Thursday 27 October 2011

New imaging technique for Crohn's diagnosis?

Dr. Jonathan Rubin scans a patient. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Michigan Health System)
"Ultrasound elasticity imaging, or UEI, could allow doctors to noninvasively make the distinction between inflammation and fibrosis, thus avoiding unnecessary surgery. The study was published in the September edition of Gastroenterology."

Here's the link to the news article:


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111014142615.htm

New Crohn's wonder drug - 40% success rate?

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Got Crohn's? - get magnesium



Magnesium deficiency doubles the likelihood of  systemic inflammatory disease (of which Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis are examples). Severe magnesium deficiencies are more likely in people who have Crohn's disease or other conditions that affect digestion as magnesium is absorbed in the GI tract, (more so in the small intestine than the large). Where inflammation of the gut is inhibiting absorbtion, it may be advisable to increase the intake of magnesium either in naturally occurring sources or supplements. I know that many of the natural sources may be on the absolute "no no" list for many Crohnies and Collies, but do check before diving for the bottles and always take medical advice.

Here are a couple of articles that provide more information on the importance of magnesium, sources and absorption.


Cramps with Crohn's medication

Do you get cramps when taking corticosteroid medication for Crohn's, e.g. Prednisolone?
Leg cramps are a known side effect of corticosteroids. Here are two articles that may be of help:
The first article is general and covers the main causes of leg cramps, including medication, and suggests remedies to relieve cramps. Please observe the warnings. http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Cramps-in-the-Leg.htm
This second article relates to research findings from the use of Prednisolone, a corticosteroid:

Muscle cramps during Prednisolone treatment  

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Crohn's genes point to internalised stress mechanism?

OK! I might as well come out with it - remember you heard it here first!
I always look for common links between conditions and I wonder whether the presence of more than one autoimmune condition has more to do with a predisposition to autoimmune conditions.
In any event, my experience of helping people with Crohn's, and U.C. has convinced me that the genetic markers for these diseases point to two predispositions:-
1)  A sensitivity to certain types of stress and
2) A predisposition to internalise stress in their body in a way that knocks the immune system out of alignment.
I am so convinced by this that I have designed a special program to teach people how to reverse this process and so far this has proved highly successful. Everyone "does" stress differently and in learning how to deal with stress it's essential that they learn just how they are translating life's encounters into damage to their body.
The BUDI (TM) program teaches people specific ways of recognising how they are internalising stress and shows them how to deal effectively with events, situations and people in their lives rather than repeat historic patterns that can literally eat them up inside. In this way they not only reduce their sensitivity to stress but also prevent much of their former stress arising. This of course enriches their experience of life through enhancing their outcomes in all respects as well as through reducing their symptoms. As you can imagine, this makes me very happy!
If you have an autoimmune condition and you want to learn more about the principles behind the BUDI program then you may be interested in the upcoming webinar I am releasing shortly. You are welcome to private message me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/crohns.helper or email me at crohnswebinar@workingwithjoy.com with your email, giving me a brief summary of the reason for your interest in the webinar and to be notified when it is announced.
Places will be very limited and so please only apply if you have an autoimmune condition. - Joy


Sapho Syndrome associated with Ulcerative Colitis

Sapho syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder associated with Ulcerative Colitis and to a lesser extent, Crohn's Disease. Here are two resource links:
The first is an article written by a sufferer http://www.ihaveuc.com/ulcerative-colitis-and-sapho-syndrome/ with a couple of contributions and comments from other sufferers. 
Here is another link to a more formal article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1297319X10000126 
Further, see this astonshing research paper of a women who developed Sapho syndrome after being treated with Remicade - which is usually used to treat Sapho syndrome: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/SaphoSyndrome
Hope these help! - Joy

Eye problems associated with Crohn's and Colitis

It is generally accepted that certain eye problems can be a complication of IBD including episcleritis (inflammation and redness of the white of the eye) and iritis (inflammation of the iris). Iritis needs to be treated by an opthalmologist. Episcleritis occurs in 3-4% of IBD patients and iritis occurs in 0.5-3% of IBD patients (mainly males with Ulcerative Colitis). Please seek medical advice if you are at all concerned. None of my information is intended to constitute or replace medical advice. http://www.eyecasualty.co.uk/maincontent1/episcleritis.html

Sunday 23 October 2011

The BUDI Revolution: Crohn's, Mind and Body conspiracy

It seems that interest in the Mind-Body arena is far stronger than I thought, so I'm posting this as food for thought....

Friday 21 October 2011

Why does stress make my Crohn's worse?

I found a good, readable summary of how stress, depression, genetics and the immune system are linked. Click the link below to read
This article is surprisingly consistent with the principles behind the BUDI (TM) system.
Esther Sternberg is an MD who has researched the operation of the immune system following the onset of arthritis after a period of extreme and prolonged stress.
 http://being.publicradio.org/programs/stress/mindbodyessay.shtml

Sunday 16 October 2011

Why do I get spasms and nausea in the cold?

This is the Q&A from a Crohnie friend on Facebook recently that I think many of you will identify with:
Q: I would just like to know why the cold weather affects me so much.Once I get cold I immediately feel sick and then the spasms starts as well. Have asked my doctor but he was just so vague,didn't give me much info.
A: I haven't found any research on this and so all I can say is that I have found that, like you, a number of Crohnies experience diarrhoea and sometimes nausea on exposure to the cold. Here are my untested hypotheses of what might be happening:
It is well established that stress aggravates Crohn's symptoms and that includes many kinds of stressors. Two stressors that might potentially be involved here are; first, the endocrine response to the cold, acting in a similar way to the "flight or fight" response, creating the spasms and possibly also the nausea. Second is the effect of the shivering response. This latter response could result in spasms either as a direct result of the  stimulus to shiver or as a secondary response whereby the shivering is interpreted as stress and the spasm responds to that stress. 
The body protects the internal organs from cold in priority to all the limbs and it could well be that evacuation is a defence mechanism, as in, "Why are we wasting all this heat on waste products or partially digested food when we should be maintaining our body heat?". This would operate similarly to the evacuation when fear strikes, as in, - "Why are we processing and carrying around this baggage that will slow us down when we want to run away? initially, this strategy to conserve heat would actually lose heat but would save heat in the longer term.  
I haven't studied this in detail as, with the Crohnies who reported this to me as a problem I helped them implement a successful strategy to protect them from these symptoms in the cold without needing further information about the cause. Perhaps I will study it in more detail if the same strategy meets with less success in the future. I hope this helps. - Joy

Thursday 6 October 2011

Acid Reflux, (GERD, Indigestion, Heartburn) and Crohn's

Sorry, Guys for not posting for a while - I've been really busy preparing for the new webinar and the new BUDI program, not to mention the 4 weeks of courses in California!
To make amends, I thought I'd post this reply I sent to a message I received today that I think you'd be interested in. Since this is a subject I get asked about all the time I thought it would be helpful to you if I shared it....
Q: I think that my system may be too acidic, wonder if that is a reason to have Crohns?
A: Do you mean you have GERD?

.....In my experience, the majority of Crohnies tend to have GERD / reflux / heartburn / indigestion. IN MY OPINION, based on my observations, GERD and the inflammation elsewhere in the GI system which are typical of Crohn's are both a likely result of the same mechanism, rather than one  causing the other. In the case study that I'll be using in the webinar that I'm releasing shortly, you'll see how I've taught one of my Crohnie students how to TURN HER HEARTBURN OFF :-) This is an example of how I TEACH people to USE THEIR SYMPTOMS to REDUCE THEIR SYMPTOMS
If you'd like to be notified of my webinar being announced you are welcome to send me your email address if you haven't already done so.
Here is a link to a very good resource on GERD. You'll read how it's a misnomer to talk about an excess of acid. It's more a case of having acid in the wrong place and can actually result from too little acid being produced to digest food properly:
http://www.medicinenet.com/gastroesophageal_reflux_disease_gerd/page2.htm