Enteral nutrition or steriods
Our 8yr old is newly diagnosed with Crohns and we are being asked to choose either enteral nutrition for 6-8weeks or high dose steriods. Has anyone had any experience with young children and these treatment options? We’d be interested to hear the pros and cons of both. Many thanks
Thank you for your question, @NaomiB. I am sure others in the community will share their experience and I hope that you and your child find the answers you need, as well as relief soon! You're a great mom!
--Julie (Team Member)
I'm so sorry you are going through this! My son was diagnosed with severe sudden onset Crohn's at twelve. He was hospitalized immediately after his colonoscopy and put on high-dose steroids--IV at first. This was a huge help for him and bought us time to figure out the way forward as he wasn't in such extreme pain and stopped losing weight. He did get the so-called "chipmunk cheeks" from the high dose of steroids, which was jarring at first, but they left with the titrating down of his dose. Our doctor at the time did not think enteral nutrition was sufficient for my son who got so sick so fast (and lost a ton of weight) so I can't speak to any experience with that. Hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts. I wish your son and family the best going forward. My son is doing great now, by the way, for which I am extremely grateful. Hang in there!
