Archive for January, 2014
Cure vs. Remission: Thoughts from a Crohn’s Caregiver
Recently, I was engaged in a Facebook argument (mature I know) with someone about whether or not Crohn’s disease could be cured. She (who doesn’t have the disease) was claiming that it could be cured by eliminating trigger foods from the patient’s died. I was trying to explain to her, with little success, that yes, if you eliminate trigger foods, some patients will experience a decrease in symptoms and subsequently may enter into a period of remission; however, that does not mean they are cured.
This argument really made me angry and I started to do a little digging online and was astounded to see how much misinformation there is out there. That is why I wrote this piece for the Huffington Post:
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main diseases that make up the broad inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis. In patients with these diseases, the body’s immune system attacks parts of the digestive tract and causes inflammation, cramping, diarrhea, bleeding and all sorts of other issues.
According to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, “To date, there is no known cause of or cure for IBD, but fortunately there are many effective treatments to help control these diseases.”
Medications, surgery, and diet modifications can help patients with inflammatory bowel diseases live regular lives. In patients with Crohn’s disease, neither of these treatments induces a cure; the best they do is bring a patient into a symptom-free state (remission, see below). Patients with ulcerative colitis can be treated with the surgical removal of the colon; however, surgery will not cure the underlying inflammatory disorder that the patients have, leaving them susceptible to pouchitis, arthritis, skin ulcers and other autoimmune diseases. The bottom line: When you have an inflammatory bowel disease, you have it for life.
Please take a look at the full piece here!
Shop Vintage & Raise Money for CCFA!
It’s that time of the year again.
Dan and I are back at it, raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of American through its Team Challenge program. We will be training to run/walk in the Jamestown Half Marathon this July and we couldn’t be more excited!
Last year we raised $7,500 for CCFA and this year we are upping our goal and hoping to raise $10,000 in the name of research and education about these debilitating diseases.
Shop vintage, benefit CCFA!
From now until February 10, The Vintage Twin, an AWESOME vintage goods company specializing in one-of-a-kind vintage finds, is donating 10% of its online sales to our fundraising efforts for CCFA. Check out their awesome clothing, accessories and other goods and shop early & often!
Caring for Crohn's & UC 