Archive for August, 2012
Parasites to treat IBD?
I’ve read a few articles recently talking about various clinical trials using parasites and worms to treat IBD. In theory, it’s a really interesting idea- ingesting what would parasites that prevent the body from attacking itself.
Most recently, I read about a new clinical trial that is studying pig parasites as one course of treatment. In the trial, patients swallow the eggs of a pig parasite. Each egg contains thousands of microscopic parasite eggs, culled from pig feces, suspended in a tablespoon of saline solution to be swallowed. Sounds pretty gross right?
Oh, Hey.: List of things that sucks about having IBD
NY Med Features Crohn’s Disease Patient
In its last episode last night, NY Med featured an 18-year-old patient with Crohn’s Disease. The patient, a young boy named Jesse, was diagnosed with Crohn’s when he was five. In the episode, he is extremely malnourished to the point where looking at him, you wouldn’t know he was 18- he looked about 13 or 14 years old.
During the episode, Jesse has a bowel resection in which the surgeon removed diseased portions of his intestines and reconnected the healthy parts. While they were in there, the surgeons discovered that he had 20 strictures! Dan had one and I know how painful living with that was- I cannot imagine what he must have felt like with 20.
The video for the episode isn’t up yet but I will post a link to it when it’s finally online. In the meantime, you can check out the entire episode synopsis here.
I’m just excited that Crohn’s Disease got some time in the limelight on the show!
Did you see the episode? What did you think?
Work & Chronic Illness
Yesterday, an interesting question was posed on a Facebook group that I am part of- when to disclose to an employer that you have a chronic illness. Majority of those who responded said that they disclosed their illness right off the bat- one even as early as in the interview.
I understand the benefits of disclosing that information right off the bat- it gets it out there so that if something happens and you need to take time off, they already know why and are more accommodating.
Question of the Day
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America posted an interesting question on their Facebook wall today and I wanted to share it with you and see what you thought.
Do you find that making friends is more difficult with Crohn’s Disease/Ulcerative Colitis or not so much?
Article on Huffington Post about Crohn’s
I am SO excited to share with you all that a blog post I’ve been working on for a bit about taking care of a loved one with Crohn’s has been posted on HuffingtonPost.com!
I wrote about the complications Dan has had over the years and the various hospitalizations and how important it is to understand what is going on so that you are able to make informed decisions.
Here’s a snippet of the piece:
“Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first emergency hospitalization that I went through with my husband or the first one where I feared for his life. One year earlier, following a routine colonoscopy, my husband spiked a 104-degree fever 30 minutes after coming out of anesthesia as we were preparing to be discharged. He ended up spending five days in the hospital with an E. coli infection caused by a small puncture made by the scope during the procedure. I learned quickly during my husband’s first hospitalization how important it is to ask questions. I am my husband’s sole caretaker — I am responsible for ensuring that the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to treat him appropriately. However, without being a doctor, there is no way for me to know what the right course of treatment is without asking questions.”
You can read the full post here.
New treatment on the horizon
I keep seeing news stories about new treatments for Crohn’s Disease and I wanted to highlight one that I find really interesting.
When most people hear that someone has Crohn’s Disease, the immediate thought is that it’s a stomach ailment that makes you go to the bathroom a lot. What they don’t realize is that it is, in fact, an autoimmune disease. If you think about it, this makes sense- Crohn’s patients, or at least my Crohn’s patient, become sicker more easily than healthy patients.
Well, researchers in Seattle, WA are testing a new way to treat Crohn’s by essentially putting in a new immune system into the person with Crohn’s. Pretty cool right?
The healing power of pets
I’ve known for a long time that pets (dogs in my case) can sense when something is wrong. When I’m upset, Bomber, my Shetland Sheepdog, will climb in my lap and act super cute to cheer me up. That’s the reason I love pets so much- they provide you with so much love and comfort in ways that human companionship doesn’t. I mean, it would be pretty weird if my husband crawled into my lap and acted cute when I was sad, right?
Bomber has done wonders for Dan. Growing up, Dan never had a pet but loved dogs. When we started dating six years ago, I had a Shetland Sheepdog who was the sweetest little fuzzball, and Dan adored her. We both knew we would get a dog, but we didn’t know when. And Dan surely didn’t know how profound his impact would be on his life.
My old dog Taffy
Crohn’s in the news
There have been a few really good articles recently about Crohn’s Disease and the struggle people go through on a daily basis with the disease.
It started last week with a great blog post by a college student in Utah about her struggle in the Huffington Post.
Today, another story has come out by a CNN employee about her 30+ year struggle with the ailment. In the story, Debbi Wynn writes,
There is relief as you realize you have a reprieve from the disease but a lingering sense of anxiety as you contemplate the “what if” that hangs just above your head, depriving you of real peace. It’s a daily struggle to keep the fear and uncertainty at bay and enjoy the moments that feel “normal.
Caring for Crohn's & UC 