I am sure this has been asked many times. Are you Crohnsies afraid of your children being diagnosed as well? I was diagnosed 11 yrs ago when I was 28 but now that I look back I definitely see where I may have experienced symptoms many years before. I see some "red flags" with my children but mostly my daughter who is 10. She doesn't complain of pain or runny bms but she gets skin rashes like I do and I think I noticed some mucous in her bm today when it didn't flush all the way. Maybe I am just freaking out and so scared they will suffer from this too. When should one be concerned or is there reason for concern at all?
Are you worried your kids could get diagnosed too???
- Thread starter valb
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I was diagnosed March 2015 and my daughter was hospitalized recently. She is in the process of finding out if she has Crohns or not(most likely has it) I also have a younger daughter that is complaining of stomach pain lately. Although my older daughters doctor said that there is only a 15% chance of my kids getting it, it is still 15% chance and it seems to be heading that way :*(. I hope your kids don't inherited it but if they do they will have you for support. Good luck and God bless 
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Going to tag other parents of Ibd kiddos
Clash Crohnsinct maya142 tesscom Mehita jmrogers Farmwife
My son was dx at age 7
He is now 12
What each kid experiences differs greatly in terms of disease
Warning signs
No weight gain or weight loss
Stalled growth or dropping percentiles on growth
Anemia
Belly pain
Constipation (my kiddo)
Diarrhea
Rectal pain
Joint pain or swelling
Fatigue
Easy tests that most parents do with concern
Fecal cal
And
Simple blood tests
That said most kids really handle thus disease way better than adults
This is there normal they mostly just roll with it
Ds is active in music in and outside of school and
Swims competively
Not that any parent wouldnt love to take the disease away from their child
Just saying kids are surprisingly strong
Clash Crohnsinct maya142 tesscom Mehita jmrogers Farmwife
My son was dx at age 7
He is now 12
What each kid experiences differs greatly in terms of disease
Warning signs
No weight gain or weight loss
Stalled growth or dropping percentiles on growth
Anemia
Belly pain
Constipation (my kiddo)
Diarrhea
Rectal pain
Joint pain or swelling
Fatigue
Easy tests that most parents do with concern
Fecal cal
And
Simple blood tests
That said most kids really handle thus disease way better than adults
This is there normal they mostly just roll with it
Ds is active in music in and outside of school and
Swims competively
Not that any parent wouldnt love to take the disease away from their child
Just saying kids are surprisingly strong
My daughter told me that she was experiencing stomach aches for about a week the day she came to me. Since she is in college I thought it was just stress at first. The same day I took her to the doctor they thought maybe appendicitis and directed us to the ER. That's when I found out she was having pains AND diarrhea. It really didn't click with me right away that this is what I went through(in denial I guess). The CT scan came back that there was a possibility that it was Crohns. I rolled my eyes and sighed and told the doctor that I was just diagnosed in 2015. They did the colonoscopy and did all their test and came back as Chronic ileitis. They prescribed her Entocort(same as me) and she still is having issues. They rescheduled her and told her most likely it is Crohns. They just didn't want to "label" her that until they know 100%.
If they start complaining of stomach pains, like you do, and diarrhea more that a couple days, I would say go ahead and take them. It always better safe than sorry. I hope this helped
Thank you. This is very helpful. I know what I need to look for and what I experience as an adult but was curious what to watch out for with kids.
my son 7 only goes once every week 1/2 to 2 weeks. It is massive when it comes out. My dr is not concerned about this. My daughter 10 has a few things I am watching for too. They are healthy and fine so I am not worried but thought I should educate myself on what to look for. Thank you!!
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Kids can have Crohn's with very subtle symptoms. I agree, Fecal Cal is a good non-invasive test to ask for if you're ever worried. My kid just had anemia, belly pain and constipation when she was diagnosed. We were SURE that scopes would rule out Crohn's.
Some kids are completely asymptomatic and others have every symptoms in the book. Watch for mouth sores too. Weight loss or lack of weight gain or growth is also a big one for kids.
My girls both have AS which my husband has too. It's difficult to watch them suffer, and he has a hard time with it, knowing they got it from him. Neither of the girls blame him or anything like that - they know it is what it is - but both say they will not have kids because they don't want their kids to have to suffer like they have.
It breaks my heart, but given how much pain they have been in, I understand where they're coming from. I hope there will one day be much better treatments or even a cure.
I do think kids are very resilient, especially the ones who have been diagnosed young and know nothing else. But it is harder with teens and older kids who just want to be like everyone else.
There are no good answers, except watching your kiddos carefully for now.
Some kids are completely asymptomatic and others have every symptoms in the book. Watch for mouth sores too. Weight loss or lack of weight gain or growth is also a big one for kids.
My girls both have AS which my husband has too. It's difficult to watch them suffer, and he has a hard time with it, knowing they got it from him. Neither of the girls blame him or anything like that - they know it is what it is - but both say they will not have kids because they don't want their kids to have to suffer like they have.
It breaks my heart, but given how much pain they have been in, I understand where they're coming from. I hope there will one day be much better treatments or even a cure.
I do think kids are very resilient, especially the ones who have been diagnosed young and know nothing else. But it is harder with teens and older kids who just want to be like everyone else.
There are no good answers, except watching your kiddos carefully for now.
crohnsinct
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I think MLP and Maya gave you a good list of things to watch for.
I second the fecal calprotectin test. My younger daughter was on my Crohn's radar for three years. I would mention her to the GI and he wasn't worried. Ped kept saying, "just because you have one kid with Crohn's, doesn't mean she has Crohn's". They did the FC test and she was at 1150! 2 months later scopes and Crohn's, a year later still not in a good solid remission.
It is a simple test. No skin off anyone's nose to run it. Elevated with a parent with Crohn's and you would probably move to scopes a lot quicker.
Both of my girls have done very well with the disease. They were actually relieved to know what was wrong. I think ped docs treat a lot more aggressively with the kids than adult GI's. Partially due to the fact that the disease by nature tends to be more aggressive with kids and they don't want to miss growth opportunity.
I am so sorry that your kids are facing this possible dx but they will have the best advocates in you as parents because of your experience and knowledge.
I second the fecal calprotectin test. My younger daughter was on my Crohn's radar for three years. I would mention her to the GI and he wasn't worried. Ped kept saying, "just because you have one kid with Crohn's, doesn't mean she has Crohn's". They did the FC test and she was at 1150! 2 months later scopes and Crohn's, a year later still not in a good solid remission.
It is a simple test. No skin off anyone's nose to run it. Elevated with a parent with Crohn's and you would probably move to scopes a lot quicker.
Both of my girls have done very well with the disease. They were actually relieved to know what was wrong. I think ped docs treat a lot more aggressively with the kids than adult GI's. Partially due to the fact that the disease by nature tends to be more aggressive with kids and they don't want to miss growth opportunity.
I am so sorry that your kids are facing this possible dx but they will have the best advocates in you as parents because of your experience and knowledge.
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I have a seven year old girl that was dx at 3.
The others are right, kids are amazing in the way they handle this.
My girl also had arthritis and I'm telling you she makes me look like a wimp.
I would not handle things the way she does.
I hope your child doesn't have this but if they do, you will be their best form of support, a mama that understands what there going thru.
Hugs
The others are right, kids are amazing in the way they handle this.
My girl also had arthritis and I'm telling you she makes me look like a wimp.
I would not handle things the way she does.
I hope your child doesn't have this but if they do, you will be their best form of support, a mama that understands what there going thru.
Hugs
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Sorry just saw the tag, my hubby and son both have Crohn's. Hubby diagnosed when he was 25 and son at 10, he is now 16.
It was always there but the chances were higher of neither of our children having it. When our son was diagnosed he had lost a bunch of weight, was extremely pale and fatigued and hadn't really grown for the preceding year or so. He complained of random stomach pains but even though he never complained of fatigue he would often fall asleep in the middle of doing homework and his appetite was virtually non-existent. Everything could be explained away as something else so it still wasn't at the forefront of our thoughts when we took him to see ped, we just knew something wasn't right. His ped sent us right away for labs based on his father having Crohn's, sure enough labs were all elevated (only time it has ever been) and we referred to ped GI who was 95% certain it was Crohn's at that point. Scopes 2 weeks later confirmed.
Our younger son begin experiencing tummy pain and diarrhea (something his brother never experienced) just a couple of years later and of course we jumped right to the Crohn's wagon that time but it turns out he is just lactose intolerant. He was tested for Crohn's and Celiacs. He has had no issues since removing dairy from his diet.
It was always there but the chances were higher of neither of our children having it. When our son was diagnosed he had lost a bunch of weight, was extremely pale and fatigued and hadn't really grown for the preceding year or so. He complained of random stomach pains but even though he never complained of fatigue he would often fall asleep in the middle of doing homework and his appetite was virtually non-existent. Everything could be explained away as something else so it still wasn't at the forefront of our thoughts when we took him to see ped, we just knew something wasn't right. His ped sent us right away for labs based on his father having Crohn's, sure enough labs were all elevated (only time it has ever been) and we referred to ped GI who was 95% certain it was Crohn's at that point. Scopes 2 weeks later confirmed.
Our younger son begin experiencing tummy pain and diarrhea (something his brother never experienced) just a couple of years later and of course we jumped right to the Crohn's wagon that time but it turns out he is just lactose intolerant. He was tested for Crohn's and Celiacs. He has had no issues since removing dairy from his diet.
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Yes I think it would be every parent's worst nightmare and I'm sure Dusty will testify to that.
My son - 15 when I first became ill - asked me if he would get it too.
It was a good opportunity to describe symptoms to him and what to look out for. Bless him, he used to do most of the cooking when I was really bad and he became really interested in diet and nutrition. No bad thing for a teenager.
My son - 15 when I first became ill - asked me if he would get it too.
It was a good opportunity to describe symptoms to him and what to look out for. Bless him, he used to do most of the cooking when I was really bad and he became really interested in diet and nutrition. No bad thing for a teenager.
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I do worry, particularly as I am ASCA +ve, which is a genetic marker for Crohn's, though there is minimal data how much more that increases your child's risk.
The things to bear in mind is that children of IBDers would be diagnosed early and have a very knowledgeable parent both supporting them and also encouraging best treatment.
The things to bear in mind is that children of IBDers would be diagnosed early and have a very knowledgeable parent both supporting them and also encouraging best treatment.
