Hey, I have Crohns Disease. I have been diagnosed for 3 years but i suspect i have had it for five. I assume your from America, i am in Australia, so my health system is a little different from you. I have been lucky to have access to the medications for the disease and i can tell you without them i am in a lot of trouble. I am in the top 5% of worst cases, with it infecting me from my stomach all the way through to the anus. (so essentially my whole bowel).
I have heard, read information regarding food and it effects and there is some talk about cutting out dairy and going on calcium supplement to help. Also another friend of mine who also has it swears that going vegan also helps. I cannot say i agree completely.
One reason is that with Crohns it comes and goes into remission making any kind of test with food circumstantial and inconclusive. How do you know if its the food or your just in remission? Secondly, i have found that when i am flared up which is most of the time i feel sick no matter what i eat or when.
To test it properly you would need to wait until your sure your sick and then fast from all foods, then reintroduce them one at a time to see if they are affecting it. As i said above its flawed because you might think its the food making you sick or better when it might just be the disease coming and going.
I don't know what to say about the medication but i'd apply for medical benefits, health care fund, charities, ANY kind of way you can to afford them. I am allergic to the majority of medications available. I was on prednisone for a very long time and although it worked i put on masses of weight, got a bad moon face, got hot flushes etc. So i tried the others and i got fevers, vomiting from the reaction. I Don't know if you heard about it but there is a fairly new medication now available that has proven to help in crohns patients. Its called Remicade or infliximab. I am on this however when it First came out it was not on our PBS (pharmaceutical benefits scheme) this scheme allows the public to access medications for diseases that are government funded. This was petitioned by The australian Crohns and collits association and to my luck got put on. This means i would have had to pay $5000 every 8 weeks i now have to pay only $30. It has transformed my life. I still get sick every now and then, but nothing on what i was.
I know i have written a lot so ill say my last peice. Its so important to get medication whatever it takes. Without treatment you will suffer and get worse. It needs managing. I have now developed fistulas and suffer those, its not going to be an easy road, so getting a health fund is the best option you have and i'd take it. take surgery as a last resort, there are many options for treatment availiable, but if you leave it you run the risk of infections, abcesses, bowel obstructions and fistulas. Good luck!I have crohn's disease and can not afford the medication. Is there anything I can do to help control it?
I think there have been good results with re-infesting patients with hook worms.
In the old days, everyone had intestinal worms - they were a natural part of life, but we gradually got rid of them out of our system.
There have been trials for patients with intestinal problems using hook worms and it has made their lives much more tolerable.
You would have to do a bit of hunting around on the internet, not sure if it is widely available treatment or where or how much it costs, but may be worth a look.
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