So one of the guys I work with was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and after the articles last Monday I was curious about how his smoking affected him before and after being diagnosed. I asked him a series of questions ranging from smoking to symptoms to his treatment. This is what he told me.
During the hardest times of my disease i.e. during the large flare-up, my liver decreased about 40-50 percent functionality (lack of retaining vitamins, minerals, and nutrients). I did not have surgery; surgery is for the people that cannot control their flare-ups. I quit smoking, but the cessation of my smoking is what caused my Crohn's to flare-up out of nowhere. Since I smoked for quite a long time, they say that the reason the disease was dormant was because i smoked; that created a protective jelly film around my colon, which made it impossible for the white blood cells to attack. My symptoms during flare ups are: Blood in my feces, dizziness, lots of sweating, and many terrible cramp-like stomach aches. During remission, I have a few stomach aches, but nothing more.. maybe a bad poop every once in a while. Right now, I am taking immunosupressive drugs, i.e. 150mg azathioprine daily and a drug infusion called Remicade once every six weeks.
I plan on asking him a few further questions in regards to his diet and other things.
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My Uncle was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and suffered several of the same symptoms as your co-worker. He was unfortunate enough to have a bowel obstruction and had to have surgery last January. Just like we discussed in class, the surgery was definitely not a cure for the disease, but he did say it had some beneficial effects on all of his symptoms. His doctor also put him on B12 supplements along with the typical carbohydrate specific diet. :(
When I was on my flight home from Texas two weeks ago I was reading the articles on IBS for our class. The later sitting next to me glanced over and saw what it was on and started to talk with me about how she had Crohn's Disease. It was interesting because she said she was diagnosed after having children and then the realized her daughter had the disease as well. It was interesting talking to her about how some of the articles for the general public can lead people astray in treatment possibilities. It was nice that she was so candid about everything and she really gave me some valuable insight into how Crohn's Disease truly effects individuals.
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