Monday, September 10, 2012

Invisible Illness Week Post 1: What IS Crohn's Disease?

This is how the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada describes Crohn's Disease....

"Crohn’s disease (CD) is named after the doctor who first described it in 1932. (Since he did not have the disease itself, it is sometimes more accurately called Crohn disease).
The inflammation from CD can strike anywhere in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from mouth to anus, but is usually located in the lower part of the small bowel and the upper end of the colon. Patches of inflammation are interspersed between healthy portions of the gut, and can penetrate the intestinal layers from inner to outer lining.
CD can also affect the mesentery, which is the network of tissue that holds the small bowel to the abdomen and contains the main intestinal blood vessels and lymph glands.

What are the Symptoms?

Since CD can be located anywhere in the GI tract, symptoms can vary. On the whole however, they often include abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and not surprisingly, weight loss and lack of energy.
Crohn’s disease is a chronic (lifelong) illness. People who have CD will experience periods of acute flare-ups, when their symptoms are active and other times when their symptoms go into remission. The average risk of a flare-up in any one year is approximately 30%.
In 25% of those with CD, perianal disease may also develop. “Peri” means “around” – therefore perianal disease is located “around the anus”.
Specifically this means that a person could develop:
painful, swollen skin tags (that appear to be haemhorrhoids but are not)
abscesses (bags of pus created inside the body as a result of infection)
fistulas (infections that have tunneled from the abscess to a hollow organ such as the rectum or vagina).

There is no cure for Crohn’s disease - yet."
(http://www.ccfc.ca/site/c.ajIRK4NLLhJ0E/b.6349429/)

Sure....

But as a CD warrior I can tell you that while the CCFC means well, they are clueless when it comes to the true symptoms, both physical and emotional.

This is how I describe it....

Crohn's Disease is like a girlfriend after a bad breakup and you are the boyfriend left wondering what you did wrong. Your immune system attacks you for no reason. I suppose there is a reason but scientists have yet to discover it. Periodically your intestines turn into the inside of a cantaloupe and this causes a lot of pain. You also get canker sores on the inside of your mouth and throat, much like if you get Strep Throat every eight weeks but can't have anything for it. Then there's all of the bathroom trips. Ever had food poisoning? The kind with the really bad, and yes I'm going full disclosure on this one, diarrhea? This happens to me all of the time. Before I was diagnosed it could be upwards of fourteen times a day. That's a lot of potty time! And it's not just the "D", it's the nausea and vomiting that comes in the neat little package that is my gastrointestinal tract. What they also don't tell you is that it's not just your "G tract" it's everywhere! It's like the girlfriend from hell! Not only is she stalking you, she slashes your tires and comes after you with a machete (AKA your immune system attacks your muscles, bones and joints as well). Sometimes it feels like there is sand in your joints and getting out of bed seems like running the New York marathon. This whole disease is like a constant marathon. It's exhausting. And I know I've missed a lot but there is still so much more, I've barely scratched the surface.
I think this is a good jumping off point....