Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Teens With Crohn�s

Question:
My 15 year old nephew, diagnosed about 14 months ago with Crohns. My nephew learned today during a visit to his doctor that he has to take more than 20 pills daily in addition to using enemas. He will have a second colonoscopy as soon as his current flare-up settles. Understandably, this is very hard for him to accept and work with. I wonder if there are any one who might be teenagers or parents with teenage children diagnosed with Crohn's.

Answer:
I'm sorry to hear about your nephew's dx. �There are a few teens here who have IBD as well as quite a few who were dx'ed as teens. We all know how hard this disease is; being a teen doesn't help matters. Anyone who has an isp will have usenet access and should be able to access this NG. �If they're not sure, they should contact their ISP and ask their technical support for assistance. Welcome to the group! �You'll find the folks here are wonderfully supportive and full of good information. Here are three website which are are built by teens with Crohn�s or UC. Teens with Crohn's Disease Website http://pages.prodigy.net/mattgreen/ http://creativegrrrl.homestead.com/ http://community.webtv.net/@Lookup/FrOgQuEeN15/SupportForTeensWith/ (This link no longer worked-message said the server was down) (I'll include it with the possibility it may work later,�or it may be that it no longer exists.) I'll also include the website for Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) http://www.ccfa.org/ (click on 'Medical Central' to get to an excellent 'Library' of info about Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.) ('Chapters & Events' has a list of Support Groups across the US, if your nephew is interested.) (There are many 'Links') (And the best book I have found, 'The New People: Not Patients' is found on the 'Bookstore' - well worth the price.Please, let him know to 'Hang in there.' I highly recommend the Teens with Crohn's site. My daughter is on their daily. It gives them some information that they are not going to get from their doctor. �These kids tell what really is going on. It also gives them a place to vent or to share their feelings. Tell him not to be afraid to post, everyone will welcome him there. I'm 14 w/ Crohns. I take about 22 pills a day. (fish oil, acidopholous, pentasa, flagyl, prednisone) I don't have enemas though. I'd be willing to talk to him if I can have his e-mail address. Anyways, I've actually live 98% normal right now. I just swallow a whole bunch of pills and stay home about 3 days every other month and 1 week a year. (kinda like the Army Reserves, hehe) and when I go sleep over at friends houses, they like to time me to see how fast I can take my pills. So far my record is 7 in 4 seconds (all 5 pentasa at once). Tell your nephew that I'm sure everything will turn out okay. I don't have Crohns, I have IBS, and that's not too fun either. So, I kinda know how he feels. There is another guy that is my age (I'm 13) that posts here sometimes, and there is a girl who posts here sometimes too. They are really nice, just like the rest of the people in here. It's always nice to know you have so many people that care about ya in this ng!! �Too bad he can't get into this ng, but tell him I said hi. He can email me sometime, if he ever needs someone to talk to. That would be fine with me!! My email address is Grind...@hotmail.com You sound like a really nice Aunt to do this for him. And I'm sure you are. My daughter has recently been diagnosed with Crohn�s, �she is not on as many tablets as your nephew, however I discovered a book that has a diet that may help, we located it on the internet, Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall. �We located it from Amazon Books. �Christine is not on the diet fully, as some ingredients are very difficult to find, however if you can get your head around the diet then you will marvel at the results. �My daughter has put on lots of weight, her zest for life has returned and she has not had a relapse in months. �The doctors will put it down to the drugs, but I'm convinced that it�s the diet. I wish your nephew good health and my thoughts are with his family also. �As a mum it's very hard to watch your child go through the pain and the indignity of the invasive tests. He could get free access to this group at www.deja.com , and there is a site called 'teens with Crohn�s' http://pages.prodigy.net/mattgreen/ �that has a bunch of information as well as links and a message board.