Crohns in College Students :: Crohns Disease Health Essays

Crohns in College StudentsAvi Michael absentmindedly plays with his lip piercing, his thin frame draped casually over his bed. His wall is covered with posters of dockage Dylan and Modest Mouse two guitars are propped up on a stand next to his closet, another lies on the vacant bed across from his.I want to be a rock star, said Michael, a 20-year-old history and film major at Northeastern University, and front man for the stria, The Sex and Murder.However, touring with his band would be difficult, Michael says. He suffers from Crohns disease, a chronic and often debilitating ailment that causes inflammation in the digestive system, primarily the large and small intestines. Symptoms involve rapid weight loss, abdominal pain or cramping, and rectal bleeding.Michael was diagnosed as a senior in high school at the age of 18. I was really sick for a while. It got to the point where I would restore sick and throw up after everything I ate, he said. As a result, he lost a lot of weight at 58, Michael weighs only 128 pounds. The average weight for a male of his height is closer to one hundred sixty pounds.Over 200,000 Americans suffer from Crohns, according to Dr. Richard Curtis, chief of gastroenterology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Though the disease does not tar she-bop a specific age group, certain risk factors do exist. People who have a genetic predisposition to it are more likely to develop Crohns, said Dr. Curtis. For example, people who have a close coition with Crohns have a 20 percent chance of being diagnosed with it themselves. Crohns is more common in Jews than in non-Jews it is most common in Ashkenazic Jews than any other group.Crohns is usually thought of as an old persons disease, said Michael. The harsh reality is that many Crohns sufferers are college-aged teens, many of whom were diagnosed as young children.Caitlin*, a 16-year-old sophomore at the Boston Latin School, was diagnosed at the age of 11. Trying to complete her schoolwork while m aintaining her wellness is often difficult, Caitlin said.When I feel good (almost all the time), Crohns doesnt affect school at all, she said in an e-mail. Its when I get so exhausted that I have to miss a day of school. I feel guilty missing school, and depending on the time of year, I get so much work the next day that I have to make up.