Medicaments for Crones Disease have strong side effects. Some even actually worsen the underlying cause, and you have to take more and stronger medicines to stay ahead of the worsening symptoms. If we approach the illnes from a totally different angle, possibilities suddenly arise in unexpected ways.

Mainstream doctors use mainstream medicines to try to improve the condition of their patients. In the case of Crones Disease, this means trying to stop or lessen the symptoms which are caused by the underlying disease. The medicines will not cure the disease though, and in many cases they will actually worsen the underlying cause. Most used are 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.

Corticosteroids are known to have severe side effects, even when used for a short time. Yet, they are frequently used to control the symptoms. Your doctor will tell you that you cannot stop from one day to the other with your corticosteroids, because your symptoms are prone to worsen. I just start to think what it is these medicines do with our body, that their effect will be like that?

Antibiotics are said to be used to control bacteria levels in the intestine and reduce the symptoms of Crones disease. They can also resolve infections caused by the condition. If you think well about it, antibiotics probably kill all bacteria in your intestines, the good ones and the bad ones, and they do not leave a healthy level of good bacteria behind. They probably leave a not so healthy level of bad resistant bacteria behind if you have bad luck... If your good bacteria are wiped out by frequent antibiotic-use, it is quite probable that you develop inflammations on gut-level, simply because there is no shield of good bacteria any more which protects your gut form attacks from outside. The question is here is antibiotics solve a problem, or actually create a much bigger problem on the not so long run.

Injectable or oral immunomodulators are used if the patient did not react well on other medicines to reduce the swelling, or for patients which developed complications like fistulas. Often they are given in combination with corticosteroids, whereby you can take lower doses of the latter, because their effect is increased by the immunomodulators. Immunomodulators are more expensive than other medicines used for Crones Disease, and you are at higher risk to develop secondary infections or other illnesses because they suppress the immune system. Doctors advise you to have your blood monitored regularly to see the effect on your bone marrow, liver and kidneys.

Biologic therapies are a new treatment for Crones Disease and they are also the most expensive. They are used for patients who do not respond to other treatments, but because of the possible severe side effects, doctors will be hesitant to apply them. Although the pharmaceutical industry tells us that the risks are small, they still warn for the effects of suppressing the immune response. There is some evidence that they increase the risk of conditions like blood infections, tuberculosis, and lymphoma.

Some medicines will interacts with other common drugs like birth control pills, and they can even break down vitamins or stop there absorption into the bloodstream. When you have diarrhea you will have to take medicines for that, and you will have to compensate the fluid loss.

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.