What is Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition. Even though Crohn’s disease will always affect the digestive tract, it will involve different areas for different people. The inflammation caused by Crohn’s disease can spread deep into the layers of tissue in the digestive tract, and can be both painful and debilitating. This can also cause other serious and even life-threatening complications.

Symptoms

When it comes to Crohn’s disease, the two main areas affected are the colon and a small segment of the small intestine. Although these are the two areas that are the most affected in patients with Crohn’s disease, it can also affect other areas. Signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease can range from mild to severe, and usually develop over time. People may experience symptoms that will come on suddenly, and others will go through periods where no symptoms are noticeable at all.

Symptoms include:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Blood in your stool
• Mouth sores
• Reduced appetite and weight loss

People with severe Crohn’s disease may also experience inflammation of the skin, eyes, joints, liver, and bile ducts.

Causes & Risk Factors

While there are no known causes of Crohn’s disease, doctors have found more proof of main factors being hereditary and malfunctioning immune systems. Risk factors include:

• Age: you’re most likely to develop Crohn’s disease when you’re young
• Ethnicity: Even though Crohn’s is more likely to occur in those of eastern European descent, it can occur in any ethnicity.
• Family history: you’re more likely to develop Crohn’s if you have a family member who also has Crohn’s.
• Cigarette smoking: smoking cigarettes is the most controllable risk factor when it comes to preventing Crohn’s disease.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications: these can include ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen sodium (Aleve), diclofenac sodium (Voltaren) and others. While they don’t directly cause Crohn’s, they can lead to inflammation of the bowel which can make Crohn’s disease worse.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please give Justin McCarthy, M.D. a call at 806-761-0722 to set up an appointment. You don’t have to keep living with pain associated with Crohn’s disease, we can help you manage and reduce it, so that you can get back to living your life.

Healthy Gut, Healthy Brain

With today’s busy lifestyles, brain fog can make our days sluggish and unproductive. Difficulty focusing is often blamed on lack of sleep or hectic schedules. While these factors may be partly to blame, many people are unaware that the root of the problem could be based in their gut. Having a healthy gut is a key to having a healthy brain. 

The Gut-Brain Connection

It’s safe to say that the brain is the “supercomputer” for all the body’s functions, however, we don’t often think that a healthy digestive tract will play a part in a having better mental clarity. The gut manufactures the neurotransmitter serotonin, which regulates mood. If the body has a serotonin deficiency, it can cause anxiety, depression and a general brain fog. There are two common causes of imbalances in the gut: infections and diet. 

Infections 

Candida and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) are the two most common gastric infections.  Candida is an overgrowth of yeast. This can be caused by taking antibiotics, eating a diet high in carbohydrates, drinking too much alcohol and even birth control usage. The overgrowth of yeast coats the lining of the intestinal tract and suppresses the ability to manufacture or secrete serotonin. It can also create chemicals that are actually toxic to the brain. A diet high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and alcohol typically causes SIBO. It can also cause a deficiency in the vitamin B12 which also helps to stabilize mood and focus. 

Diet

The highly processed American diet can create poor psychological symptoms. Casein, a protein found in dairy and gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye, can create inflammation and gut leakage. This leakage can impact the brain and affect mood. It also makes it difficult to absorb nutrients which can lead to extreme vitamin deficiencies including omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and the B vitamins - all of which are an important part in brain health and mood stabilization.  

Are you struggling with brain fog or mood disorders? It might not be your brain. Contact Dr. Justin McCarthy in Lubbock, Texas to discuss your symptoms. Using the latest diagnostic testing, we can help you determine if the issue is gut related. Once diagnosed, we can work with you to create an appropriate treatment plan for a healthy gut and enhanced mental clarity.