[HTML1] This week Dr. Gracer interviews Lara Field, MS, RD, CSP, LDN (above, left) and her patient, Christina (below) about the treatment of Crohn’s disease. This common disease affects about three people in 100,000. It is associated with severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fistulas, which are abnormal connections between the bowel and the skin or other structures. The treatment is varied and far from perfect. Diet can play a role. Dr. Gracer will review the important facts we know, and the interview will show how diet can affect treatment.
More about Lara Field
Lara Field is a registered dietitian with a passion for helping people to make healthy eating decisions. She specializes in helping those living with chronic conditions, such as Crohn’s disease. Lara has more than nine years of clinical experience at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago and University of Chicago Medical Center, where she provided people with advice about how to maintain a diet that is rich in nutrients and low in substances that negatively impact digestive health. She loves cooking and testing new recipes, and she especially enjoys preparing foods for her family.
Lara founded her practice in 2008 to help her clients meet their lifestyle goals through healthy eating. She specializes in helping families maintain diets to promote normal overall health and wellness. Lara also has experience helping patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, select foods that are low-residue* and low in fiber. She has spoken at a number of medical conferences, including the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation annual meetings.
Lara is very active locally in the Chicago Dietetic Association and is a member of the American Dietetic Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and completed her master’s degree and dietetic internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
More about Christina
As a college freshman on a pre-med track, Christina instinctively knew something “wasn’t OK” when she developed significant pain in her abdominal area and a high body temperature that didn’t go away. The subsequent diagnosis of Crohn’s disease would take her across the country over the course of many years in search of the right specialist—a gastroenterologist—in Chicago.
Christina’s Crohn’s disease symptoms were serious. At times, she could not eat, walk or even sit because of the pain she felt. Because Crohn’s disease inhibits the body’s ability to retain and store nutrients, Christina had significant weight loss. These body changes contributed to the severity of her symptoms and she remembers feeling uncomfortable with friends about her appearance. Her doctors prescribed several therapy courses before an effective treatment was found. In search of the right treatment, Christina spent months in hospitals across the United States, where she underwent a series of CT scans, MRIs and other diagnostic tests. Christina also underwent a number of extensive surgical procedures. She received many types of oral and infused medications in an attempt to control her disease, but the symptoms continued to worsen.
It wasn’t until she was prescribed HUMIRA® (adalimumab) in 2006 that she began to find relief from the inflammation and other symptoms associated with her Crohn’s disease.
Eight years later, Christina is in remission. She uses a combination of drug therapy and lifestyle choices, like healthy nutrition and physical activity to manage her disease. Even with a permanent colostomy, she has returned to some of the physical activities she once loved, such as golf and working out. She has even been able to return to school part time, where she is pursuing a nursing degree and hopes to become a gastrointestinal nurse.
Christina believes that people living with these difficult symptoms should never give up hope. She believes in being an informed and empowered patient. Christina’s life’s aim is to help others living with Crohn’s disease.
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