Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Bowel Color

Question:
I went to my doctor today because of some weird stomach and bowel issues and bleeding that I had been able to explain away until the last couple of weeks.  I sort of expected him to put me on some high fiber diet (although going is really not my problem) and maybe tell me to lower my stress levels.  Instead he tells me that he thinks I have some disease I've never heard of and from what I can tell I should have little chance of acquiring. I've been surfing for the last several hours and I have yet to find any person of color with Crohn's disease.  This doc has got me scheduled for all sorts of really invasive procedures in a couple of days and I just can't believe that I could have this.  I'm not sure that I want to go through with the tests.  I'm supposed to have a Barium Enema on Monday and some kind of Upper GI thingy on Friday.   Does anyone know what I should expect from either of these two exams? Does anyone know of any literature citing the incidence of Crohn's disease in African-Americans?

Answer:
You are the first black person I have heard that may have crohn's. The incidence of CD (crohn's disease) has been on the rise world wide so I can see it affecting all ethnic backgrounds. It has been shown that CD is more prevalent in developed countries. There is also a possibility of a genetic cause. I know you don't want to do the tests but you should. Even though the disease is rare in African descendants you can not be 100% sure without the tests. If it is discovered you have crohn's (God forbid, I hope it is something simple and easy to fix) I would like you to visit my doctor's web site. www.shafran.net Dr. Shafran is currently testing an antibiotic treatment for crohn's. The information and research is on the site. The antibiotics used are Biaxin and Mycobutin. Both can be prescribed by your doctor. (point of note, you will need to take a probiotic (good bacteria) also. The study is producing a 70% remission rate. (quite good when it comes to treatments for CD) The theory behind Dr. Shafran's work (and others) is a bacteria called MAP (mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis) that is known to cause Johne's disease in cattle also causes Crohn's disease in humans. Both diseases are very similar to each other. (by cause I mean trigger an overactive immune response, similar to ragweed causing hay fever. If you have a predisposition to the allergic response then the MAP will cause you problems) By destroying the MAP with antibiotics you remove the offending bacteria and the body stands down from it's attack. While no one is claiming a cure at this point the indications are very promising. I have been on the treatment for 3 months. My Crohn's disease activity number was 400+ (scale goes from 0 to 600 -- 150 = remission 600 = surgery) it is now 138. My weight is up from 135 to 151lbs. My bowel movements have dropped from 8-20 per day to 3 at the most. (Rare exceptions excluded) I can eat salad and popcorn to my hearts delight.