The Causes of Crones Disease
We were about to have dinner, as we always have, all band members together before we would play. Antonio, our drummer, was late, he had gone off to somewhere, and we did not know where he was. Suddenly he turned up, looking very pale. He did not want to have dinner, and he barely made it to the podium. The next day he went to the doctor, and some time later he told us the diagnosis: Crones Disease. We had never heard of it, but we started to know about the debilitating symptoms soon enough.
What actually causes Crones disease, is not yet clear.
Many theories exist, but none have been proven.
The most popular theory is that, in people with Crones disease, the body's immune system mistakes bacteria, foods, and other substances for being foreign. These perceived 'invaders' will be attacked by the immune system. White blood cells will start to accumulate in the lining of the intestines, producing chronic inflammation, which leads to ulcerations and bowel injury.
Whether this abnormal reaction of the immune system on harmless substances is the cause or rather the effect of the disease, even scientists do not know. Research shows that the inflammation seen in the gastro- intestinal tract of people with Crones disease involves several factors: the genes the patient has inherited, the immune system itself, and the environment.
Substances to which the body reacts as invaders, are found in the environment. Not known is whether the body's reaction to these antigens is the cause for the inflammation, or that the antigens themselves are the culprit. Some scientists think that a specific protein produced by the immune system may be a possible cause for the inflammation associated with Crones disease.
If you want to see a video about an alternative approach to Crones Disease, click here.
If you want to listen to a free teleseminar, click here
How it starts
When Antonio told us the diagnose, we started to realize that he had been off-color more often. He had had spells of tummy ache and diarrhea; and feeling like he had a flu. He had been losing weight, and we had been joking about that (he just had a new girlfriend :-))The condition begins as small, microscopic nests of inflammation which persist and smolder. The lining of the bowel can then become ulcerated and the bowel wall thickened. Eventually, the bowel may become narrowed or obstructed and surgery would be needed.
Jewish people are at increased risk of developing Crones, while African Americans are at decreased risk, which indicates the genetic link in this disease.
The symptoms of Crones disease depend on where in the intestinal tract the disorder appears. When the ileum (ileitis) is involved, recurrent pain may be experienced in the right lower abdomen. At times, the pain mimics acute appendicitis. When the colon is the site, diarrhea (sometimes bloody) may occur, along with fever and weight loss. Crones disease often affects the anal area where there may be a draining sinus tract called a fistula.
When the disease is active, fatigue and lethargy appear. In children and adolescents there may be difficulty gaining or maintaining weight.
According to the experts, it is particularly important to maintain good nutrition and health with a balanced diet, adequate exercise, and a positive, upbeat attitude.
Medicaments and their side effects
As soon as Antonio knew what he had, obviously his doctor prescribed him medicines. Now, you have to know that he is a very critical person. He Googled everything about his disease and the medicaments, and started to be a real expert on the matter. The side effects of the medicines were not easy. There were times that he thought he suffered more from the side effects than from the problems in his intestines... 1. Aminosalicylates to Block Inflammation.
Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), Dipentum, Asacol, Rowasa, and Pentasa belong to a group of drugs called the 5-aminosalicylates.
These are standard drugs for mild to moderate Crones disease treatment. They're often the first ones your doctor will try. They work by blocking inflammation in the intestines. These drugs are used both to manage flares and maintain remission. They are most effective when the disease is present in the colon, and are are administered through oral and enema preparations.
Side effects include:
* Diarrhea
* Headache, dizziness
* Increased risk of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract
* Indigestion, nausea, gas
* Hair loss
* Rash
* Decrease in white blood cells
2. Corticosteroids to Block Inflammation.
Prednisone (Deltasone), Budesonide (Entocort EC), Hydrocortisone, and Methylprednisolone (Medrol) are all powerful drugs are effective at quickly reducing swelling in moderate to severe disease.
A large dose is often used initially to bring the disorder under quick control when the disease is severe. The drug is then tapered to a low maintenance dose, perhaps taken just every other day. Hopefully the drug may eventually be stopped altogether. This medicine is administered by pill, intravenously or by enema.
Corticosteroids can have severe side effects, like an increased risk of infection. So your doctor will probably not want you to use them for long. Other possible side effects:
* High blood pressure
* Mood swings, psychosis, insomnia
* Weight gain, moon facies
* Acne, increased facial hair, stretch marks
* Increased risk of infection
* Osteoporosis
If your doctor ever tells you to stop taking corticosteroids, make sure you taper off them gradually. Stopping them suddenly can worsen side effects.
Antonio tried all kind of different medications. Some he had to fight for, because the doctor was hesitant to prescribe the more expensive treatments. When the Aminosalicylates and the corticosteroids were not given the effect he had hoped, he went for more sophisticated medication. 3. Immunomodulators to suppress the body's immune system.
Azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan), 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol, 6-MP), Methotrexate (MTX, Rheumatrex, Mexate), Tacrolimus (Prograf), Cyclosporine A (Sandimmune, Neoral)
These drugs are particularly useful for long-term care. Since researchers believe that Crones disease is caused by an over reactive immune system, drugs that suppress the immune response are used, especially when other drugs to block swelling haven't worked. They may also help people who have developed complications like fistulas.
Immunomodulators may make corticosteroids more effective and allow you to take lower doses of them. Most of these drugs are taken orally, but some are injected. They tend to be more expensive than standard Crones disease treatments such as aminosalicylates.
Since these drugs suppress the immune system, they can put you at higher risk of developing infections or other illnesses. Other side effects include:
* Diarrhea
* Nausea
* Vomiting
You may need regular blood tests to check the effects of these drugs on your bone marrow, liver and kidneys.
4. Biologic Therapies for Moderate or Severe Crones Disease.
Infliximab (Remicade) and Adalimumab (Humira), are the newest - and most expensive - types of Crones disease treatments, they belong to a group of medications that block the body's inflammation response.
In many patients with severe disease that haven't responded to other treatments, these blocking antibody drugs are proving to be very effective in the short run. They are used for initial treatment and then to maintain remission.
Infliximab (Remicade) is given intravenously for about two hours every eight weeks, Adalimumab (Humira) is given as an injection at first three times a week, and then once a week to maintain remission.
Biologic therapies are powerful drugs and they do have side effects. Some of the most common include:
* Cough
* Nausea
* Sinus infections
* Sore throat
Because they suppress the immune response, biologic therapies can leave you at risk for infections. There is some evidence that they incr
From time to time is doctor would prescribe antibiotics, because the effect of many of these treatments was that he developed secondary infections and inflammations. Obviously the antibiotics did not do any good to his intestinal flora, which was already so badly out of balance.5. Antibiotics to Control Intestinal Bacteria.
Since there is frequently a bacterial infection along with Crones disease, antibiotics are often used to treat this problem. They also seem to control bacteria levels in the intestine and reduce the symptoms of Crones disease. Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and Metronidazole (Flagyl) are most commonly used.
Although the exact side effects depend on the specific drugs, antibiotics can cause these effects:
* Diarrhea
* Headaches
* Nausea
* Vomiting
Medications for Crones disease can interact with common drugs like birth control pills, antacids, and even vitamins.
An Alternative Approach
One day we talked again about his condition. From time to time he would feel fine, but the trouble would recur with regular intervals. I was very enthusiastic about a discovery I had made. I had some health troubles myself as well, ranging from a series of bad allergies to the nasty after effects of a whiplash and a bad concussion. He decided he would give it a go, for really he did not have anything to lose. Needless to say, that it is helping him greatly to improve his quality of life. Although the symptoms did not subside completely yet, he has not have attacks now for more than 6 months, and the last attack he had was very mild in comparison to earlier ones.As we read that scientists are more and more convinced that Crones Disease is caused by a problem in the immune system, it is also clear that we can approach the disease from an altogether different angle. While traditional medicine tends to focus on diminishing the problems and symptoms, we could take another stance. If we accept the viewpoint that an immune system which has problems needs attention and help to become effective again, would that not make sense?
If our rose bush is wilting, do we spray it with chemicals and fertilizer, or do we cut it back, give it new earth in it's pot and water it well? I think that stepping back and having a fresh look on our problem brings us the message we were looking for.
Improving our immune system is not as difficult as we think. Obviously diet will play a role, I will write about that later. Cutting out the dead branches and cleaning out the pot of our rosebush can be done for our own body too. If we cut down on food and activities which are not good for our body, and if we stimulate our body's own healing power, we probably hit the road straight to our goal and our healing.
A program I discovered which helped me a lot to regain my strength and improve my body's natural healing power, is The Healing Codes. You can take a free testdrive, but before you decide, have a look at the video first.
New Guestbook
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Dr_Joe
Very informative. Posted July 03, 2008 |
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RinchenChodron
Crones Disease is horrible for the people who have it. Thank you for exposing people to what it is. Posted June 17, 2008 |
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health_advisor
Very informative. Posted June 16, 2008 |
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surfsusan
Informative lens. A 5 star performance. Thank you for giving so much information. Posted August 30, 2007 |
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willemvanweperen
Very interesting and useful info. I like your option to compliment the use of traditional medicines with the natural healing power. This power which everybody has is unfortunately underutilized, yet I know from my own experience that it is very powerful. Posted August 30, 2007 |
You might have more credibility if you learned how to spell the name of the disease.
Posted August 29, 2007
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