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Is it Crohn's and will I have to take meds??

So my story begins back in the beginning of December. I am 39 years old and have never experienced vomiting/diarrhea, weight loss, nausea or any other typical symptom of Crohn's. I ended up having some abd pain for about a week and went to the doctor. At this point, I thought it was stress related because it was a very stressful time in my life. To make a long story short, a CT scan showed an infection and inflammation near the ileum. I had to be admitted for a couple days for IV antibiotics. I continued to have no symptoms and I had a colonoscopy 6 weeks after admission. The GI doc said that he couldn't scope as far as he liked because of inflammation but biopsy came back that it was likely due to a "resolving infectious colitis". I was assured multiple times it was not Crohn's. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and I had some mild abd discomfort, not even really pain. I got paranoid and went to the GI doc who had me get blood and stool samples done. CRP and calprotectin levels came back extremely high and now I am getting a capsule endoscopy. They highly suspect it is IBD. I am very resistant to taking medications. I don't even take Tylenol or any other meds if I'm sick. If it is IBD, will they always put you on steroids and immunosuppressants? Or, can it controlled by an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle changes to begin with? Thank you in advance for any advice 😀


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  1. Hi Lola79! Thank you so much for reaching out here. We are so sorry that you're experiencing the symptoms of IBD. We have many members who try to control it with diet/lifestyle changes - I'll post some information for you; https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/treatment/complementary-and-alternative-therapies/.
    https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living-with-cd/diet-and-nutrition/.

    Now, there is no proven cure, but some of our community has expressed that eating certain foods have kept their symptoms at bay - which is a win!

    Here is some information on the FODMAP elimination diet that you may find helpful, too! https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/nutrition/crohns-and-the-fodmap-elimination-diet/.

    We hope that you find our information helpful.

    Please keep us updated!

    Meagan, InflammatoryBowelDisease.net Team Member

    1. Hi ,

      I am sorry you are going through this, and I hope your tests come back negative.

      In the response that it doesn't, just as Meagan has shared, there are so many who have IBD that are able to control it naturally with diet change and other alternative methods. However, just to play devil's advocate, there are also many that are not able to do so and need conventional medicine.

      As for me, after years of just relying on conventional medicine, I reached out to a Naturopathic Medical Doctor. That was a game changer for my IBD journey.

      I was educated on my gut and was given many supplements and was put on strict diet. This included zero grains of any kind, dairy, and processed sugar. My body responded very quickly and I bounced back.

      However, the biggest lesson I learned with doing this naturally, is you have to change your lifestyle indefinitely. Really get that in your psyche. You have to do a 180 and never look back.

      It's when I felt better and tried to revert back to old eating habits that I fell into my worst flare and in turn, needed conventional medicine such as IV steroids, biologics and opiods to stabilize me.

      I hope this helps some. Please don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions.

      Always dancing,
      Elizabeth (team member)

      1. I have been diagnosed with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis and unfortunately they have put me on several medications it has helped somewhat but I still have flareups

        1. Hi, thank you for sharing your advice. Unfortunately, I did get diagnosed with Crohn's last week and 2 days later ended up I the hospital because of infection and partial blockage (unsure if it was due to camera pill being stuck or what I ate) I am now on steroids for almost month and a half and the doctor wants to start Humira as soon as possible. This was my worst nightmare (taking a bunch of meds) and my stress is becoming unmanageable.

          1. I'm so sorry to hear this, . A diagnosis can be devastating, but please know there are many people here who understand and we're all here for you while you go through this. PLEASE reach out anytime! Sending hugs and strength - Pam (team member)

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