treament for Crohn's

[ssg3166]

does anyone know of gastroenterologists who promote alternative treatments for Crohn's Disease?

[clns]

what kind of alternative treatments?

[ssg3166]

someone that incorporates other treatments, like herbal, homeopathic etc along with medication.  I am worried about putting my 11 year old on all these drugs long term.

[April2]

I understand where you're coming from. I hate taking any kind of medications and would prefer to go natural in most things.
You might want to do a little research and find out what foods bother you and what you can eat. That would help.
Also, start taking digestive enzymes and probiotics. That will help a lot, actually. The digestive enzymes you take at every meal, the probiotics once a day. Aloe Vera juice may help soothe things, if you want to try that. Also, Omega 6 is supposed to help coat the intestines, which can help. I also take a liquid vitamin from a health food store because liquid vitamins are easier for the body to process, which is what we need when our terminal illeum is affected. That's the last part of the small intestines (which is usually affected by the Crohns) and it has a very important job in helping process vitamin B12 and also helps break down fat. When the terminal illeum is affected you may be missing B12 from your diet so watch that. It will make you very tired. My GI doctor told me to take vitamin C and folic acid, as well, because people with Crohns don't get enough folic acid.
Watch the dairy, spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol as all of that can aggravate things and make them worse.
I hope all of this helps a little and hope you feel better soon! Take care.

[ssg3166]

thank you so much.  I have given him some of what you had mentioned and will look into the others.  Healing the "gut" seems to be the right track and anything i can do to help that, seems like the best answer.  

I guess i have to check what is appropriate for an 11 year old although all of it sounds like it would be ok for him.  

He was just diagnosed so we are learning about the disease and the course of treatment they want him to take.  He is extremely fatigued so anything that we can do now to help that would make a big difference.

Thanks again for all your help!

[April2]

Sorry, I didn't realize it was a child. But he still should be able to take the vitamins, etc. They make an Omega 6 vitamin for children too.
You might want to get some blood work done on him and see if he's low in B12. That's pretty common in Crohns and can explain the fatigue.
If he's having a flare up he may need to take medication for awhile, at least until the flare up clears up.
Best of wishes as you travel on this journey, know there are others out there and we will help where we can!
You might want to check out CCFA (Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America) and see if you can get any information that way.
Take care & God bless you and your son!

[April2]

I meant to say Omega 3 not 6. Sorry about that!