What is Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease is one form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disorder that’s characterized by inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. (The other main form of IBD is called ulcerative colitis, which can cause similar symptoms and is sometimes mistaken for Crohn’s.) Although Crohn’s can affect any area in the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, the inflammation usually occurs in the ileum, or the end of the small intestine.
First described by Burrill B. Crohn, MD, in 1932, Crohn’s disease affects an estimated 780,000 people in the United States. The disorder may be partly genetic: It tends to cluster in families and is also more common in certain ethic groups, like Eastern Europeans.
Crohn’s disease vs. ulcerative colitis
There are two main types of IBD: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both are chronic (i.e., long-term) diseases that cause inflammation in the digestive tract, triggering symptoms like abdominal pain and diarrhea. It’s thought that both forms of IBD are caused, in part, by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Together, they affect an estimated three million adults in the United States, or 1.3% percent of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the two conditions also have important differences and need to be treated in varying ways. Here’s how to tell them apart:
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Crohn’s Disease |
Ulcerative Colitis |
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Occurs in any part of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but usually affects the ileum, the end of the small intestine |
Occurs in the large intestine (colon) and rectum |
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Appears as patches of inflamed areas |
Appears as a continuous stretch of inflammation, often from the rectum into the colon |
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Extends through multiple (or all) layers of the gastrointestinal wall |
Extends to the innermost layer of the colon lining |
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As many as three in four people with Crohn’s disease may require surgery, in which part of the GI tract will be removed |
As many as one in three people will need a colectomy, or the surgical removal of the colon |
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Affects men and women equally |
Affects men and women equally |
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Diagnosed at any age, usually between the ages of 15 and 35 |
Diagnosed at any age, usually between the ages of 15 and 30 |
What causes Crohn’s disease?
Experts aren’t entirely sure what causes IBD, but they suspect that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may be to blame. One of the causes of Crohn’s disease may be a “sensitive” immune system, which mistakes harmless bacteria for dangerous pathogens, triggering long-term inflammation and other GI symptoms.
RELATED: 20 Reasons Why Your Stomach Hurts
Genetics are thought to be a culprit as well: People are 5% to 20% more likely to develop Crohn’s disease if one of their close relatives also has the condition; the risk is also higher among people of Eastern European descent, and particularly among Ashkenazi Jews. Recently, scientists have found that people with variations in the NOD2 gene—which is responsible for producing a protein that helps protect the body against viruses and bacteria—are more likely to have a form of Crohn’s that affects the ileum.
Although stress and an unhealthy diet could exacerbate the disease itself, neither will cause Crohn’s. However, because Crohn’s disease is more common in urban areas and developed countries compared to rural areas and underdeveloped countries, researchers believe a person’s environment may be partly to blame too.
stomach-pain-cramps-indigestion , but other GI disorders like stomach ulcers, pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, and colorectal cancer. The symptoms can affect any part of the GI tract—from the mouth to the anus—although Crohn’s disease most commonly occurs in the end of the small bowel (the ileum). Here are some of the most common Crohn’s disease signs:
- Diarrhea. One of the most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease is diarrhea, or bouts of loose, watery stools that occur more than a few times each day. (In some cases, the diarrhea can be bloody.) Because our bodies lose more fluid in loose bowel movements than solid ones, diarrhea can cause dehydration.
- Abdominal pain. The inflammation from Crohn’s disease can trigger cramping and pain in the abdomen, the area between the chest and the groin.
- Nausea. People with Crohn’s disease can experience nausea, or a queasy feeling in their stomachs that may lead to vomiting.
- Weight loss. Crohn’s disease can trigger nausea and stomach pain, both of which can cause a loss of appetite. Plus, people might cut back on the amount of food they eat in the hopes of avoiding symptoms like diarrhea.
- Anemia. The inflammation from Crohn’s disease can cause anemia. Anemia is characterized by a lower-than-average number of red blood cells in the body or a lower-than-average amount of hemoglobin, an iron-packed protein that helps shuttle oxygen from the lungs to the tissue, in the cells themselves. The end result: The blood isn’t providing enough oxygen to the rest of the body, causing breathlessness, fatigue, and more.
- Skin changes, including nodules. Up to 10% of people with Crohn’s disease will develop skin reactions including erythema nodosum (painful, tender bumps), pyoderma gangrenosum (red bumps that become open sores), and aphthous stomatitis (mouth sores), according to a 2016 study in the United European Gastroenterology Journal.
- Arthritis. Joint pain is the most common non-gastrointestinal complication of IBD, affecting up to one in four people with the condition, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Three different types of arthritis appear in people with Crohn’s disease of any age: peripheral arthritis (which affects the major joints of the arms and legs), axial arthritis (which affects the lower spine), and ankylosing spondylitis (which also affects the spine but can lead to eye, lung, and heart valve inflammation).
How is Crohn’s disease diagnosed?
There’s no specific Crohn’s disease test, per se. Rather, doctors diagnose the disease by using a combination of lab tests and imaging procedures, including endoscopies and colonoscopies. A blood test can determine whether a person has a low red blood cell count (which could signal anemia) or a high white blood cell count (which could indicate inflammation), while a stool test will help detect inflammation and rule out infections with similar symptoms to Crohn’s disease like C. difficile and E. coli.
RELATED: 13 Best Foods for Crohn’s Disease
Other tests using tiny cameras affixed to long, narrow tubes can help diagnose Crohn’s disease while ruling out ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, and cancer. These include colonoscopies (in which the tiny camera, or endoscope, is used to examine the rectum, colon, and ileum), an upper GI endoscopy (in which an endoscope is inserted down the esophagus and into the stomach), and a capsule endoscopy (in which a capsule that contains a tiny camera is swallowed, and images of the digestive tract are transmitted to a receiver).
Lastly, doctors can use a CT scan (computed tomography), which can create images of the digestive tract, to diagnose Crohn’s disease and check for possible complications.
crohns-disease-treatment-surgery Back to top
Can Crohn’s disease be cured or reversed?
There is no Crohn’s disease cure. However, with the right treatment, people with Crohn’s can experience months or years of remission, which means they experience no symptoms. Medications, which can help prevent the immune system from flaring up, not only help ease the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, but also allow the digestive tract to heal. Surgery also isn’t a cure for Crohn’s disease. Although it can reduce the symptoms and conserve parts of the GI tract, about 30% of people who undergo surgery will see a return of their symptoms within three years, and up to 60% will see a return of their symptoms within 10 years, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
There are also many available treatments for the complications of Crohn’s. For example, some people may develop fistulas, which are treated with antibiotics or surgery, while abscesses can be drained with a needle or during surgery.
Living with Crohn’s disease
Diet can play a role in how a person manages Crohn’s disease. While there is no one type of Crohn’s disease diet—and a food that triggers symptoms in one person may not trigger any in another–there are some general tips for eating wisely with Crohn’s. Experts recommend that people who are living with Crohn’s disease keep a food diary, where they can record what they eat and what types of symptoms they experience afterwards.
RELATED: 15 Healthy-Eating Tips for Crohn’s Disease
To avoid triggering GI symptoms, people with Crohn’s may want to eat smaller meals more frequently and drink more liquids. It may also help to decrease the intake of insoluble fiber, especially during a flare; found in nuts, seeds, and vegetable skins, insoluble fiber can draw water into the gut and cause bloating, gas, and cramping. Other foods to avoid include butter, heavy cream, and carbonated drinks.
Some people also say that a low-FODMAP diet can help relieve these symptoms. FODMAPs (the acronym stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are certain sugars that are poorly absorbed by some people. FODMAPs can be found in some fruits and veggies, dairy, legumes, and artificial sweeteners, among other sources. Because a low-FODMAP diet can be complex, experts recommend consulting with a dietitian about what you can and cannot eat on the plan. A doctor or dietitian may also recommend supplements for people with Crohn’s disease who aren’t getting enough vitamins and minerals through their diet.
]]>Don’t have time to watch? Read the full transcript:
It's a serious autoimmune disease: The immune system attacks and destroys parts of the digestive tract.
It can strike at any age, including children: But it is diagnosed most often in teens and young adults, ages 15-35.
It symptoms include: abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, fever, weight loss, fatigue and loss of appetite. It can also cause skin, joint, and eye problems. In children, growth can be delayed.
It can be managed with medication: Immune-suppressing drugs can help treat flare-ups.
]]>Now, new research suggests that a fungus may play a role in triggering this inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which affects as many as 700,000 Americans. Crohn's can happen at any age, even during childhood, although it's most often diagnosed in teens or young adults.
An international research team found a link between a fungus, called Candida tropicalis, and Crohn’s disease in humans. (Previously, fungi have only been linked to the disease in mice.)
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“Our study adds significant new information to understanding why some people develop Crohn’s disease,” the study’s senior author, Mahmoud Ghannoum, PhD, said in a news release. The findings could lead to new treatments, said Ghannoum, a professor and director of the Center for Medical Mycology at Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.
In the study, the researchers analyzed fecal samples from nine families in France and Belgium. They included 20 Crohn’s patients and 28 close relatives who did not have the disease. They also examined samples from 21 Crohn’s-free individuals from four families living in same region.
Normal human intestines contain hundreds of bacteria and fungi species (known as the microbiome), which help digest food and protect against disease-causing germs. The researchers found an association between two types of bacteria, Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens, and the fungus, C. tropicalis. Levels of these three were higher in family members with the disease, suggesting that they interact in the intestines. Further lab testing suggests that the bacterial-fungal trio forms a thin, slimy film. When that “biofilm” clings to a portion of the intestines, it may cause inflammation that results in Crohn’s disease symptoms, the news release noted.
RELATED: 11 Things Not to Say to Someone With Ulcerative Colitis
“We know that intestinal microbial agents have a key role in causing IBD, but only a limited number of the enormously complex bacteria, viruses, and fungi have been identified and their functions are largely unknown,” said Caren Heller, MD, chief scientific officer of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, in a statement. “This study suggests that not only do viruses and bacteria play a role in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases in some patients but fungi may as well."
Researchers also found that the gut profiles of Crohn’s patients and their healthy relatives were distinctly different from those of unrelated healthy people. But that may simply reflect the shared diet and environment of family members, authors noted.
RELATED: 10 Foods to Avoid if You Have Crohn's Disease
“More studies of additional patients and among different cohorts must be conducted in order to validate these findings and their importance in development of future treatments and cures of IBD,” Dr. Heller's statement said.
A number of factors have been linked to a higher risk of Crohn's, including bacteria, genes, smoking, and exposure to antibiotics early in life.
The study was published Sept. 20 in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
]]>As Greenberg can attest, Crohn's, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can be notoriously difficult to pin down thanks to a set of tricky symptoms that can flare up and subside over time. It can sometimes take years to get a proper diagnosis.
"The symptoms vary from patient to patient and that's one reason that it's so hard to make a diagnosis," says Renee Young, MD, professor of internal medicine, division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
RELATED: 11 Things Not to Say to Someone With Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis
Another reason: The symptoms can mimic those of many other conditions, including ulcerative colitis (another type of IBD), appendicitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that can also cause constipation and diarrhea, but doesn't have the same inflammation or destruction of the digestive tract as an IBD.
Much of the confusion arises from the fact that Crohn's disease is an autoimmune condition that can strike unpredictably. The abnormal immune system response can damage any part of the digestive system, causing different symptoms depending on where the attack is occurring.
"It really can affect any portion of your GI tract, anywhere from the mouth to the rectum," says Alyssa Parian, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
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The most frequently affected area is the connection between the small and large intestine. This can cause some of the more common, recognizable symptoms of Crohn's, such as abdominal pain (especially in the middle or right side of the abdomen), cramping, blood in the stools and changes in bowel movements.
These bowel changes are more often diarrhea, but can also be constipation, says Harold P Kaplan, MD, associate professor of medical sciences at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in North Haven, Connecticut.
If the disease strikes higher up in the small intestine, symptoms can be mistaken for appendicitis. Crohn's that affects your mouth could result in sores or ulcers in your mouth, difficulty swallowing, and nausea and vomiting. Lower down, you may see drainage near the anus.
RELATED: 13 Surprising Causes of Constipation
Other symptoms may seem totally unrelated to the gastrointestinal tract, such as aching joints, fatigue, painful red bumps on the skin (called erythema nodosum), leg ulcers (pyoderma gangrenosum), and sore, red eyes. That's because the immune system may not only affect the digestive tract, but other parts of the body too.
And some people just feel bad in a vague way.
"People with Crohn's disease, once it gets established, generally are constitutionally ill," says Dr. Kaplan. "Their appetite is off, they tend to lose weight." Children (Greenberg was one) are particularly vulnerable to losing weight and falling off the growth curve.
There may also be fever, night sweats and anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency if your body is not absorbing enough nutrients.
RELATED: 21 Important Facts About Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Whatever they are, symptoms of Crohn's can be severe—like Greenberg's were—or mild. And there can be a lot of variation within any time frame.
"It really can be a giant roller coaster," says Greenberg, now 33 and a financial professional in Stamford, Connecticut, as well as founder of the site Intenseintestines.org. "I have nights where I feel fine and my girlfriend is cooking dinner, then right before dinner, the nausea hits me and I want to throw up."
"It's not unusual for there to be a few days or weeks when you feel uncomfortable with pain in your bowels then, without any particular treatment, hit a stretch when you feel just fine," says Dr. Kaplan.
Whatever the symptoms may be, they are just one element that can help diagnose Crohn's. If you think you might have Crohn's see your doctor, who can perform tests, including a full colonoscopy, to diagnose the condition.
]]>In humans, fibrosis occurs as a response to chronic inflammation; it is a common side effect of conditions such as liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, and heart attacks. (It also occurs, to a lesser extent, during normal aging.) For patients with Crohn’s disease—a type of inflammatory bowel disease—surgery is often needed to remove or repair parts of the intestines that have been damaged by fibrosis.
"If you can reverse this, you've essentially found a way to promote regeneration rather than degeneration," said lead author Bernard Lo, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia, in a press release. "We think that we can potentially block complications of all these age-related fibrotic diseases by dampening these particular inflammatory cell types.”
For the study, published in the journal Science Immunology, the researchers infected lab mice with a type of salmonella that mimics the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. They found that mice with a specific genetic mutation did not develop fibrosis, while the rest did.
RELATED: 10 Foods to Avoid If You Have Crohn's Disease
The “defective” gene had switched off a hormone receptor responsible for stimulating the body’s immune system, said co-author Kelly McNagny, PhD, professor of medical genetics and co-director of the UBC Biomedical Research Centre. “We found what we think are the inflammatory cells that drive fibrosis," he said.
This may give doctors a new target to aim for when developing or testing new treatments for Crohn’s disease and other conditions that involve tissue scarring. "There are drugs available that may be able to block that hormone receptor in normal cells and prevent fibrotic disease,” said McNagny.
First, though, researchers will have to show whether drugs can stop or reverse fibrosis in mice; then of course, they need to see if the drugs have a similar effect in humans. So while these early findings are promising, they haven’t paved the way for new commercially available treatments just yet.
]]>Speaking with the New York Times in July, Baker recalled her diagnosis with Crohn’s—a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that can affect everything from digestion to immunity to energy levels—in middle school. She’d begun feeling ill, losing weight, running a fever, and complaining of fatigue. After several tests, including a colonoscopy, a doctor emailed her parents the results.
Baker, already nationally recognized in the pool, researched Crohn’s disease and read about people who needed to have their intestines surgically removed. “It was the worst feeling in the world,” she told the Times. “I love swimming more than anything in the entire world, and I thought my swimming career was over.”
Over the next few years, Baker tried several treatment plans, including daily pills and monthly intravenous injections. She also suffered from several immune-related complications, including whooping cough.
But with the help of her doctors, Baker eventually found a treatment that helps manage her symptoms. She still follows that plan today, giving herself biweekly drug injections in her abdomen—a regimen that requires her to fill out extra medical forms and travel with a kit of syringes and medication when she competes.
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She also limits her practices in the pool to just once a day (most Olympians do double that) to maintain her energy and reduce her risk of flare-ups. And when her competitions have gotten especially stressful in recent years, she’s reluctantly sat out certain events.
Health’s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, says that Crohn’s disease can vary from mild to debilitating: “For some people, it can be well controlled with oral medications and careful diet, while others with moderate to severe cases may require IV medicines or injections or sometimes, yes, even surgery."
Regardless of its severity, she adds, Crohn’s disease is more than just a stomach problem. “It does include typical GI symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain, but it really can affect quality of life beyond just that,” she says. “It’s considered an autoimmune condition that can affect the whole body, and it’s something that people need to manage for their whole life.”
RELATED: 10 Vitamins You May Need If You Have Crohn's
Dr. Raj, who is a gastroenterologist, has not treated Baker. But she says the swimmer’s achievements are impressive for someone who has clearly faced many obstacles related to her condition.
“The fact that she’s been able to manage her symptoms well enough to maintain that much energy and stay so competitive is really inspiring,” she says. And she hopes others with Crohn’s disease will see Baker as an example of what’s possible—not as an exception to the rule.
“Because the disease varies so much from person to person, the most important thing is to get the treatment you need so you can be healthy and energetic,” she says. “We always try to help patients achieve whatever their goals may be, by finding ways to manage their disease in a healthy way.”
In fact, the Times reports, Baker is not the first American Olympian with Crohn’s disease; retired kayaker Carrie Johnson competed in 2004, 2008, and 2012 after being diagnosed in 2003. Other professional athletes and celebrities with Crohn’s include NFL quarterback David Garrard, NHL player Kevin Dineen, and actress Shannen Doherty.
RELATED: Crohn's Disease? 8 Tips for Eating Out
Fellow U.S. swimmer Katie Meili recently spoke about her admiration for Baker, and her friend’s triumph over Crohn’s disease to win silver in the 100-meter backstroke.
“Now that Kathleen’s story is a little bit more public—and I’ve said it many times before—she’s the toughest and most resilient person I’ve ever met,” Meili told the Charlotte Observer last week. “For her to win that medal, I don’t know anyone more deserving.”
]]>RELATED: 11 Celebrities With Crohn's Disease
In people who have Crohn's, the immune system attacks the digestive tract, leading to inflammation and tissue damage. The disease is tough to diagnose, and often mistaken for other illnesses. Symptoms include intense abdominal cramping, diarrhea, fever, fatigue, and weight loss or malnutrition, because the damage to the digestive tract makes it hard for the body to absorb nutrients. In severe cases it can be life-threatening. As Rouski noted, her Crohn's "nearly killed" her.
The images she shared on Facebook show the dramatic physical toll the disease has taken on her body, but also her resilience. In one selfie, Rouski sports a crop top despite her scars and the hole in her abdominal wall. "See, you can't tell that I have a stoma so don't worry about it!" she wrote in the caption.
RELATED: 11 Things Not to Say to Someone With Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis
But as Rouski pointed out, Crohn's is not something people should feel compelled to hide."People who know [you have the disease] will still love you and still find you beautiful. Your illness is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about."
]]>His joint pain was so bad that he had to pull himself up the stairs by the handrail because his ankles and knees were so sore. He just didnt have the strength to get up the stairs.
Finally, he was diagnosed with Crohns disease in July 2009 at age 11, even though we felt like his symptoms started around age 7.
A fistula was the first sign
When Spencer was in first grade, he had a perianal fistula, a lesion on his bottom that was so painful he had to sit on a pillow at school. He had another at age 8. Even though the doctors said they were unusual, they didnt attribute them to Crohns.
After he turned 10, Spencer started having bathroom issues. He would get constipated and then immediately have to go to the bathroom if we went out and ate a meal. Soon he started saying that every time he ate, he felt like he was going to throw up. He almost stopped eating and lost a lot of weight.
By January 2009, we were taking him to the doctor all the time and they kept conducting tests. I mentioned Crohns disease to the doctor, but she said Spencer was way too young and that he didnt have it. Eventually they just told us he was impacted and to give him a laxative.
For a while he was fine, and then he would be sick again. Around that time, he googled the words “colon cancer” and came downstairs and said, “I think this is what I have.” I told him he didnt have colon cancer but we were going to find out what was wrong.
We went to a pediatric gastroenterologist who did a colonoscopy, and she said Crohns was likely. She did some more tests and confirmed the diagnosis—he had the disease in several places in his large intestine.
I was worried because when he woke up from his colonoscopy, I would have to tell him that he had Crohns disease. But when I told him, he said, “I know what it is; I saw it on [Discovery Healths] Mystery Diagnosis,” and he was fine.
Of course, he broke down when we got home, but he was relieved because he finally knew what was going on.
He began taking prednisone and ended up on four different medicines at one time.
Then they did another colonoscopy and said it was looking better, but he was not in remission yet. He was still going to the bathroom five to six times a day or more. When he still wasnt in remission around Christmas, they said he needed more drugs, so he started taking Remicade. Hes almost weaned off prednisone now and is doing a lot better.
Next Page: Its been difficult for Spencer [ pagebreak ]Its been difficult for Spencer
Spencer is doing better, but prednisone is a horrible drug. He weighed 56 pounds at his smallest and then weighed 80 pounds within two months of starting prednisone. He looks like a different boy; his face is so full.
Spencer asks why hes so chunky and his clothes dont fit. Hes frustrated and it is hard to reassure him it will be better tomorrow.
During the summer he didnt want to go swimming because he didnt want to go that far from the house. When I asked him why he wasnt outside playing, he would just apologize and say he didnt feel like it. Home is his comfort zone; hes almost 12 and just had his first sleepover.
What Ive learned from all of this is that if your child is having problems, you just really have to be his or her advocate. I knew something was wrong with Spencer. He was extremely fatigued and had dark circles under his eyes; it just didnt seem normal for an 11-year-old boy.
But if the doctors didnt know what was wrong, what was I supposed to do? I look back in hindsight and feel like I should have pushed harder. I knew something was wrong and wanted it to get fixed, but I had no idea what to do. What I learned was that if you really suspect a problem, dont take what the doctor says the first time.
There are not a lot of doctors in Arkansas who deal with pediatric Crohns. Its rare that kids have it, so not a lot specialize in it.
There is no chapter of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America in Arkansas and they are trying to start one up, so we are walking on May 15 to help raise money. We went to a local meeting a while back and there were a lot of kids around Spencers age there, which was great for him.
Spencer is really amazing. When you are young, you just take things one day at a time. He thinks, “If Im OK today, Im good,” or, “If there is something going on this weekend, I just have to be OK this weekend.” He is optimistic even though he knows this is something he will have to deal with for the rest of his life.
As told to: Tammy Worth
]]>I always had a sensitive stomach, even when I was little. I went to the doctor and he said my symptoms sounded like irritable bowel syndrome, so he gave me medication.
It didnt help. I tried changing my diet and was even a vegan for a while—which wasnt fun. Then I started having other symptoms like diarrhea, which made my doctor think it was something more serious.
There were about three months when I had no idea what was wrong with me. Finally, I had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohns disease. The day I got the diagnosis, I cried because I was so happy to know what was wrong with me. Before, I felt lost and just in horrible, horrible pain; now I could finally get help.
Crohns affected my ability to dance
However, after I did more research and read literature about a lack of a cure for Crohns disease, and potential complications, I was upset and demoralized; it got to the point where I couldnt even work.
I got so skinny and lost all my muscle. I had a dance performance in April and was taken out of one piece because it was too physically demanding and I had no energy. Im about 5 feet 4 inches tall and at one point, I weighed only 105 pounds.
Because of a bout with thyroid cancer in 2004, I was unable to get health insurance after I graduated from college. So during all of the time I battled with Crohns, I didnt have insurance. This was really, really tough because the steroid I was taking cost $250 a bottle and lasted about two weeks.
I went into remission, but in December I had another flare-up, and by January I had to move back in with my dad. I couldnt take care of myself and had no insurance.
I have had other flare-ups, but they are different now than they used to be. I dont always have stomach pain, but I have been in the hospital twice for abscesses (masses filled with puss from an infection). In 2009, I had to have surgery in June and again over Christmas. I spent New Years Eve in the hospital.
Next Page: Im applying to graduate school
[ pagebreak ]Im applying to graduate school
Now, Im not taking any medication for Crohns. Im still healing from the surgery in December and I have an appointment with a new gastroenterologist. Id like to try Remicade, a drug that helps control inflammation. I have researched it a lot and think its worth it (there is a risk of lymphoma, according to the manufacturer).
After the past hospital visits, I realized Id rather be healthy and in remission and not have to deal with Crohns symptoms—even if there is a small risk of lymphoma.
Crohns disease has definitely affected every aspect of my dance life. I moved from Boulder to New York to continue dancing, but its hard.
Im applying to graduate school for dance therapy, but I have already missed two auditions. For one of them, I had just gotten out of the hospital and couldnt dance at all.
Part of the problem was that because I didnt have insurance, I waited so long to get treatment. The Crohns ended up progressing so far that I was really sick and completely lethargic by the time I got help.
But I do think you can still be an athlete if you have Crohns disease. You need to stay on top of the symptoms. Know when you are about to have a flare-up. Stay informed about the disease. See a doctor regularly, and monitor Crohns progression. If you do, youll be just fine. If you can stop having flare-ups and losing muscle, you can get back on track.
As told to: Tammy Worth
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