Crohns Wife

[coastalcarrot]

Hi Everyone,
Although i do not have Crohns my Husband of 4 years does. He was diagnosed with Crohns/Colitis in 2004. He has Crohns but all his symptoms are more Colitis in Nature.
He has been on Remicade infusions since 2006. He started off with treatments every 8 weeks but has now moved to 7 weeks and will probably have to move to 6 weeks.
Within the last year he has had severe flare ups in the last 2/3 weeks leading up to treatment and has lost up to 10/15 lbs in weight each time.He spends so much time in the bathroom and he is not the same person in those last 2/3 weeks. He does gain some of the weight, however this time last year he weighed roughly 165 lbs and now he only weight 155lbs when in good health, he has gone down to 145lbs after a flare up.
He wants to have his colon removed but i am unsure. We have a 18 month old boy and we are due our 2nd baby in April...
He found out he has anemia so he is starting on Iron tablets but i wonder what other vitamins and minerals he should be taking..

I guess i am on this forum to see how other people cope with this disease and get some support and advice. My Husband is the type of person who does not really want to discuss his illness and suffers through alot of things....

 

[mikeyarmo]

Welcome coastalcarrot,

I think it is great that you are trying to look out for your husband by coming here.

I am sorry to hear he (and by extension your family) is suffering in between treatments so much. Perhaps reducing the time in between will be able to fend off the symptoms though as it sounds like the treatment is working for quite a few weeks at a time.

There is a lot of information on here, so make sure you do take some time to read through some of the past posts and threads. A good place to start reading more about potential supplements your husband can take would be our Diet, Fitness and Supplements forum.

Best of luck with your research into improving your husband's condition and let how we can be of help in terms of information or support!

 

[Angrybird]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Thank you coming to find out more about this disease As already mentioned hopefully having less time between infusions will get things back on track. If not there may be some other meds to try. Is he currently on anything with the Remi? I can understand the temptation of just getting it all cut out and be done with it. However surgery should always be considered as a last resort in my opinion and it is NOT a gaurantee that all problems will then go away - it must not be thought of as a cure. I had a narrowing cut out a few months ago and whilst it sorted that particular problem I was then having one of the worst flares I have ever experienced within 3 months. With regards to vitamins I would say his B12 definetly needs to be checked (it is common for us crohnies to be deficient in this) - this helps the body absorb iron so if deficient this would perhaps explain the anaemia? Also his vit D and folate should be checked. I do hope things improve for hubby, please keep up updated on how things go. We are all here for you :hug:

 

[David]

Greetings and welcome

You said he has Crohn's but the symptoms are colitis in nature. Can you elaborate on that? I ask because the location of his actual inflammation and scarring (if he has any) makes a big difference in which vitamins and minerals he will likely need. For example, does he have active disease in his terminal ileum?

One vitamin he should definitely have checked regardless is vitamin D. People with Crohn's Disease are commonly deficient and proper supplementation can make a world of difference.

I'm glad you joined, I hope the forum is of great benefit to you and your husband.

 

[coastalcarrot]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. My husband has Crohns in his ascending and descending colon. He has scarring in those areas which was confirmed by colonoscopy last March.
He was initially diagnosed with colitis as all his symptoms seem to state that (sudden urges etc) but when they did a colonoscopy and took some biopsies, they were granulomas in nature which indicates Crohns, so they diagnosed Crohn-Colitis.
He had his folate and B12 checked and everything is normal but has not had a Vit D check completed. He has started taking an Iron tablet so we are hoping his energy will increase.

He is reluctant to reduce the time between infusions as he is worried about the increase in potential cancer risk. He is on Apriso (mesalamine) as well as the remicade.

We hope to look at his diet and supplements in order to control flare ups at the end of his treatment and the beginning of his next..

Have any of you heard much about Chiropractors and Crohns?

Im loving the Forum, have learned alot already..

xx