[sageofages]

Originally posted by Dionysus
Crohn's is a inflammatory bowel disease (an IBD, not to confuse with IBS). IBS is more of a spasmatic disease.

Actually Crohn's is an autoimmune disorder that falls under the inflammatory bowel disease classification. There is a considerable body of research being published as of late that indicates Crohn's may actually be the result of a parasite microism, causing the autoimmune response.

Inflammatory Bowel syndrome ALSO falls under the IBD umbrella. Many times IBS is a precursor to colitis, which generally happens before Crohn's Disease.

The hospitalization that my daughter had when she was diagnosised lasted 3 weeks (she did get to leave on a 4 hour pass to go to her prom, complete with IV and mother escort). She had been having tremendous pain and started bleeding in her colon. With out being indelicate, but her bowel movement looked like someone had opened a vein in the toilet. Scared me to death.

She has bled internally a couple of times bad enough that she has come within a breath of being transfused. When she was expecting my grandson, she spent 16 of 39 weeks in the hospital for flair ups.