More about Elijah's Crohn's Disease

We learned a few things about Crohn's Disease yesterday. First of all, the doctor said that Crohn's in kids is handled totally differently than Crohn's in adults. Development and growth are so important to watch and maintain that they have to use different types of drugs and things to keep him growing. It sounds like he will be on the Iron and multivitamin supplement for a long time.

There are also 3 types of Crohn's (all which are handled differently). Elijah's is the type that hardens and inflames the intestine's lining. The main concern is the small intestines. If it gets into or is in (we weren't able to check the small intestines yet) or if it begins to harden the valve between the large and small intestines, surgery will probably be necessary. Removal of part of the intestines might be necessary. That is the part that scares me the most.

Here is the quote for all who have asked, "IBD is not caused by eating any particular food. However, diet certainly can impact your symptoms." The doctor's instructions are: no raw vegetables, no sodas, no nuts, no popcorn, limit caffeine and sugar. Other than that we need to encourage as much water as possible and cooked vegetables and lots of fruit. Everyone is different so most of it we need to figure out. No matter what, food will not make the disease worse or spread, but it will make the symptoms worse will prevent the inflammation from reducing in a timely matter.

Here is the answer to the other question I have been asked, "We know that Crohn's disease tends to run in families. Although studies have shown that perhaps 15% to 20% of affected individuals may have a close relative with the disease, there does not seem to be any clear-cut pattern to family inheritance."

So the plan is...we are going to start Elijah on a Crohn's medicine called 6-MP. We will slowly start him on it and start taking him off the prednisone. This process will take him around 3 months. This will also mean blood draws every other week for a while. The GI doctor wants to closely monitor how the medicine is affecting his body and what side affects he can detect in other parts of his body. If we choose not to start him on the medicine, he will become more anemic and mal-nutritioned. He will not grow or develop properly and his pain and inflammation will continue to increase until his intestines have all hardened and they will need to remove some of them. I say that to say that, despite the possibility of side effects (which you can pray we don't encounter) we have to put him on something and this is the best one for an 8 year old to start on.
Also, we are to expect him to be lethargic and weak for another month at least. But the doctor said getting him over tired will not affect the disease, just his energy level. So we sent him to school today, with the hope he will make it all day.

Elijah is feeling so much better than he did a week ago. The antibiotics have kicked out the fever and some of the pain that was overwhelming him. They want him to stay on the antibiotic for a month because of the location of the infection and the ease of its return if we stop it too soon.

The prayers of our friends and family have been a blessing to us, because we are not feeling stressed or overwhelmed by this at all and Elijah is handling it as well. He is so confident and glad to be on his way to recovery. The fact that this disease centers around "bathroom" issues hasn't embarrassed him in the least. Keep praying for this to remain the case and that he rests in God's care over him. Elijah's biggest stress is that he will have to have blood drawn every other week for awhile. He does not like this plan at all.