I have Crohn's disease, which is a form of IBD (irritable bowel disease) and very similar to Ulcerative Colitis. Having Crohn's means your digestive tract (most commonly found in the last part of the small intestine or ilium, which is where I have it) becomes inflamed and scarred, narrow, and gets open sores that can create holes that go completely through your intestinal wall. Nutrients are hard to absorb, resulting in stunted growth and development. I was diagnosed at age 15, and before then (all of my life) I have been tiny - always had been the smallest kid in my class (nicknamed midget by a few people). Very petite figure, never had any curves, and never really developed. I have always had a tiny 'stick' figure, so much that people would think I was anorexic. This is all because of Crohn's disease and my stunted growth/developent. All I have found for studies done on this is that puberty is delayed and usually begins one year after they have had surgery on their intestines and the disease in in remission (inactive). I had surgery 2 years ago, and for over a year after my surgery, I had almost no symptoms. Nothing happened. I am now 19 and have tried many different medications, some of them put me into short remission but nothing has worked completely besides the surgery (but the disease became active about 1 year, 5 months later). Because nothing can be right in your body unless you have a healthy digestive tract (because all of your nutrients are absorbed there) than I may never grow to what I could have without the disease. I have grown 3 inches in height in the past year which shows progress is development, but not a cup size has been achieved, not even a little bit of growth since I was about 15/16.
So what is your opinion on what you think would be best for a person like me? I would like anyones opinion, but anyone with any IBD, I wanna know if this is working for you... and if you don't mind, you're age as well. If you are older and have an IBD, how old were you when you finally developed? Did it ever happen? I have only been taking herbs for about a week now, and want to know if I should continue with my routine or wait it out a few more years. But something tells me it's not going to happen, because when I gained weight and grew in size, I think I would have seen some breast tissue forming as well... don't you think? Let me know.

in regards to your body not being able to absorb all nutrients, i would suggest that instead of orally taking herbs, that you make a boobie batter and focus on massage instead (if i understand your situation clearly). Or, maybe brava? i know brava requires a lot of dedication and some money, however at least you won't have to worry about whether or not your body is taking in all the herbs. remember nbe is pretty much trial and error so you will likely be taking herbs for a long time - and it might get very frustrating.
good luck with whatever choice you make!!

You should type in "Garden of Life Probiotics for Chron's) and a website will come up that tells you a little secret for improving your health tramendously! There are many other website's that back up the benifits on Probiotics for chron's patients.

Thanks, but that is one of the many things I have already tried. I've tried different natural ways and I've also tried many different medications. Right now I'm getting a shot of Humira every week and so far it seems to be working better than anything else besides acupuncture - but that was short term and VERY expensive, all out of pocket costs. But I was just wondering if anyone thought it would be best for me to wait. I did do a search for "Crohn's" on this forum and found a few people who said that it wasn't complicating anything for them, one said Fennel made it worse and one said Fenugreek seemed to actually help (but all of them said they were still flat-chested when they started so I don't think I will be growing naturally any time soon). So that gave me hope. I think I will continue with this for a few months and see how it goes. But anyone with an inflammatory bowel disease should let me know how it's working for them. :) Thanks everyone.

Wow...my heart goes out to you. I don't know much about the condition, but I would say that if you are going to try herbs, definitely try the liquid extract form rather than the capsules of dried herb. This is because liquid extract is much easier to absorb and doesn't really need to be digested, per se. But remember that extracts are stronger, so you will have to watch your dosages. I'd just start out really low, and work up slowly, if you don't have any negative side effects. Best of luck!

I'm sorry! I have been taking probiotics every day and they have really helped me so far (especially with digestion). Just curious, what is your diet?

Hey littlemadison,

I just read your post and it made me think of my cousin. She was diagnosed with Crohn's a while back, but nothing they did seemed to help and she just got worse and worse. They resected her bowel with no improvements until a doc decided to test her for Celiac's disease (some genetic test). Turns out she had that and has taken gluten out of her diet totally and has made a turn around. I know that you must get advice from all over the place, just hoping that this might help. Take care of yourself and keep your chin up. We've got similar stats (and similar boobs from your pics, although, I think I'm quite a bit smaller than you)...I'm pulling for you girl!

I have also heard too that cutting out gluten, particulary grains and sugars completely from the diet helps Chron's patients a great deal. Have you tried that yet?

Yes, I have looked into Celiac disease as well, although I don't remember if I have done any tests for it. I think I might** have, and am thinking that it came out negative, but not totally positive. Either way, I have been on a diet that has cut out wheat/gluten, sugar, almonds, peanuts, soy, dairy, potatoes, corn (including corn syrup/high fructose corn syrup - in many sweet flavored drinks like juice and soda), and the list goes on... I never remember the whole list, but here is what I was ALLOWED to eat: Chicken, fish, turkey (all obviously grilled/no breading and not deep fried) and fruits and vegetables. To drink: water. That was my diet. Talk about strict. I stuck with it for a few weeks while getting acupuncture treatments, but the diet was too strict for me. I was only able to eat at home, and there wasn't much variety. Being a student and working two jobs, it's a little hard to eat at home only. So I didn't stick with the diet for long but I know that it didn't help much. The only thing that was somewhat working was the acupuncture, but days after the treatments the syptoms would return. Right now my diet is just to stay away from anything deep fried, anything really junky (no fast food) and milk. Also no corn (corn syrup) and low wheat intake. I'm working on eating healthier. The Humira shot I get every week seems to help a lot. Since I read a previous forum where someone had Crohn's who seemed to be relieved of symptoms while taking fenugreek, I'm gonna give it a shot. I was just worried about having potential to develop in my 20's (or maybe even 30's) but who really wants to wait that long? Might as well do it while I'm young and it has it's best chance of working.. I don't want a large cup size anyway. As long as they have good shape... I'm totally content with an A cup.
A little boost of confidence for me tonight: I was talking to a friend about when I was over at her place the other night... Her boyfriend was there with a couple of his friends. One of them said he found me very attractive.. AND he liked the size of my boobs. He said they were perfect size. Kinda shocked me. It made me feel very good, although I think that's the only time I'll ever hear that for the rest of my life, being that I can't even fill an A cup bra. Wierd, but nice.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks everyone for their input and kind words.

xlittlemadison

I think it might be the best if you tried to get as much of the substances ncessary for NBE in through your skin, with breast massage with boobie batters. You'd need a good cream that contains phytoestrogic herbs, as well as vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. And massage a lot! From your pic tho, you don't look stunned in growth (to me) and you have some breast, so your chances should be good. Good luck!

Hello Littlemadison,

Just found your email as I have been without a computer for over a month.
I have had CD for 25 years diagnosed at 22 years old.
I have lost 18 foot of bowel with only less than 3 foot left.
I am taking Azathioprine and steriods, because of my poor weight I was so flat chested until I took NBE just over a year ago, I have gained one cup in breast size so far which is good as I am now 46 years old.
What are your medications? and what is your diet? also what kind of surgery did you have?
I would be very keen to encourage you with NBE but need to know yur background with crohns. I am having a flare up at the moment and I am suffering a lot, but there is hope for breast increase.
Azathioprine is a fantstic drug, it is a chemptherapy though and must be taken with care by a crohn's doctor.
do keep in touch, would love to help you if I can.
love Laura
x

So far I have had two surgeries, one back in 2003 and they just removed my appendix (they thought at the time I might have had appendicitis (spelling?)), then another I believe in 2005 and they removed about 18 inches of my small intestine, including the ilium, the ileocecal valve, and the cecum.
Right now I'm getting shots of Humira every other week, which is a very similar drug to Remicade. I've been doing it since mid-October, and so far so good, besides the flare up from the herbs. I think it was either Saw Palmetto or Kelp that was bothering me, maybe both. I quit taking SP a few days ago and I was still having problems. I thought of the different herbs I've added in this past week or two and remembered Kelp and L-Tyrosine, researched the side effects, and quit Kelp (along with the LT) this morning after I found out that it could also be causing problems. Now I'll just have to wait a few more days and hopefully everything will be settled down.
So the foods that I stay away from are dairy products, corn (corn syrup in most drinks), coffee, carbonated drinks, really spicy or junkie foods, possibly greasy foods. So I just try to eat healthier stuff. But soda is probably the biggest one because I cannot handle any amount of fructose corn syrup, plus the carbonation creates pressure on the inflammed areas.
The herbs I'm adding in are Hops, Stinging Nettle, possibly meadowsweet if I can scrape up some cash, and I'll be drinking Green Tea in the mornings and Chamomile tea at night before sleep, all are supposed to help a bit with IBD.
Any other suggestions are welcome!

x madison

I too have lost the ileo ceacal valve whch causes diarrhoea, I have lost most of my iliem.
I was very stick thin 5ft 5 weighing six and a half stone. so bad that everyone commented on it and it would upset me.
I'm taking saw palmetto with no problems, wonderup is good because it has many herbs in it, it took me about one year for growth but I'm keen to keep going despite my crohns problems.
It will happen believe me, you are very young desite the digestive problems but if I can digest with so little small bowel left, I'm sure you will gain results, it does take time though.
why not try wonderup, I took it me for over a year and I started SP just over one month ago, getting the pains and tingles now.
I have heard that kelp is not good for crohns. remember start off with little dosage of herbs and then increase them.
If you are in remission you should have a good kick off start.
keep in touch, any more thoughts I shall get back to you.
I had no boobs until a year ago all due to NBE I was so flat chested. there is hope, you need great patience.
love Laura
x