[thunderbear]

Can people die from Crohn's? My husband has it. He's had it since he was a child but was just diagnosed with it 4 years ago. I worry about him. Sometimes he'll be healthy for weeks then all of the sudden he'll get up the next day and be so sick and in pain he can't eat or move around. In those times he loses alot of weight and gets anemic. Once he even had to have a unit of blood because the flare caused internal bleeding. I just don't know what would happen to me if he died. All I do worry about this. It gives me panic attacks and headaches.

A good friend has Crohn's. She has been through a lot. There is no known cure for this insidious disease, or standard treatment. A form of treatment that may help one, may not help another. The Mayo Clinic article is informative:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cro...4/METHOD=print

The National Institutes of Health reports:

Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Incidence:

Ulcerative colitis: 8 new cases per 100,000 people per year (1984–1993) [10]
Crohn’s disease: 7 new cases per 100,000 people per year (1984–1993) [11]

Prevalence:

Ulcerative colitis: 246 cases per 100,000 people per year (2001) [12]
Crohn’s disease: 162 cases per 100,000 people per year (2001) [12]

Mortality: 825 deaths (2002) [2]

Hospitalizations: 169,000—with 62 percent for Crohn's disease (2002) [3]
Ambulatory care visits: 5.9 million per year (1999–2000) [4]
Disability: 161,000 people (1990–1992) [5]

[Amanda_1981]

my sister has crohns. She was diagnosed at age 18 and had to have her entire colon and rectum removed and now has an ostomy bag. She is doing great now (she's now 27) and has only had one bad flare up since her surgery. Crohns is a chronic life long disease but it can be managed with meds and or surgery and proper diet. Hope that helps