Sending you empathy Tim..
Was wondering whether you have had your Vitamin D checked lately? Research has shown that this vitamin is commonly low in Crohn's. It can certainly cause or aggravate depressive symptoms (well-known in nordic winters as SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder.)
In addition to assisting to regulate calcium, Vitamin D has more recently been found to have critical immune system function/regulation. For example it can turn down inflammatory cytokines, eg IL17, and assists with gut infection resistance.
Check Vit D levels first together with calcium levels/kidney function before supplementing (see your doc). Do not supplement if there is a high calcium (the latter is always abnormal and must be investigated and the cause found and treated by doc/specialist).
If you are also on medium to higher doses of Vitamin D supplementing simultaneously with Vitamin K2 is important imo. (K2 helps get calcium out of the blood and into the bones, thus is good for osteoporosis too.) Periodic blood checks of Vit D/biochem are needed to check your vit D levels are optimal.
Some recent research has found that magnesium is also commonly low in Crohn's. This is not good since so many enzymes (>300) need Magnesium as a co-factor to work. Vitamin D too needs magnesium. Magnesium is also well known to assist anti-inflammatory processes.
We need of course the *full orchestra* of vitamins, minerals, nutrients. Yet in various diseases certain nutrients/vitamins may be needed in greater or lesser amounts, depending on the condition.
(Btw, blood magnesium levels are not reliable in assessing magnesium sufficiency.)
Always check with your doctor/s first, especially if on prescribed meds, other treatment, or have had surgery, kidney problems etc.
Hope this helps, and hope you feel better real soon!
