Saturday, June 23, 2012

Living With Crohn's


It's doubtful any of you lovely followers knows this, but I suffer from Crohn's Disease. What is Crohn's you ask?

Crohn's disease is a form of inflammatory disease that usually affects the intestines, but may occur anywhere. The exact cause of Crohn's disease is unknown, making very difficult to prevent. It is also an autoimmune disorder, which means it is a condition that occurs when your body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. It's symptoms are many, but a few are fatigue, weight loss, dehydration, and severe abdominal pain.

There's no cure for this disease, and there is no way to avoid it, as it's been linked to both race and genetic predispositions. My family has a history of this type of issue, so it was no big surprise to me that I managed to get it as well. I first noticed symptoms when I was in Middle School, about 11 years ago, but I was diagnosed until last year. It tends to affect people more between the ages of 15-35.

But, there is some good new, you can manage the symptoms by watching what you eat. Even this though, is no one size fits all prevention plan. What makes me ill, doesn't my dad sick, and vise-versa. So there's a lot of testing out foods, and seeing what happens. As you can imagine, this is not always a walk in the park. Add to that, the fact that sometimes the foods you can and can't eat, change. For instance, four years ago I could eat all the pork I wanted. now, I can't get near it. And even the way a food is cooked depends on if I can eat it, as well as the amount. So I'm always on a constant search for the next food to put either on the Do or Don't lists. So far a list of the foods I can't eat is below:

Raw onions in more than a teaspoon amount
Any pepper besides bell pepper, and even then, it has to be a small amount and cooked till almost soggy.
Pork of any kind
Almost all red meat, unless organic or hormone free
Anything spicy, includes even black pepper
Too much salt
Certain kinds of fish
Anything too fatty or greasy

And the list could go on forever and ever. But, I can eat fresh fruits and veggies, and healthy foods that help maintain a good diet. So, I'll be posting more about my efforts to find more commercially available foods that I can eat with no problem, that still taste yummy. I hope you'll all enjoy!

Love and Lightning Bugs,

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16 comments:

Theresa Grisanti said...

This is such a tough disease. My wife had this when she was a teenager. She is better now but still has trouble with digestion and can't eat wheat. Hope you find a good balance for this.

The Sweetest Things said...

Wow Crohn's disease is horrible. What a great informative post. thank you. It's good to know there's a cure.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for sharing this with us! My mom has ulcerous colitis, and when the flares happen it sucks. Stay strong!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for sharing and I am glad that you are finding out the foods that you can and cannot eat. I hope you find a balance of what continues to work for you.

LaVonne said...

I just saw a commercial yesterday that mentioned Crohn's Disease in relation to Accutane (one of those lawsuits). I was wondering what it was. Thank you for sharing about this private part of your life.

Motherhood on the Rocks said...

Wow. It must be so hard living with this. I'm glad you are finding ways to manage it. hugs

Celebrate Woman said...

Isabella,
Thank you for your sharing of this condition. It is very personal and painful for you.
I could associate with what you're going through, though, I had my personal story of kind.
But life is so beautiful when we can adjust, isn't it?
Love ya, girl!
Again, thank you for your story. Stories connect us all and bring our lives closer together. That's why I love my blogging communities!

Mellissa said...

I couldn't even imagine how hard it must be. I have a couple of friends that suffer as well. I look forward to hearing more from you maybe it can help them.

Ashley T said...

Glad your doing your best to make it easier. I see a lot of people with it. Its always good to talk about it :)

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

Unfortunately I am very familiar with this as my dad has very bad Chrohns and Colitis since he was 18 years old. I am glad you are coping with it. It is a very hard illness. I am sorry my friend!

Unknown said...

good luck on your journey. prayers going out for you :)

Anonymous said...

I had a friend in high school that had Crohn's Diesease. I remember her saying that she had to be careful what meats she hate and when she had to go to the bathroom,she HAD TO GO.

Unknown said...

Thank-you for sharing. I know it might have been a hard decision to share it on your blog or not, but I'm sure you can help encourage a lot of people through it!

Dawn said...

Prayers your way for the affects to be minimal if not diminishing :)

ellen_levickis said...

Thanks for sharing this, I did not know about avoiding pork, as well as others listed.

Unknown said...

Wow, I have Crohn's too. For over 20 years now. It's hard to control and I'm on the verge of having to have everything removed. Years ago you never heard of it but it seems to be becoming more common these days. Hopefully there will be a cure soon.