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Personally what do YOU think causes your Crohn's Disease?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/24/2012 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Have had my gallbladder out, my appendix out, used birth control pills, had my tonsils out and had a lot of antibiotic treatments. Got my renal cell cancer and Crohns diagnose at the same time, 5 years ago. Prior to the Crohns diagnose I had some stomac ulcers and ulcers in duodenum which again led to another antiobiotic treatment.

I guess all my antibiotic treatments changed the pathogens and the good guys in my intestines, and triggered my Crohns. Just a few weeks after the triple antibiotic treatment for the ulcers I got my first Crohns symptoms: pain and discomfort, wich lasted for 5 years. Prednisone didn't rid my symptoms and all the pain. Low Dose Naltrexone did. ;-) Have been symptom free close up to 100 % for 5 years.
Posted 4/25/2012 10:48 AM (GMT 0)
Yes we can all wonder why people get Cancer, but there are far too many people looking into and supporting Cancer which is all well and good, but what about us? Who is getting the word out for us? Whenever I turn on the tv all I keep hearing is "Cancer and Diabetes" over and over again, but what about our condition?

You know I just did this posting as a bit of an experiment to see if there was any type of consensus out there between all of us.
I'm now going to ask how many ever had(b)Mononucleosis(/b) or what they use to call "The kissing disease"? I had that as a kid, but I wasn't kissing anyone then! Twas only later that I started kissing!
Oh yes, and BeeSting how and or where did you get your Naltrexone? I want to try it but my Doctor (Quack) said No to me today! That was VERY disappointing indeed!
Posted 4/25/2012 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think I've ever had mono that I can remember. But I did get strep at least 3 times as a kid. First time wasn't bad, second time was horrible.
Posted 4/25/2012 12:43 PM (GMT 0)
Mononucleosis/kissing disease/Glandular fever all the same thing I believe, and DS no never
to that one.
Posted 4/25/2012 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
Stress
Posted 4/25/2012 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
I could be mistaken, but I think I remember reading somewhere that ethnicity could have something to do with having Crohn's, but again I might be completely wrong.

If this fact is true, it might be interesting exploring it further.

Posted 4/25/2012 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I had viral spinal meningitis in May of 2007 and before that, I had a few sinus infections plus the influenza.  I believe my immune system was knocked waaay down and when it came back, the Crohn's started with it.  Just 4 weeks after the meningitis, I started experiencing the symptoms of Crohn's and they got worse with time.  I DO have a lot of autoimmune disease in my family history but I'm the only one with Crohn's. 

When I'm stressed out, the disease seems to worsen...

Posted 4/25/2012 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
Genetically modified food and maybe second hand smoking, I think.
Posted 4/26/2012 3:43 AM (GMT 0)
They say men to women is equal..high is whites..higher in the western population now originally coming from eastern and central Europe..higher coming Jewish communities originally in Europe..
Posted 4/26/2012 11:29 AM (GMT 0)
So it can't be anything to do with Mono then, but possibly it's a side effect caused by initially being assaulted by some sort of infection. And then to make matters worse the useage of antibiotics which kills off all our good bacteria. No wonder our innards are gibbled!

Your right Cleanfreak about the ethnicity thing, because I also heard that too! So I guess we all must be Jewish folks under cover! Hmm, as I look in the mirror, "Do I resemble someone who looks Jewish?
No, but my parents came from the UK, so Aha there maybe A CLUE there!"

Indgosunrise that was interesting how you mentioned you were assaulted by pathogens before getting ill, because I'm really wondering if our systems don't need to be suppressed but strengthened instead! If you look at that Low Dose Naltrexone site there are a lot of autoimmune afflictions there. Check it out and see how many of your relatives autoimmune problems are listed there. I looked and saw some of my relatives complaints there too! If that is correct then that is one clue there.
***So maybe I should ask another question here which is, "How many of us had a prior infection of some sort before getting ill with Crohn's? *** I know that I had a fungus infection when mine started!

P.S I put those stars there because I can't turn the words into a bold typeface.

Post Edited (Kate548) : 4/26/2012 5:37:49 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/26/2012 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
I am adopted and so maybe I am Jewish, and the only other thing major I have ever had in my life is Scoliosis.  My doctor called it infectious, because I didn't have any symtoms until 2000, later in life, most people get it when they are pre-teens. And the Crohn's was diagnosed when I was 55, again later in life. I am baffled by what the link it but I really think there is one.
Posted 4/26/2012 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
the only things i can think of is i had strep throat at least 3 times as a kid. I also had a problem with my lympthnodes getting bigger and they never went down. I had to have 2 removed. (one behind each ear). For a while i had castleman's disease in my chart but then they removed that back out of my chart saying i probably didn't have that, just whenever they code enlarged lympth nodes it shows up that you have this rare disease if they code it wrong.
Posted 4/27/2012 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
Fermentation in the intestines.
Posted 4/27/2012 7:28 AM (GMT 0)
Stress, fermentation in the intestines, second hand smoke, previous infections etc may be triggers, but are not causes. Over 99% of the population experiences all of those those conditions throughout their lives, yet less than 1% of the population has Crohns.
The idea of a genetic link is much more reasonable. Faulty genes can be passed on through families, and this is seen in Crohns. For those without a family link, acquired gene mutations (known as somatic mutations) can arise in an individual at any time throughout their life. Every cell in the body reproduces by making a copy of itself and then dividing. Errors often occur in this process, and not all are repaired. Aging increases the chance of somatic mutations.
So it seems genetic error, followed by some triggering, sets the process in motion. And, each individual may have a different set of triggers - hence all the friendly discussion :)
Posted 4/27/2012 12:01 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas!
Cleanfreak-I'm really sorry to hear that you had Scoliosis!!!
One my of best friends had that whilst we were growing up, and she had to have surgery on her whole spine! She was on one of those rotation beds for several months. What an ordeal that was and it was tough seeing her lying there like that! She recovered nicely though, but years later I had heard that the rods RUSTED and they had to be replaced, so what a horrible situation that would be!!!
Ambling- I agree with you about what you have said for I have heard all of those things before! Faulty genes and all of that, but possibly there is a triggering of the immune system by something and then the system goes out of control. Maybe it is not really faulty genes per se but something having an effect on the immune system to make it act wacky. How about a certain chemical or additive which makes our immune systems go out of control. It signals to the body in the form of a reaction which makes the immune system go strange. I say this because I was not born with this condition but acquired it somehow. I was normal and then all of a sudden abnormal so something changed inside. Like you say our genes could have errors in them as we grow older too, but how come the condition lasts then? You would think the genes would change again and our condtions would also change accordingly? Of course I'm speculating on everything here as you can see!

Livingwell249-your "fermenting"comment made me LAUGH! For I can feel like things are really COOKING on the INSIDE and it's manifesting on the OUTSIDE in ways that I just DON'T like! Has anyone blown a real good one in an elevator before?
Mommyof2Little1S- You had mentioned that you had a bad reaction to Humira, and I did too, and so I wonder what your reaction to it was? At first I felt better and even gained weight on it but then I got stars in the upper portion of my field of view and numbness of my feet and partly my hands. I had to stop taking it, but I still have a bit of numbness in my feet. I am taking Silver Hydrosol for it and it seems to be having an effect for it's not as bad as before.
THANKS EVERYONE for your comments for I feel that there is a benefit from this since we all share the same affliction and many heads are BETTER than one! I appreciate this forum a WHOLE LOT!
Posted 4/27/2012 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
Personally, I think it is triggered by a pathogen/bacteria.  No IBD in my family or my husband's. As a matter of fact, a mild case of psoriasis in an Aunt is the only auto immune disorder in our entire family line.  I'm waiting for the cure...
Posted 4/28/2012 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
I'm waiting for a cure too and cautiously optimistic that we will see one in the near future! For me, I don't recall having any intestinal problems until the start of my CD. I actually don't think I ever had D as a child, even with a stomach bug I would just vomit, but no D. It does not run in my family at all (and I forced myself to breastfeed my son for a year, despite feeling horrible from a flare induced by giving birth, in order to convince myself that I have done everything in my power to keep him from getting it!). I do suffer from environmental allergies, but no other health problems. My CD showed up towards the end of my freshman year in college, and I remember it being a stressful year for me, with too much partying and not enough sleep. I was on birth control at the time and the first GI I saw was convinced all of my symptoms were due to that (before I was ever diagnosed with CD), so who knows. I do know that going off of it never made a bit of a difference, and I have been off hormonal BC for 10 years now.   I do think there is a lot to be said about the combination of innate components (DNA/genetics, etc.) with environmental factors. I try to eat clean and organic as much as possible because who knows what is in various packaged foods these days, including meat and dairy!
Posted 4/28/2012 5:43 AM (GMT 0)
I've heard a saying that genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger-:) It's true for so many illnesses. Why one family member gets it while another one doesn't is anybody's guess. I think studies of identical twins helps with deciding if something is purely genetic.
Posted 4/28/2012 10:56 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all your comments! Jeanneac you do bring up a very good point when you mentioned "studying identical twins"! I wonder if there's much of those studies listed on the internet? I shall have to look that up!
Myrne-I recall the first time I was in the hospital there was another woman there with the same complaint and who said that she thought for sure it was hormonal, but after more research has been done I haven't seen anyone mentioning that it is caused by hormones.
MoobyDoo-I tend to agree with you about a possible bacteria/pathogen!
When I got diagnosed and ever since I've not had anyone look to see if I have any bacteria or pathogen inside me, and Why don't they bother???
A side note here: The amount of chemicals in our food is ridiculous! When grocery shopping I look at the ingredients list on the packages and usually end up putting the products back on the shelf and going with things that are in a raw state! Most times I want to know what I am consuming. Also the list of stuff that's inside what we put on our body's is crazy. I recently saw an ad online for a new facial moisturizer that supposedly has less junk in it and I was horrified to see the long list of stuff that was in it!
Posted 4/28/2012 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Use olive oil or coconut oil for a natural moisturizer. A jar of coconut oil will go a long way, and you can cook with it too.

 

Posted 4/28/2012 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with MoobyDoo, I use extra virgin olive oil as a moisturizer for my body (and no I don't smell like an old Italian man LOL), I eat it daily as well (I have a seperate bottle in my bathroom that I use externally just so people don't think I use the one I cook with on my body, that would be gross LOL).

It's soothing and heals cuts/bruises very quickly and I bruise quite easily so this is an added bonus compared to using regular body creams full of junk that can actually affect you since our skin is the largest organ on our bodies.

Posted 4/29/2012 3:39 AM (GMT 0)

Kate548 said...
Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas!
Cleanfreak-I'm really sorry to hear that you had Scoliosis!!!
One my of best friends had that whilst we were growing up, and she had to have surgery on her whole spine! She was on one of those rotation beds for several months. What an ordeal that was and it was tough seeing her lying there like that! She recovered nicely though, but years later I had heard that the rods RUSTED and they had to be replaced, so what a horrible situation that would be!!!
Ambling- I agree with you about what you have said for I have heard all of those things before! Faulty genes and all of that, but possibly there is a triggering of the immune system by something and then the system goes out of control. Maybe it is not really faulty genes per se but something having an effect on the immune system to make it act wacky. How about a certain chemical or additive which makes our immune systems go out of control. It signals to the body in the form of a reaction which makes the immune system go strange. I say this because I was not born with this condition but acquired it somehow. I was normal and then all of a sudden abnormal so something changed inside. Like you say our genes could have errors in them as we grow older too, but how come the condition lasts then? You would think the genes would change again and our condtions would also change accordingly? Of course I'm speculating on everything here as you can see!

Livingwell249-your "fermenting"comment made me LAUGH! For I can feel like things are really COOKING on the INSIDE and it's manifesting on the OUTSIDE in ways that I just DON'T like! Has anyone blown a real good one in an elevator before?
Mommyof2Little1S- You had mentioned that you had a bad reaction to Humira, and I did too, and so I wonder what your reaction to it was? At first I felt better and even gained weight on it but then I got stars in the upper portion of my field of view and numbness of my feet and partly my hands. I had to stop taking it, but I still have a bit of numbness in my feet. I am taking Silver Hydrosol for it and it seems to be having an effect for it's not as bad as before.
THANKS EVERYONE for your comments for I feel that there is a benefit from this since we all share the same affliction and many heads are BETTER than one! I appreciate this forum a WHOLE LOT!

 

I'm glad I made you laugh :) we all can use a good one now and then. But I' was serious. The bad bugs in our intestines are fermenting and making us ill.The product of the fermentatiion is what causes the inflamation in our guts.

Posted 4/29/2012 6:24 AM (GMT 0)
Livingwell249- I did laugh, but thank you for your serious comments! Tell me what bugs do you think all the trouble is from? On the web I've read various ideas, but what do you think?
Thanks Moobydoo and pb4 for the tips on what to use for the body! I did have a friend give me some coconut oil this past Christmas so I think I will start trying that out to see how good it is. I use Olive Oil cooking wise and even used it on my hair at times, but I never thought you could rub it on yourself. I wonder what Baby Oil is made from, does anybody know?
Posted 4/29/2012 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
When my daughter had a dry rough patch across the top of her shoulder, I asked her doc if we should be using cortisone. She said, no, use some extra virgin olive oil. It's more natural and will do the same trick.
Posted 4/29/2012 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
Soft and Silk Baby Oil
Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Aloe Vera Extract, Vitamin E, Acetate, Fragrance.

Johnson's Baby Oil, Lavender scent
Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Fragrance

Burt's Bee Baby Bee Oil
Ingredients: prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, tritium vulgare (wheat) germ oil, tocopheryl acetate, fragrance, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil

Buddha Baby Oil
Ingredients Prunus amygadulas dulcis (sweet almond) oil and Lavendula augustofolia (lavender) oil.

Baby Moon Oil
Ingredients: Lavender, tangerine and "other" essential oils, in sweet almond and olive oils.

It's cheaper to just buy mineral oil from the pharmacy and who really knows what the "fragrance" contains in some of the brands.


I prefer EVOO since it has healing powers above mineral oil...I use it on my hair occasionally as well.
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