Oral Thrush and Family Support

Hi All,

I know that the two topics posted are hardly related to each other.  Nonetheless, I have questions on both and I figure it'd be best to post them at once.  First, some background.  I am a newbie Crohnie.  I am a 28 yr old, Asian female.  (My surgeon often jokes with me that Asians don't have Crohn's.  I guess I got lucky).  I was Dx June 2007 and had my first bowel resection three weeks ago.  Personally, I think I started to show symptoms of Crohn's in 2003, but my doctors told me I had IBS!!  =(  Well, the past month has been extremely difficult on my family and I.  Thus, for my first question with regards to family support.  My mom has not stopped crying since I had my surgery.  She feels helpless b/c she can't help me "cure" my illness.  I notice there are plenty of moms on this forum.  If you can suggest ways how I can comfort my mother, I'd greatly appreciate it.  My family and I are Christian, so God is always a source of hope for us.  However, she often feels helpless b/c:  she doesn't really understand the disease; there is no cure; and the fact that she is limited in her English, so she can't fully comprehend why I need to take so many drugs!  I know the heartbreak many of you, mothers, feel for your children, and I am hoping to find some solace for my mom.

Also, I notice that I consistently have oral thrush.  I've been reading a lot about Crohn's since I've been Dx, and there are theories that Crohn's symptoms can be minimized by controlling the overgrowth of Candida Albicans (the natural fungus) we have in our digestive tracts - thus, the SDC.  I am wondering if anyone else have had this problem, and whether anti-fungal medications/diet has helped them control the disease. 

I am grateful to have a community to share my thoughts with...feels good to NOT be alone in this fight against Crohn's.  Thank you!!

Di

Di,

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. As a Mom of an IBDer for the past 8 years I have to say God is most times my solace. Educating myself about the disease every day for the past 8 years has helped. Sometimes the education process has been scary, but gain solace reading about other's experiences. I get a whole ton of solace when my Daughter is doing/feeling well. I still crumble a bit when she is not. We haven't been route of surgery, so I am sure that was really tough on you and your Mom.

Parents, till the end of time, will always feel helpless when they can't fix their Child. Instead we are relegated to letting God and Drs handle the fixing. Our help comes in form of a listening ear, comfort and support.

Your Mom is being quite normal at the moment. She will feel better in time about it. Not 100% and not all of the time, but she will come to terms with it. Trust me on that! I was one freaked out Mama for a good while after my Daughter's diagnosis at age 17 at the same time she was getting ready to go away to College. She is almost 26 now and we have survived much and will continue to survive whatever IBD brings my Daughter's way.

You sound like you have a very upbeat and "can do" attitude. That will serve you very well in dealing with IBD and in turn will help your Mom too when she sees you living your Best Life despite having to deal with IBD. When my Daughter is feeling good and doing well, so am I!!!

Wishing you Healthy Days!!

Don't feed the fungus with sugar, breads or pasta. This is an unconventional therapy but it works for mine every single time. I take a clove of garlic and crush it. Then I place it in a water dampened gauze pad. I hold it on my tongue only for a second or two because it burns. I do this once a day for three days and my tongue is pretty pink! I haven't had it anywhere else in my mouth except the tongue. If you don't want to try this there are anti fungal mouthwashes that your GI could write a script for.

As for your mom, try and educate her about the disease as much as possible. Keep reassuring her that this disease is not a death sentence. You will have good days and bad days but you will learn over time how to control your symptoms. Best of luck to you!