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If you are taking medicines for your Crones disease, you will probably recognize a lot of the symptoms and side effects mentioned in this article. After a summary of the most problematic sides of mainstream medication, a possible solution is given to improve life quality and health in the long run on a solid basis. Medicines are used to control the symptoms of Crones Disease. Whilst many of them actually will improve the situation in the short run, they have sometimes severe side effects, especially when used over a longer period of time. Medicines which are used to control the symptoms are, amongst others, aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, antibiotics, immunomodulators (to calm the immune system), and biologic therapies for moderate or severe Crones disease. If we have a closer look at the side effects of these medicaments, we will discover some very unattractive pictures.. Don't forget that the longer we take a medicine, the more likely the side effects are to develop. In our case, we suffer from a chronic disease, and if we do not find another solution, we will be stuck taking medicines for the rest of our lives. Known side effects of the mentioned medicines are: Diarrhea Headache, dizziness Increased risk of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract Indigestion, nausea, gas Hair loss Rash Decrease in white blood cells High blood pressure Mood swings, psychosis, insomnia Weight gain, moon facies Acne, increased facial hair, stretch marks Increased risk of infection Osteoporosis Vomiting Cough Sinus infections Sore throat Some of the therapies have other drawbacks as well. Biologic therapies need frequent injections, and other medicines have a better effect when taken as an enema or a suppository. Not very pleasant if done frequently. I want to make a special note on corticosteroids. Some corticosteroids can also be given intravenously. Corticosteroids can have severe side effects, like an increased risk of infection, so even the mainstream doctors will hesitate to prescribe them for a longer period of time. If you want to stop taking corticosteroids, make sure you taper off them gradually. Stopping them suddenly can worsen side effects. Antibiotics are used to "control the level of bacteria in your intestines". Now this is something I do not really understand. What I learned at school, is that our intestines functioning is based on good bacteria, which help to digest the food and eliminate the indigestible part. If I take antibiotics, they will kill, or at least diminish, ALL bacteria in my gut. If I have a very low level of good bacteria, doesn't that mean that any bad bacteria can take over very easily? Do antibiotics solve a problem on the short run, but create a problem on the long run? Immunomodulators blunt the immune response. Researchers believe that Crones disease is caused by an overreactive immune system, and doctors use these medicines when other drugs to block swelling haven't worked. They are used for patients who have developed complications like fistulas. Immunomodulators may make corticosteroids more effective and allow you to take lower doses of them. Most immunomodulators are taken orally, but some are injected. They tend to be more expensive than standard Crones disease treatments such as aminosalicylates. Since these drugs suppress the immune system, they can put you at higher risk of developing infections or other illnesses. It is advisable to take regular blood tests to check the effects of these drugs on your bone marrow, liver and kidneys. The newest and most expensive treatment for Crones Disease is Biological therapy. It can be used to improve the symptoms, but will have to be taken on the long run to avoid backfalls. At the moment it is only used for patients which do not respond to other treatments, as the side effects can be severe. It suppresses the immune system and hence makes us prone to infections. There is even evidence that it increases the risk of conditions like blood infections, tuberculosis, and lymphoma. Often Crones Disease will cause diarrhea, and you will have to take medicines to compensate for the fluid loss and to stop the diarrhea. Some of the mentioned medicines can interact with common drugs like birth control pills, antacids, and even vitamins. If we recap all the information in this article, it is clear that an alternative approach to Crones Disease is dearly wanted. Improving the natural balance of bacteria in our gut would be helpful to start with, and a general improvement of our overall immune system is vital. If we find a additional treatment which helps us to reach these goals, we could start to use it as a way to help our body to regain it's natural strength, and eventually the new approach could take over the treatment using medicines.
Article Source: http://www.a1-optimization.com/articles
Crones Disease is bad enough, and you don't want even more pain and discomfort due to side effects of medicaments. Learn here how to take a different approach and instead of worsening your Crones Disease, treat the underlying cause.
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