What is it about Crohn's and IBD that makes people think they know better?

[MumofCrohnie]

I have had it with conspiracists telling me that their yoga teacher cured Crohn's by clean eating or their uncle's friend's wife cured their Crohn's by ignoring the doctors and changing her diet.

Frankly I am going to believe the professionals who have chosen to specialize in this area of work, the research papers and the results of medical tests that show my daughter's condition over your bollocks "advice", especially when your Facebook feed is full of COVID denial and anti vax stuff.

Where do these people come from and why do they think their opinion is valuable?

AIBU?

I don’t think there is a “one size fits all” response for this argument.

I am a medical professional and work in a medical setting and we have doctors who have a quota to meet. They have to hit targets of how many certain types of drugs they prescribe and they earn a commission based off their target. so they are incentivised to prescribe things that may not be necessary or the best option (different situation but as an example, think of how quick they are to prescribe drugs for people with mild depression rather then referring to a therapist who could solve the problem). There is no money in curing people. It is a business after all.

however - in a lot of cases the meds prescribed would be for the right reasons and beneficial to the patient. That being said diet/lifestyle choices also have a huge impact on the body.

for some people with some conditions a simple diet change could drastically improve their life and for others this won’t work. It entirely depends on the person, their genetics and their lifestyle vs treatment. I don’t think it’s fair to label these people as less intelligent as there is a lot of truth in what they are saying however I agree that people do always think they know best.

Your point is completely off target.

You "cured" a condition that is triggered by foods/diet.

And now you think everyone can do it to cure IBD, something that is NOT triggered by foods/diet.

Perhaps it can cure cancer, grow missing limbs too 🤔

@OnHisSweaterAlreadyMomsSpaghetti are you talking about QOF targets for GPs? And NICE guidelines?

If you're a medical professional, does that mean chiropodist or paramedic? Or a consultant surgeon?

Are you familiar with IBD and why diet isn't a cure? And why diet management and cures are not the same thing?

@TorturedPoetsDepartmentAnthology I definitely think that the conditions exist and I do agree that people’s opinions on here are not a substitute for medical knowledge. I have no time for conspiracy theory, at all. I’m sorry about your mum.

I do think that lifestyle might be a contributor to getting these ailments, just as my own lifestyle the last couple of years have contributed to me going above my BMI. Tim Spector/the Zoe people have interesting comments about these diseases and modern processed food. It might be worth a look for you. I imagine that once you have it, you should still take care of your diet as best you can, but in no way am I suggesting you should contravene medical advice. I hope that clarifies my point.

"I do think lifestyle might be a contributor to getting these ailments, just as my own lifestyle the last couple.of years have contributed to me going above my BMI"

Just in the last month some major research findings have been published which have shown IBD is caused by genetic susceptibility. They've discovered a section of genetic code controlling the inflammatory chemicals released by macrophages. In 95 per cent of IBD sufferers there are weaknesses in this section of DNA (I'm not a scientist, so may have not got the details quite right... but if you're interested there are plenty of news articles out there explaining it better than me!)

While modern processed food is not great, and something must trigger genetic susceptibility turning into the development of IBD, there's clearly far more to it than just lifestyle. Something dietary triggering the development of IBD doesn't automatically mean poor lifestyle choices.

I dont think so. I think its just a coincidence that a few people she knows have unfortunately got it where as before no one she knew did

Cancer will affect 50% of people in their lifetimes. The Covid jab is a red herring - might as well link it to childhood vaccinations or having had chickenpox.

So I'm intrigued
For those who seem to think that lifestyle causes these illnesses
What could my child have done differently
non smoker
no alcohol
diet mostly consisting of home cooke from scratch meals
regular exercise
breast fed til she was 2
And how come her three siblings who lived almost identicallly don't have IBD
I'm very curious and await being enlightened

YANBU.

I have IBD (UC). People are dicks.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 15, had never smoked, was not obese (the opposite actually, due to the Crohn’s!) and had a healthy diet. None of my three siblings have Crohn’s. What lifestyle choice can possibly have contributed to my diagnosis?

This is the stat I gave her. She didn't say anything after that

It’s thought that misguided immune responses to viral or bacterial infections can be a trigger for IBD. I know my dad‘s UC developed not long after he had a serious campylobacter infection which put him in hospital for two weeks.

Whoever it was that compared their BMI going up to developing IBD, I have no words.

Whoever it was that compared their BMI going up to developing IBD, I have no words.

I know. I wanted to say something, but honestly didn't know where to start.

Except I'm not 'talking shite'. I'm talking from my own personal lived experience. The fact you don't believe something is possible, is frankly neither here nor there.

I've not once said I 'cured' anything. Just that I found a lifestyle that worked for me. Which I did. Who the hell are you to say I didn't!?

See, this is where things get twisted on here. I do wonder sometimes if people can actually read!

The poster wasn't remotely 'comparing their BMI going up to developing IBD'. What that person said was:

'I do think lifestyle might be a contributor to getting these ailments [so, merely generally speaking, not specifically citing IBD at all] just as my own lifestyle the last couple of years have contributed to me going above my BMI" [Which it would].

People who are so quick to jump on others just for having an opinion are, in my view, worse than the people they criticise for giving advice.

@Jumpingthruhoops please just stop.

You don't suffer from an IBD. Your lived experience is based on something completely different.

People are allowed opinions, and others are allowed to challenge those opinions when they are based on misinformation or lack of knowledge.

Someone who doesn't have IBD tells people with IBD that something that worked for a completely unrelated health issue that isn't an auto immune condition will work for an auto immune condition
and doesn't get the irony
wheres the nearest available brick wall

It isn't to do with the specific condition. I have a long term condition and get suggestions of 'cures' all the time. I have given up telling people that after 25 years, I know what helps and what doesn't, and sadly no cure!

I think @Jumpingthruhoops that you are the one with the woefully poor reading comprehension. That poster said (quoting here without your extraneous and inaccurate parentheses):

I do think that lifestyle might be a contributor to getting these ailments, just as my own lifestyle the last couple of years have contributed to me going above my BMI.

What else do you think was meant by 'these ailments' when this is a thread about IBD and, by extension, other genetically driven diseases? Diseases which are not caused OR cured by diet. The words 'just as' draw a direct comparison between the onset of these diseases in people and the poster's weight gain ... love.

I don’t think people need to listen to someone who equates diet for IBS and diet for IBD.

OK. You've clearly been triggered. Hope life gets better for you soon.

Bye

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7Bcg0BqZA1/?igsh=MXRkdGltYm5uYjZrbQ==

maybe this gets the message across better
from the UK charity that speaks for many of us