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 Bob Dylan and Modest Mouse two guitars argon propped up on a stand next to his closet, an otherwise 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 band, 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 discharge in the digestive system, primarily the large and small intestines. Symptoms include quick weight loss, abdominal pain or cramping, and rectal bleeding.Michael was diagnosed as a senior in high school at the suppurate of 18. I was really offensive for a while. It got to the point where I would get 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 superlative degree is closer to 160 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 target a specific age group, certain risk factors do exist. People who have a catching predisposition to it are more likely to develop Crohns, said Dr. Curtis. For example, mint who have a close relative with Crohns have a 20 percent chance of being diagnosed with it themselves. Crohns is more public 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 legion(predicate) 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 sch oolwork while maintaining her wellness is often difficult, Caitlin said.When I feel good (almost all the succession), Crohns doesnt affect school at all, she said in an e-mail. Its when I get so exhausted that I have to miss a twenty-four hour period 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.