People with Crohn's Disease

Your advice to find a great gastroentrologist is definately heeded. I think anyone with Crohn's disease needs to make that their first priority. I spent a year with doctors telling me that nothing was wrong with me and that I was crazy, testing me for this, that and the other thing but never really taking me seriously. I was finally referred to an amazing gasteroenterologist in a town an hour and a half away and it took him one day to diagnose me. I have had him every since and he is amazing. I truly believe that he saved my life. I am currently on a handful of pills for my Crohn's as well as monthly doses of Remicade and I have to monitor my diet fairly closely... what do you do to prevent flareups??

Yes, I too went through the year of symptons and tons of testing for everything under the sun, and nobody believing me either. I got so bad that ended up in the hospital 2 weeks after being diagnosed. I am now currently taking Asacal 3 twice a day. Methotrexate once a week - 6 pills. Flaxseed - 2 or 3 pills a day. ( it does help a lot, natural anti- flammatory for inflamation in colon as well as the joint pain of crohns) Caltrate with Vitamin D - twice a day. Have your vitamin d levels checked. New research is linking vitamin d to auto-immune diseases. Also the calcium can with diarhea and is a must if you are taking steroids. Multi vitamin. Things I have tried: Remicaide - Had allergic reaction third infusion. Prednisone - allergic at high doses. Ento-cort - use when flaring, a steroid much easier on the system than prednisone. Imuran (aziothiprine - spelling?) allergic - gave me pancreantitus You are taking remicaide monthly? That seems like too much from the reasearch I've done. It should be like every few months. Hope what I've learned that works for me helps you. It is soooo Nice to be able to chat with others who have Crohn's. I definately know the very alone feelings that come with this disease.

I thought I was too young to be diagnosed at eighteen because that is what one of my doctors had told me but when I went to see a doctor that KNEW what they were doing, I found out that it most commonly targets people in their teens. It is also more common in boys so it sounds like it hit him about the right time. The best thing about being diagnosed early is not having to be out of work because of being ill and not knowing whats wrong. By the time he reaches adulthood, he should have a much better grasp on how to deal with the illness.