybe go with second one)
4. Stress, (I know many say it is often see bigger as it is but don't underestimate your brain.)
5. Postures, (I'm not quite sure about that one but.. I know how everything is placed in your body can change a lot, I had a friend who had severes headache and stuff, neurologist just could understand..
At the end, it was a chiropraticien that heal him. (Not saying it is that, it's just a litte possibility)

I was counting it in my number one !

They're SO many thing we still don't know in 2011, it's not only that.. I'd like to have a single sure answer even if there is no cure with it.. Just understand.. ! (I wouldn't spit on a cure tho :P)

 

Tommy..your post makes a lot of sense.

Nanners..I understand the rules and I will not break them. But it sure is quite sad on a forum that is supposed to be about "healing" something can't get posted that might help someone who is suffering.

Who knows it might save someone from going through an experience like yourself where after 20 years of no symptoms to wake up to horrible pain and needing surgery. That is a scary thought for people already battling an "uncurable" illness. That puts a lot of anxiety in people. Maybe if there was a way to share this info it might ease peoples fears or at least educate them.

Tommy..when I was having problems with gas, some mucous etc.. I was very stressed. Two things I noticed was that I wasn't breathing right and my posture was bad. I was slumping over without realizing it.
Also.as weird as this might seem (or not) I saw a webpage once which puts the cause of IBDs to western style toilet bowls.

Who's to say that people haven't had inflammatory bowel diseases for thousands of years? When my grandmother had difficulty with her bowels it was called "spastic colon." She was born in Eastern Europe and raised in extreme poverty so I don't think we can blame "western diet" or "super cleanliness" for her issues. Very few people die from Crohn's, they just suffer miserably for years. I think there's plenty of examples in history of people experiencing that!

So I don't think that Crohn's is necessarily a "modern day" illness. It might be more prevalent for some reason now. Or not. I don't think anyone's done that study.

Oh yes, I've read alot about IBD being around for more than 100 yrs, but it was Burrill Crohn that put a name to it....genetics.
Here's the link about Burrill Crohn...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrill_Bernard_Crohn

I used to eat dirt when I was a little kid, and ants, when I was digging with my little pail and shovel.. I thought the ants were chocolate sprinkles. LOL. So I had plenty of bacteria and all sorts of other goodies in my tummy from a very early age. I sit up straight most of the time and have good posture.

I have never had allergies (until I took a form of penicillin as an adult), nor have I had artificial sweeteners except from a few sticks of gum maybe 20 years ago. I did smoke cigarettes on and off but was never addicted to them.
No one in my family has IBD. My mother also has several autoimmune diseases but no one else in my family has them.

What I have always had is lots of stress,
and when one of my doctors actually got around to testing my Vitamin D levels when I was in my early 50's they were extremely low in the single digits. I was Dx'ed with several autoimmune diseases in the last few years. Only Crohn's affects my intestines. The other diseases affect other parts of me that have nothing to do with the digestive tract.

SO, speaking as someone who has been a vegetarian since I was 14 years old, always reading the labels of everything I ate, and avoiding most processed foods, but on the other hand has traveled quite a bit and has been exposed to all manner of dirt and germs.. most of what you have been proposing as a cause would not pertain to me.

I have read medical papers that have blamed Crohn's on NSAIDS in general, low Vitamin D levels, stress. and lousy diets.
I wasn't diagnosed until I was 55 years old. I didn't have symptoms until I was about 50 or so. I was either very lucky or something I was doing was putting off the inevitable. A famous GI doctor in NYC attributed my late onset to my healthy diet.

Let me propose this to all of you that keep asking this same question every other week or so. Once diagnosed with this disease you always have it, perhaps you've always had it anyway even before that and it is in our genes. If never eating chocolate again could make this disease go away I think we would all do it. But we all know it is much more complicated than that. I know we are all looking for answers but maybe we are asking the wrong questions. Until they find out if it is solely genetic or is based on environmental factors we are all spinning our wheels.

NY VEGGIE

I think it's only natural at some point in time to wonder what the heck causes any disease. Once they know the root causes, then perhaps they can work on better treatments and maybe even a cure. Not enough is being done. The treatements are just putting a small band aid on a big problem, in my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions!!!!

Did everyone see on the internet yesterday that now they are saying too much Vit. D can be toxic??? My levels were very low as well but I take 1,000 mgs every day. I dunno, too many questions and not enough answers for me.