Category Archives: Crohn’s Disease

Quicklinks

This week I have a collection of articles and resources from around the internet, on various topics of interest to IBDers.

Parasitic worm treatment for Crohn’s

This recent article on the use of parasitic worms in auto-immune disorders follows a series of news items released in 2004 on the effectiveness of pig whipworm for Crohn’s disease. The worms can be purchased direct from Ovamed (shipped to Europe, USA and Australia). Keah, who is a forum moderator on the HealingWell.com Crohn’s community, has a brief online journal on her experience using the pig whipworms (Trichuris Suis Ova or TSO).

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Learning sickness and sharing stories

Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn’s Disease by James M. Lang is a must read for those with IBD, particularly those who have not yet made contact, and exchanged stories, with other IBDers.

From diagnosis to understanding

As such, some might say it is a book for the ‘newly diagnosed’ but what does newly diagnosed mean exactly? Within one year of diagnosis? Two years? In practice, the transition from first symptoms to diagnosis to understanding and beyond can be a very different experience for each person.

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Crohn’s disease – overview and latest treatments

The Wellbeing program on 2NURFM at the University of Newcastle (Australia) has an extensive collection of interviews available for download, including an interview on 20th February 2007 with Dr Thomas Borody, Director of the Centre for Digestive Diseases (Sydney, Australia).

The interview gives a brief overview of current thinking on Crohn’s Disease, touching on the common questions asked by the newly diagnosed and their friends/family, including:

  • What causes Crohn’s disease?
  • Is Crohn’s disease the same as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
  • Is it contagious?
  • Can you pass it on to your children?
  • Is Crohn’s Disease related to diet?
  • How do you diagnose Crohn’s disease?
  • What prompts a flare or relapse? What happens to someone when they flare? Can you predict flares?
  • What sorts of medications have been used to treat Crohn’s Disease in the past and what new treatments are emerging?
  • What are the long term effects of steroidal treatment?

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