The Coburn Blog

While doing research for school, I happened to stumble upon this little medpage article, regarding a link between the Rubella Virus and Inflammation (crohns disease family of illnesses)

More evidence links Rubella to Eye Inflammation

what I find most interesting about this article, Eye inflammation is the leading cause of Glaucoma, which is whats taking my sight now. Also, Crohns Disease is an inflammatory digestive tract disorder, so it only seems natural to assume the Rubella virus could cause more then just eye inflammation, why not digestive inflammation too, that only seems logical to assume a virus could spread to more then just a single area of the human body. Isn’t that what a virus does, spreads?

Also, Crohns disease typically hits adults in their early 20’s, which explains why it wasn’t diagnosed until then. I remember as far back as grade school, when family used to make fun of me for getting sick on family vacations, or having to goto the hospital for “gas”. My family was odiously joking, and mean well and I love them for that, but all these things are early symptoms of something I was born with for the most part, from my own findings. This would explain why I’m the only one, so far, with Crohns in the family. I mean, there are others, but those two didn’t get it until their 50’s and 60’s, which in those cases would probably be more environmental related.

Also another thing I find thats interesting, is according to Elaine’s website Breaking the vicious cycle Crohns can be caused by many different factors, not all are family related. Now, although she admits there is no cure for crohns, she does say, everyone has an overgrowth of bacteria in their body. Its just, by reducing the overgrowth, you reduce the symptoms most commonly associated with Crohn’s Disease. She doesn’t claim it to be a cure, no more then regular medical care and medication, but what she does say, is by eliminating the overgrowth, we reduce the inflammation, thus reducing the need for certain medications over time. This is basically all Elaine is saying for the most part. I think the diet gets a bad reputation in the media alot of times, for that very reason. She’s not saying its a cure, or a replacement for medical care and medication, she’s just saying the symptoms associated with Crohns get better, thus increasing the likelihood of going into remission, for longer periods of time. I would think, any medical doctor treating Crohns patients for a living, would be in favor of a treatment option like that, because its in their best intrest to see their patients conditions improve over time, using any means necessary, rather it be medication, or diet, or a combination.

However, even Elaine said, most patients while on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, may wish to go off their medications. In these cases, she explicitly states, to tell your doctor if you choose to do this. Most people on SCD continue to take their medications, and continue to receive medical care. There are even several SCD friendly doctors around the state, which my friend Gay keeps a list of for anyone who is interested. There is one located in Indianapolis, for example, but I choose my doctors in Warsaw, Elkhart, and South Bend, because they’ve always taken the time to listen to me, and have always kept an open mind. My family doctor, for instance, said that I was doing good with my diet, and I know he would be the first one to tell me if I was doing something wrong. He’s always been a great friend to me, and I think thats whats important more then anything. its very important to keep that line of communication going with your doctors.

Those of us with Crohns, know that even while in remission, we still have Crohns Disease. This is because the symptoms can come and go. A proper Diet does not change this behavior, but what it does do, is decrease the dependence of medical drugs, but it has never claimed to be a replacement for medical care.

I’ve been on the diet for 4 years, and I still get flaires, depression, Fistulas, all these types of things that are commonly associated with Crohns Disease. So why be on the diet at all? because it reduces the need for me to be chained to a restroom the rest of my life. I may still have symptoms, but thanks to this diet, I no longer have to worry about being near a restroom when I leave my home. This is because I no longer have constipation or diarrhea symptoms, which leaves most with this illness chained to a restroom. I also gained from 129 and falling, to 178 and rising, which is a Good thing. It means, my body is able to absorb nutrients in the foods I eat, thus weight gain occurs.

Another important point to remember, the inflammation I have may not have improved, but it hasn’t gotten worse either, which is also a good thing. There is no cure for Crohns, so I’ll probably end up having this the rest of my life, meaning the inflammation will always be there. In my case, the Rubella Virus probably caused this, according to my own research, which means there isn’t anything I can do about it.

What I can do, however, is keep my symptoms down by watching what I eat, so the problem doesn’t get any worse. Also, it may be that someday these Fistulas will disappear, its not unheard of. If they do, it won’t be because of the diet, it will be because my body went into a brief remission period. That much I am sure of.

I just think its interesting, how all these different conditions I have, do seem related to each other. I just think its fascinating, because out of all the doctors I have; family physician, eye, GI, rectal surgeon, etc, not one of them have expressed the concern to research why all these different things are occurring all of a sudden. You know, like the television show “house” where his team of doctors sit around bouncing ideas back and forth to eachother. Sometimes I don’t think doctors in real life do that at all, that alot don’t even communicate with each other half the time. I’m learning in my SLA Academy class, that its important to work together as a team to discover a proposal of a solution to the project at hand. I figured, there’s got to be a relationship somewhere, and I think it all boils down to the Rubella, I really do, not only from this article about eye inflammation and Rubella, but also other articles I’ve read about Congenital Rubella Syndrome, and late manifestations, which are conditions that commonly occur later on in a persons life. I mean, it all fits, so thats gotta be what it is, even if I am alone in my thinking on this.