How rare is Crohn's Disease?

Question

A year and a half ago i was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.
Nobody seems to know what it is.
Could anyone tell me just how rare this disease really is?

Answer 1

Crohn's Disease is a illness that begin in the German-Jewish/European areas and has migrated to the USA to where this illness is prevalent in all races.

The disease is known as a "skip-disease", it skips a generation. But as of late, they are now saying that instead of it being a "genetic" disease, it can be triggered on by the environment.

There is no cure for this, but there is many medications to treat this from Pentasa, 6-MP, Sulfasalizine to Remicade (to name a few). This illness can be disabling and you have to fight tooth and nail to get possible benefits under the SSI administration.

Please beware that, if a employer finds out that you have this illness, they will find a way to "let you go" due to the fact that you are a "liability" to their Health Insurance. In some states, this is discrimination. This happened to me in the State of Georgia, and Georgia is a hire at will, fire at will state. T

Answer 2

Crohn's Disease isn't that rare. My sister had it and became rather sick, but had surgery and is perfectly fine now. It is similar to ulcerative colitis, but a little more serious as it effects both the large and small intestines. I would start with www.ccfa.org. It is a website that has lots of information.

The key is getting all the knowledge you can. During flare-ups, a low-fiber, low-residue diet will help. Finding a good doctor who will find the right medications for you is also important.

It is a nasty disease, but can be controlled if you find the right meds.

Answer 3

I would say that it is more common these days than it used to be, I actually know 2 people that have Crohn's and they are living a healthy active life, and I wouldn't have know if they hadn't told me. Eating right helps alot with this desease.

Answer 4

About 500,000 people in the U.S. currently have Crohn's. There is no cure, but it can be managed quite well. It tends to run in families so you might want to keep a close eye on your relatives to see if anyone else develops symptoms. I am surprised you run into people who have never heard of it. I work in medical research and it is a condition that many people are trying to cure. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

You could. I was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago after being misdiagnosed sooooo many time...IBS, coeliac, etc...etc... They can take a while to diagnose CD as they must rule out a whole lot of other diseases and complications first. I had colonoscopies,endoscopies and they found mine with a barium xray (small bowel series), as the other tests could not reach the part of my bowel affected. Get your Dr to test you using this method and that should tell you something at least and you could start treatment.