Logan McCrae, Wichita junior, does not look forward to dinner. As the dinner bell rings at her sorority house, she makes her way down stairs. She says grace with the rest of her sorority sisters and sits down at her usual table. She goes to dinner for the social aspects and slowly picks at the food on her plate.
McCrae despises dinner so much because she has Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s affects McCrae’s digestive system making her very sensitive to certain foods. The sensitivity causes a problem because McCrae lives in a sorority house where food options are not always her own choice. Environmental factors like food make living with Crohn’s almost unbearable for McCrae sometimes.
According to digestive diseases web site, Crohn’s is a disease that causes inflammation of the digest tract. Crohn’s can affect any area of the digestive tract, but most commonly the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The disease can cause swelling of the intestines. Crohn’s can be categorized as a inflammatory bowl disease.
“ It was hard coming to college with Crohn’s,” said McCrae. “ Freshmen year all of the girls in my dorm though I was anorexic because I didn’t eat a lot in the cafeteria, but I wasn’t. I was just waiting to eat in my room because the cafeteria food would make me sick,” she said.
Other students like McCrae had a hard time adjusting to college life with a digestive or intestinal disease. Dr. Mike L. Waldschmidt said many students have a hard time adjusting to a new diet and lifestyle after coming to college. He said some students can go their whole life with out any type of problem, but the new change of a college schedule can throw their body off guard leaving them with a digestive problem.
Erin Maloney, a Wichita senior, worked out a deal with her sorority so she wouldn’t have to pay the food fee while living in the house because she could not eat the food. Maloney suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Maloney has been diabetic her whole life and said that might have lead to IBS. Maloney noticed something was wrong early in her freshman year at the University of Kansas. She had severe stomach issues especially when she ate any type of greasy or spicy food. She was confused because those types of foods had never been an issue before.
“The stomach pains got so bad that I had to see my doctor immediately,” Maloney said. “I was missing classes and missing other big events because I couldn’t eat without having to rush to the bathroom; it was awful and embarrassing on top of that,” she said.
Maloney’s doctor diagnosed her with IBS and prescribed her a medication to help with the stomach pains. The medication she takes is a tablet that is placed on her tongue and dissolves acting immediately. Maloney said she only has to take her medicine when the IBS acts up.
Maloney’s diet significantly changed since freshman year. Now she mainly sticks to fruits, vegetables, peanut butter and bread. The only type of meat she can eat is chicken.
Maloney’s embarrassment quickly subsided when she realized she wasn’t alone in having a digestive disorder. While at a lunch with a group of new friends Maloney noticed another girl who was asking very specific questions about what type of ingredients were featured in the menu. Courtney Brax, Hutchinson junior, also had IBS. While Brax’s IBS was not as severe, she still had a strict diet. The two quickly became close because of the similar experiences they shared. Brax said it was easier to go out to eat with Maloney because she always asked the same questions that she did. She also said they gave each other tips about which medications worked best and which had the worst side effects.
While not every student at KU knows or understands these types of diseases, more are learning. McCrae said when she first started telling people that she had Crohn’s people had no idea what it was, but now most people she talks to do. Because of the environmental changes these diseases are affecting more and more people.
“It’s nice not having to explain my situation every time I talk to someone new,” McCrae said. “ More people have similar situations than you would think.”