Does anyone else here just feel like they have an infection, and not an autoimmune problem? My symptoms are so across the map and I actually just "feel" like there's a bug in me that I've contracted and can't beat. I have a pretty intuitive connection with my body, and this just feels like what it's telling me. Anyone else experienced that same sort of sense?
The "Disease" in "Crohn's Disease"
- Thread starter Cbar1516
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Maybe.....I was on holiday with the family and one morning I woke up and I wasn't feeling good. It felt just like a flare so I carried on as usual.
Then I found out it was food poisoning: the whole family was sick!
So now when people ask me what IBD is like, I say it is like having food poisoning or having the stomach flu. Except it does not go away.
The symptoms we get are from the immune system trying to fight whatever it is, just like it would fight an infection, so no wonder that is how you feel. When you have an infection, it is usually the immune system you "feel", not the infectious agent itself.
Then I found out it was food poisoning: the whole family was sick!
So now when people ask me what IBD is like, I say it is like having food poisoning or having the stomach flu. Except it does not go away.
The symptoms we get are from the immune system trying to fight whatever it is, just like it would fight an infection, so no wonder that is how you feel. When you have an infection, it is usually the immune system you "feel", not the infectious agent itself.
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There is a term called "colonization resistance" when speaking of the purpose which our intestines are inhabited by good bacteria.There is a certain amount of good bacteria which crowds out pathogens when they are ingested, as we are always coming into contact with pathogens to some degree or another, even in a healthy intestine you will find some pathogenic bacteria but they are so low they don't do any harm. In IBD it has been said the we have lost resistance to colonization to some pathogens that we come in contact with and pathogens are much higher IBD intestines then healthy ones. So you are right in the sense that we have an infection that pretty much doesn't go away. There's alot more to it then this but this one concept of loss of colonization resistance is occuring inside of us. The loss of colonization resistance comes from a loss of diversity and overall levels of good bacteria. Fecal transplants can restore these lost bacteria and induce drug free remissions and some believe patients have been cured.
nogutsnoglory
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I definitely think it's an autoimmune problem and my whole body is going nuts because it's misinterpreting things. I don't believe we have a bug because I've been on a million antibiotics and don't get better. Only thing that helps are anti TNF drugs.
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I think there are multiple "types" of disease thrown under the "crohns " umbrella since it can present so many different ways and be treated so many ways.
For DS its definitiely auto immune
His immune system is a mess and over reacts on so many levels ( not just GI ) for so many different system - he also has arthritis
The only thing that helps him is tnf alpha blockers
But it's not a one size fits all disease .
For DS its definitiely auto immune
His immune system is a mess and over reacts on so many levels ( not just GI ) for so many different system - he also has arthritis
The only thing that helps him is tnf alpha blockers
But it's not a one size fits all disease .
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I always feel distinctly different from my usual illness symptoms when I have a cold (besides the runny nose, etc.) or a flu-like bug. There's a kind of hot-and-cold, shivery malaise that I get with bugs that I don't have with just Crohn's. I do, however, get it after general anaesthetic and post-surgical infections.
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There's actually no evidence that crohn's is an autoimmune disease, in fact it fails to meet the criteria that conditions need to be deemed an "auto-immune" disease, specifically there is no self antigen. Through lots of meta analysis crohns does in fact have more things suggesting it is some sort of chronic or intracellular bacterial infection. However as mentioned before, it is an umbrella term, with likely various causes. For instance there are many bugs that can cause Pneumonia, not just one.
Look into anti-map therapy if you are interested or believe your pathology has come from an infection.
Look into anti-map therapy if you are interested or believe your pathology has come from an infection.
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I feel this way EVERY day since I got diagnosed last month. It's hard enough for us to try to understand the disease and our bodies nether the less trying to explain it to our families/friends who don't have it. The sense of feeling alone and an unexplained bug that won't go away sensation- is real.
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I use to go through phases where I would think I really didn't have crohns, even after fistula surgery.. And would stop taking meds.. Then get really sick again. I've come to terms with my crohns colitis. And I guess it seems like I'm so use to pains.. It's just a part of every day life now, just hoping the days are on the better half. What sucks for me is others not understanding what we actually go through. I really get soooo fatigued sometimes and my hub doesn't seem to care or understand at all.
.. But I am happy for the good days. I must say I do feel alone a lot.. But it's so good to see there's so many new members to the crohnsforum since I joined in 2010. Wishing you well..
