Can it go away?

[EyesofThunder]

Is there any "cure" for Crohns or UC? Has anyone got rid of it?

Thanks!

 

[Lydia]

I was in remission for 4 years, i have a friend who was in remission for 20 years. So it can go away for a long time.

 

[DustyKat]

From a medical stand point, at this point in time, there is no cure for Crohns. UC can be cured if the colon is removed.

Some people state they have been cured of Crohns by various means, my personal opinion is I don't believe it.

Dusty.

 

[EyesofThunder]

What exactly IS Crohns and what is UC?

I almost got the impression they are the same thing, but not really sure.

Being my mom said her colon was tar black can't be good at all.

 

[DustyKat]

Both are types of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).

Ulcerative colitis only affects the large bowel and in a small amount of cases the last part of the ileum (small bowel). It is characterised by a continuous area inflammation and the ulcers only affect the mucosal (top) layer of the bowel.

Crohns Disease can affect any part of the digestive tract from the mouth through to the anus and is characterised by skip areas of inflammation, i.e areas of inflammation with areas of healthy bowel inbetween. The ulcers in CD can extend beyond the mucosal layer into all layers of the bowel.

Many of the symptoms are the same between the two. It is more common to have fissures, fistulas and strictures with CD but more common to have bleeding with UC.

HTH,
Dusty

 

[EyesofThunder]

Owch.... Thanks so much, it helps to know, I know my mom is miserable with it and it sure is restricting her life a lot right now.

IIRC my mom said it is more of an autoimmune disease, so the body is fighting itself?

Both are types of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).

Ulcerative colitis only affects the large bowel and in a small amount of cases the last part of the ileum (small bowel). It is characterised by a continuous area inflammation and the ulcers only affect the mucosal (top) layer of the bowel.

Crohns Disease can affect any part of the digestive tract from the mouth through to the anus and is characterised by skip areas of inflammation, i.e areas of inflammation with areas of healthy bowel inbetween. The ulcers in CD can extend beyond the mucosal layer into all layers of the bowel.

Many of the symptoms are the same between the two. It is more common to have fissures, fistulas and strictures with CD but more common to have bleeding with UC.

HTH,
Dusty

 

[DustyKat]

Yes they are deemed autoimmune diseases and there are a number of theories as to the cause or triggers.

An autoimmune disease is generally thought of as an abnormal functioning of the immune system. The body, for some reason, ceases to recognise a part of itself and so starts to attack it. That is why immunosuppressants are frequently used to treat these diseases, they dampen down the response of your immune system and so stop it from over reacting.

Dusty.

 

[Manimation]

I was very mind over matter and I successfully cured my crohns for 4 years. I just happened to catch it a second time. A trickster that disease. Currently working on my second cure.

 

[lseibert]

I was in remission for 8 years, it felt like I was "cured" I was so normal. Then I got a flare 5 months ago, which sure kicked me in the gut! So, no I don't think there is a cure.

 

[matty]

Could you tell me anyone who was in remission for a long period, did you take med's.

 

[Mountaingem]

I was in remission once for 5 years, no meds. I would have the occasional small flare, but it would disappear within a few days.

Then when I was 19 it came back with a vengence, disappeared after a year for 5 years, while I was on sulfasalazine.

When it returned at 25, it was worse than anything I had experienced previously and I've been on Pentasa ever since, in addition to pred, Entocort, Flagyl, Cipro, and many many others until Remicade.

 

[Rossy]

Could you tell me anyone who was in remission for a long period, did you take med's.

Chap I know has crohns and had part of his bowel removed some 27 years ago and has been on no meds since and has been relatively ok health wise, so yes, it can happen although i believe this would be quite a rare situation.

 

[lseibert]

Yes, I was on Pentasa.....I just felt normal, but it was the meds and I changed how and what I ate. What I ate had a big influence of how my disease affected me.

 

[Lostboi779]

Was in remission for 20 years on no meds. Small flares a couple times. Until may of this year. It came back. Two hospital stays since and on meds.

 

[Anthony]

I heard that crohn's could be cured by stem cells, or at leaste there have been a few successful lab tests in England. Is this true?

 

[Snoflayk505]

I have obtained med free remission with simply a drastic diet change. It doesn't work for everyone (i hear), but it sure worked for me and I had one of the most chronic severe cases of unmanageable Crohn's & colitis my doc had seen. I lived in the hospital practically for a decade. When I came accross diet to treat IBD I figured, what have I got to lose. Some dont want to change their diet because foods like carbs and sugars (bacteria breeders) are comfort to them. It was to me as well but I chose health over food Good luck to you.

 

[Absentminded]

My mum has been in remission from UC for over 30 years. She hasn't been on any medication, but did follow an incredibly strict diet for a year or so. Now she watches what she eats and has so far been very lucky!

 

[kiny]

Some people say they are in cured remission, but I think you should put that into context, once someone reaches a state where they are fully healed, it can take a year or more before the mucosal barrier is broken down, while they think they might be in remission, for all they know they could not be, they just haven't reached a point of being sick yet. (which I think why it's weird when people say "food X caused my flare", well, the flare didn't just happen overnight because of 1 food)

Well, people who say they have been in remission for 4 years or longer, those people really are in remission. But again, most of those people claimed this after surgery, I don't consider surgery a "cure", that's like saying you cured grey hairs by shaving someone's head bald. You didn't cure the inflammation, you just cut it out.

When someone can say they are able to go off medication completely , did not have surgery, and they haven't had issues for years, you could say cured. There are a few cases where some people went on remicade and on a tripple antibiotic therapy (at least one of them being clofazimine) right after, stopped all medication and stayed in remission, who say they are cured, those are the only cases I believe so far. (people who only went on tripple antibiotics are not cured, the only cures are the ones who got remicade and then the tripple antibiotic)

 

[Rossy]

A chap in my office had 9" of colon removed some 27 years ago for his crohns and has been symptom free since, so you'd have to say thats a success, albeit i imagine very rare.

 

[skofjaloka]

I had an operation ...I dont know when....more then 10 years ago... lot of my colon was removed...and I am ok since then...actually I am great since then...no pain, not any simptoms at all...I hope it stays like that...till the end of the days ... i really love my life now and I appriciate every day it comes....I take very small dose of Imuran (50mg) every day, and that's all therapy I have. ... (before operation I was like i hell...couldnt eat any more...pain all the time...i had just 50kg and I am 186 cm tall ...I have 85kg now and i am 38 years old...my disease started when i was 15 I guess).

 

[syzygy]

My GI said there was an older typology of Crohn's that talked about a "fibrostenotic" type of the disease that was primarily obstructive and for which surgery resulted in very long periods of remission tantamount to a cure.