If you are unable to work because of Crohns Disease you may be able to make a TPD claim for a lump sum from the Total & Permanent Disablement insurance contained within your superannuation fund. There is no necessity for you to have been involved in an accident or to have suffered a work related injury to make a TPD claim. If you suffer from total and permanent disability, you may be able to make a TPD claim in addition to receiving your super early as a result of your condition. Our TPD claim solicitors can advise you in detail as to the requirements of a successful submission, they will prepare all relevant paperwork and will obtain full supporting documentation. Our lawyers will give you free advice on the likely success of your claim to a super fund, without further obligation. It costs nothing to use our free advice service.

Our TPD claim solicitors use a risk free no win no fee arrangement.

We have offices situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Darwin.

Crohns Diseaes - TPD

Crohns disease is also called inflammatory bowel disease, regional enteritis, ileitis, or granulomatous ileocolitis. It is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus but usually affects the small or large bowel.

No one knows the exact cause of Crohn’s disease but it is believed to be an autoimmune or other type of immune disease. The immune system is unable to tell the difference between a foreign substance and a substance normal to the body. The immune system becomes over-active and leads to chronic inflammation in what’s known as an autoimmune response.

Those who have Crohn’s disease have chronic inflammation of portions of the gastrointestinal tract. There can be healthy areas interspersed with badly inflamed areas. The intestinal wall thickens at the site of inflammation and the area is fiery red. Crohn’s disease can be labelled in accordance with the areas of the digestive tract involved in the disease.

Risk factors for Crohn’s disease include family history of the disease, being of Jewish ancestry and being a smoker. Most people are between 15 and 35 years at the age of onset of the condition.

Major symptoms of the disease include having crampy abdominal pain with or without eating, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, persistent diarrhea, unintentional weight loss and pain when passing stool, a condition called tenesmus. Less common symptoms are eye inflammation, fistulas around the rectum, constipation, liver inflammation, mouth sores, skin lumps or sores, rectal bleeding, and swollen gums.

Doctors can do several tests to determine whether Crohn’s disease exists. A barium enema can show whether or not there is narrowing of the colon. A colonoscopy has its advantages because a biopsy can be done to show the presence of inflammation in the colon. A CT scan of the abdomen sometimes can show narrowing of parts of the digestive tract. An upper GI endoscopy can show the presence of upper GI disease and capsule endoscopy can define what is going on in the entire GI tract. An MRI can show the presence of disease and a sigmoidoscopy or enteroscopy can reveal disease. An upper GI x-ray series can show the oesophagus, stomach, and small bowel. Stool cultures can rule out any other reason behind the symptoms.

Doctors also check an albumin level, which can show low protein in the bloodstream, C-reactive protein, which shows inflammation, an ESR or erythrocyte sedimentation rate can show inflammation and a faecal fat will be positive in Crohn’s disease. The haemoglobin will be low and liver function tests can be abnormal in Crohn’s disease. The white blood cell count will be elevated in this disease as well.

Treatment for Crohn’s disease involves diet and nutrition changes that try not to make the situation worse. Certain foods will exacerbate the disease and should be avoided. Exactly which foods they are vary from person to person. The diet should be as healthy as possible with enough calories to keep the weight up. Dietary changes include eating small amounts of food at a time, drinking small amounts of water relatively regularly throughout the day, not eating high fibre foods, not eating fatty or greasy foods and limiting dairy products. Foods like beans, spicy foods, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and raw fruits and fruit juices can cause excess gas and should be avoided.

Talk to your doctor about taking an iron supplement and a supplement containing Calcium and Vitamin D. Vitamin B12 can also cause the haemoglobin to rise and this is a good thing. You need to avoid stress, which makes the situation worse. Medications are available to control pain include Tylenol, fibre supplements and sometimes laxative medications.

Prescription medications include aminosalicylates that control mild symptoms. Corticosteroids treat moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and azathioprine can quiet the immune system. Biologic therapy is reserved for severe Crohn’s disease and includes medications like Remicade, Humira, and Cimzia.

Surgery is used to remove areas of the colon that are so damaged as to be irreparable with medication alone or areas where there has been perforation of the bowel.

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