Why does Crohn's Disease stunt growth?

[SadMommy]

I'm new to the forum, mom to a beautiful 9 year old boy whose only symptom was stunted growth. One very thorough doctor and a referral to a gastroenterologist later, my world has been turned upside down with a diagnosis of Crohn's Disease. The GI says that we've caught it very early and his prognosis is excellent. He's putting him on some sort of liquid diet which he feels will also help with the growth issue. I'm confused though, why would Crohn's Disease cause poor growth in a child?

 

[imaboveitall]

Hey and welcome, sorry you are here. :frown:
Do look at the "Parents" forum.
Growth delay is often an initial sign of subclinical Crohn's. Not uncommon at all.
Mal- and undernutrition is one reason. Cytokinergic effect is another.
Even if a kid is eating a lot, he may not be absorbing the nutrients.
If his GI has him on formula that is EXCELLENT.
My Violet and others on here are on it, and it DEFINITELY alleviates growth issues due to malnutrition/malabsorption. Violet's growth has been stellar and she was starving to death at dx.

I hope to "talk" to you over at Parents'. Many smart mothers and fathers on there with info galore.

HUGS :hug:

Julie

 

[rygon]

Normally because the areas affected find it hard to absorb the vitamins / nutrients needed to grow and keep healthy

 

[SadMommy]

Thank you both. This website is amazing!

But what is a "Cytokinergic effect"?

 

[imaboveitall]

Cytokines are released throughout the body as a byproduct of inflammation. The levels are high when inflammation is present and can be high enough to disrupt the hormonal sequence that must happen for growth to occur.
The formula both supplies absorbable (key word) nutrition AND "blunts " (V's docs word) the effects of cytokines on the body overall.

 

[SadMommy]

I had to read that a dozen times and don't think I fully understand (I was never good at science) but I really appreciate you.

 

[imaboveitall]

Think of it this way:
when inflammation is present, it causes the whole body to go out of whack. For a kid to grow, things cannot be out of whack. Growth is one of the first things the body puts on hold when illness is present.
The formula is the best move you could have made. I wouldn't be without it.

 

[DustyKat]

Julie is spot on hun.

IBD can and does have the ability to stunt a child's growth. It is often a combination of malabsorption and inflammation. The inflammation causes swelling of the tissues in the bowel, this then reduces the amount of vitamins and minerals that the body is able to absorb through the damaged tissue. If the inflammation is present for quite some time then scar tissue forms, scar tissue is hard and inflexible and again won't allow for the exchange of vitamins and minerals from the bowel into the blood stream.

The other effect that inflammation has is for the body to concentrate all its efforts into trying to heal the damaged piece of bowel. For many children this sustained effort means the body is unable to put it's energies elsewhere like growth and development.

I'm so sorry to hear about your boy...:hug:...I so hope that now he has his diagnosis he will find relief and will soon be sprouting! I am sure he will. Your doc sounds on the ball which is a joy to see.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

Dusty. xxx

 

[Johnnysmom]

Great information!!!

I was wondering, Johnny has the same growth issues and was loosing weight. Now that he is in remission he is gaining weight but growth hasn't really taken off yet. His growth hormones are off the chart and he is tanner 2 stage for puberty so he should be taking off. Does it take a while for the growth to kick in once the weight gain starts? Would he benefit from EN for extra nutrients? He has gone from 89 lbs to 121 lbs so I feel he must be absorbing nutrients but not sure what the problem is.