Crohn’s Disease Changed My Body. Here’s How I Made Peace With My Diagnosis

Finding the right Crohn’s treatment hasn’t been easy, so I’ve had to be patient and accept that it’s a trial-and-error process. When I was first diagnosed, I started taking antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication like steroids. None of those worked well for me, so I started on a biologic medication, a series of injections that were administered every six weeks or so.

 Crohn’s Disease Is on the Rise

Many think the abdominal disorder starts in childhood, but it can occur at any age and is becoming more prevalent throughout the world.

 My IBD Glossary for the Newly Diagnosed

It is a pretty scary time when you start having symptoms that you cannot figure out or understand. It's sometimes even scarier having to go see a doctor, or even worse, straight to the emergency department at the hospital. Even in my 35 years of Crohn's, I'm still learning new words when it comes to this disease. Many doctors start listing off all this information that you're supposed to figure out and many of us do not ask the question, "Can you repeat that in English please?"

A Clean Slate: Engineering the Gut Microbiome with “Good” Bacteria May Help Treat Crohn’s Disease

An imbalance in the gut microbiome – more “bad” bacteria than “good” – is known as dysbiosis, which is caused by environmental stressors, such as intestinal inflammation, antibiotics, or diet. Gut dysbiosis is believed to fuel Crohn’s disease and other diseases, but the mechanisms behind that relationship is not fully understood by researchers looking to strike a healthier, bacterial balance for patients.

A single gene can either raise or lower Crohn’s disease risk

Crohn’s disease is the most serious form of inflammatory bowel disease. Current treatments for the condition frequently fail to provide much relief, and people with the disorder often have to have particularly inflamed regions of their gut removed surgically.

Are You Ready to Swallow a Pill Full of Poop?

Scientists now know that the wrong balance of bugs in your gut—a delicate ecosystem that can collapse as you age, travel, or even take new medi­cation—can lead to all sorts of distress. Seres is one of the first startups aiming to design treatments that would manipulate the microbiome to repair bad guts and cure diseases.

Before He Died, Paul Allen Gifted $125 Million To A New Institute To Study The Immune System

The new institute will study the immune system in three ways: by looking at immune responses in healthy people, then by looking at the immune systems of people with cancer, and then by comparing those to the immune systems of people with diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease, which are caused by an overactive immune system.

How one man went from Dying to Thriving

Dane will tell you from experience being diagnosed with Crohn’s/Colitis is very scary and there are many things you will need to do including finding a doctor who specializes in this area. He will also encourage you to create a positive mindset and build your SHIELD. SHIELD stands for Supplements, Herbs, Imagination, Exercise, Lifestyle and Diet. Like the great Hippocrates stated, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Dane is a testament to what food can do for us when applied correctly based on our individual and unique makeup.

I’m Chronically Ill With Crohn's Disease, But My Relationship Is Built On A Love Of Food

It’s definitely hard to make the “right” choices, especially when there isn’t some unified codex or diet of what people with Crohn’s should eat.

Stem cell transplants to be used in treating Crohn’s disease

Current treatments, including steroids, aim to suppress this immune reaction. In the last decade, there have been great advances in treatments including targeted biological therapies that can heal the gut. However, these treatments don’t work for all patients, and some who initially respond well may loose their response over time. If the stem cell transplant is shown to improve the symptoms and quality of life for patients with Crohn’s disease, this will be an important advance in treating the disease in patients who haven’t responded to standard treatments.

Stem Cell Therapy: A Potential Crohn's Disease Breakthrough in 2022?

Stem cell therapy may be a viable new treatment option for Crohn's Disease. Studies have shown that stem cells may be able to greatly improve patient symptoms without the exorbitant recurring costs of traditional medications.

Patient Voices: Crohn's Disease

How does Crohn’s disease affect the lives of the young? How do men and women cope with the embarrassing symptoms and sometimes invasive treatments? Listen to the stories of seven men and women living with Crohn’s disease.

Stem cell transplants to be used in treating Crohn’s disease

Recent research has shown stem cell transplantation to be very effective in treating other autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Our trial, called ASTIClite, will investigate whether transplantation can reduce gut inflammation and offer hope to people with Crohn’s disease for whom all other treatments have been unsuccessful. ASTIClite is a follow up to our previous ASTIC trial in 2015, which investigated a similar stem cell therapy. Although the therapy in the original trial did not cure the disease, we found that many patients benefited from the treatment.

Crohn’s disease can be detected in blood eight years before symptoms show, finds study

Findings may enable earlier treatment before severe damage happens requiring life-changing surgery.

Early, tight control of Crohn’s disease may have lasting benefits

Early approaches to treatment of Crohn’s disease followed a step-up algorithm in which the newer medications would only be used if the patient did not benefit from established therapies. This sequential approach — termed step therapy — has more recently been called into question, as studies have repeatedly shown that the newer drugs for Crohn’s disease are more effective than the old standards, and have preferable side effect profiles.

Everything You Need to Know About Crohn’s Disease Medications

One of the many frustrating things about living with Crohn’s disease is that it requires lifelong care. While there’s no cure (yet), there are many Crohn’s disease medications that can help reduce your symptoms, such as severe diarrhea and abdominal pain, so you can hopefully have more control over how you feel in your day-to-day life.

Gut Fungus Suspected in Crohn’s Disease

Moreover, when the researchers examined these bacteria and fungus, they found that the three microorganisms worked together to form a so-called biofilm—a thin, sticky layer of microorganisms—that attaches itself to a portion of the gut. This biofilm could trigger the inflammation that causes the symptoms of Crohn's disease, the researchers said.

Here’s What to Expect During a Crohn’s Disease Flare-Up

And how to keep your symptoms under control as much as possible.

How Long Should You Expect to Be on Crohn’s Disease Treatment?

The truth is, Crohn’s—and all forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for that matter—doesn’t have a cure yet,1 so the goal of treatment is to keep flare-ups under control and prevent further damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Once you and your doctor land on a care plan that accomplishes these things and works for your lifestyle, you should be able to go about your day-to-day life generally symptom-free.

How to Handle a Bathroom Emergency With Grace and Speed

Once you understand how your Crohn’s symptoms manifest and when you’re most likely to need a bathroom extremely close by, try to plan for situations where you won’t have total control of the food options or your ability to rest.

It’s Not Easy But I Won’t Let My IBD Define Me

We’ve all said it before: “I won’t let IBD define me.” Despite the sincerity of this statement, it is truly difficult to carry out. There are times when we can’t avoid it and have to let others take care of us.

Online, I'm the Picture of Health. Offline, I Have a Chronic Illness

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 19—but you'd never guess that from scrolling through my Instagram feed.

Why There’s No “Right” Way to Be Healthy

Last week, when I told my blog readers about my recent colitis diagnosis and flare-up, someone asked me whether I still considered myself a healthy-living blogger. My response was short and simple: Yes, I’m still a healthy-living blogger.

Yes, You Can Be an Athlete With a Chronic Illness

Kathleen Baker wanted to swim at the Olympics, but she had Crohn’s. Getting there meant training in a new way.