• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Critical basic test advice

Good Afternoon

My name is Donald C. Brennan, Ph.D. I have had Crohn's Disease for 42 years and an Ileostomy for 41 years. As can be expected the systemic debilitations are now surfacing as you age. However, one systemic occurrence I never considered, and I have a medical as well as a scientific background, was a perilous decrease in my Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium. Said deficiencies placed my very existence in jeopardy and even resulted in a brain seizure. Accordingly, what precipitated this, dehydration. (It is absolutely critical that we keep ourselves hydrated. I drink over 100 ounces of water, no sugar no cola, i add Crystal Light to the water, each day.) These noted levels are very easily checked through a low cost CBC requested by your physician and performed at a local lab such as Qwest or LabCorp. In order to return my system to orderly function, it was necessary for me to me on home IV infusion each night for 1 year with the breakout being potassium chloride IV every other night with the in between nights being a magnesium IV. These IV's took 15 hours to run and were exceptionally inconvenient. Now I take 18 tablets a day of Magnesium with Protein, plus Calcium and Liquid Potassium along with my standard Imuran and I am doing quite well. Accordingly, I encourage all with Crohn's to have your Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium (would not hurt to have your hemoglobin and white blood cell count checked as well) though your Physician prescribed low cost CBC test. I am required to have my levels checked once a week.

Don Brennan, Ph.D.
 
Hello and welcome,
It's amazing the role of vitamins play in our body.
David is also very well versed in this area.
I hope you continue to improve.
 
I would highly suggest you eliminate the Crystal Light. You can google the dangers of it and you will find the following: Something to consider as the source of your seizure (see below):

"Aspartame

Crystal Light contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame has been the subject of controversy as it is thought to be linked to brain tumors, birth defects and seizures. In 1985, Dr. Richard Wurtman studied the effects of aspartame, and in all three cases the patients developed seizures within several days of consuming beverages containing aspartame.


Sucralose
In some Crystal Light variations, sucralose is used in place of aspartame. Sucralose has been shown to increase "glycosylated hemoglobin," which can cause inaccurate results for diabetic patients assessing their blood sugar.


Read more: Dangers of Crystal Light | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_6153191_dangers-crystal-light.html#ixzz2L2Ll6uUC"
 

David

Co-Founder
Location
Naples, Florida
Hi Don and welcome to the community :) You're absolutely right, those are some of the minerals that people with Crohn's really need to keep an eye on. Your ileostomy probably plays a role in your deficiencies as well, especially if they removed some of your terminal ileum. A few things:

1. I'm not aware of the CBC testing for those deficiencies. Could they be doing other tests as well?

2. You mention dehydration. A critical aspect of drinking water is making sure that it has the magnesium and calcium in it! MANY sources of water, especially those that go through a water softener and/or reverse osmosis system strip the magnesium and calcium out and you end up being MORE deficient in those minerals.

3. With that ileostomy, have you had your vitamin B12 level tested lately? If so, what was the level?

All my best to you :)
 
Top