New diagnosis

[Dalton]

Hi all,

I have been suffering from gut pain and diarrhea/constipation for about five years. I finally had a colonoscopy two weeks ago and was diagnosed with mild crohn's disease of the cecum. I have been put on entocort for 9 weeks. I have not yet had a follow up with the GI doc to talk about long term treatment and I have some questions.

Is "mild" a stage of Cron's or a form of Crohns? Will it certainly get worse?
Can I avoid future flare ups with diet alone?
Is there a chance of misdiagnosis with a colonoscopy?

I have a very active job working with teenagers and I work at a camp for at least a month every year. Does anyone have any diet suggestions to make camp easier?

 

[Matrix]

Hey, welcome

You have very good questions !

Is "mild" a stage of Crohns or a form of Crohns?
It is the current state of your disease

Will it certainly get worse?
certainly ? no. It can get worse, but it can stay in "mild" state.
However, even if it stay in mild stage, chances are good that the disease will damage your bowel over time, which can lead to stricture, perforation, fistula, and other typical Crohn's issues....

Can I avoid future flare ups with diet alone?
Sometime yes but most of time no. For some people, the diet can reduce the recurrence of the disease, a few can completely stop the disease (for example : people with Crohn's linked to a gluten sensibility). However there is no warranty, each person is different, and the disease evolves differently for everyone.

Is there a chance of misdiagnosis with a colonoscopy?
misdiagnosis with a colo would be would be very surprising, did you get a biopsy with the colo ? if so, forget about a misdiagnosis.

 

[Mina_]

Hi and welcome!

I think Matrix answered your questions very well but I wanted to add my input regarding diet.

While diet can certainly help it is not a guarantee for keeping the disease under control or avoiding flare ups. It seems like you've been suffering for a long time so you may have already identified certain foods which make your symptoms worse and everyone is different with what they can or can't tolerate (lettuce for example makes me really bad but I know other people who have no issues with it), but in general greasy, high fat foods and anything too spicy should be avoided!

I too have a pretty active job working with students and there are periods in the year where I'm always on the go and also have to work evenings and weekends which makes it hard to stick to a specific diet and not skip meals. My advice however would be to make sure you eat regularly and healthily. I've certainly noticed that it makes a difference, keeps my energy levels up and my symptoms under control.

I'm currently on a low-fibre, low-residue diet to reduce my bowel movements so a lot of plain rice, plain pasta, white bread and chicken! It can be monotonous but it definitely helps when I'm having bad days.

Good luck to you!