Pearl Jam Guitarist Goes Public with Crohn's

Pearl Jam Guitarist Goes Public with Crohn's

By Jonathan Cohen
Billboard

NEW YORK - Some rock stars run offstage into the arms of a beautiful woman, but Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready often finds himself running ... right to the bathroom.

McCready, 37, has suffered for more than 15 years from the debilitating stomach disorder Crohn's disease. He went public with his story May 13, when he spoke at the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's (CCFA) third annual Many Faces of Hope luncheon in Seattle.

McCready only summoned the courage to speak publicly about his disease after meeting last fall with other Crohn's sufferers.

"The stories they told me were far worse than what I've experienced," he says. "One kid was 14 and had had six surgeries and still wasn't cured. I wanted to put myself out there and say, 'I've had a career in spite of Crohn's disease.' I learned from these kids, and that gives me a lot of strength and hope."

Researchers are not sure what causes Crohn's, and there is no cure. Patients are subjected to an extensive regimen of medication and must constantly monitor their diet.

McCready takes three different drugs and has been in remission for about eight months. "It is such a strange disease," he says. "You can do everything possible that you think is right, and it can still come back."

During his speech, the artist related a particularly embarrassing incident to demonstrate how Crohn's can strike at any time. "Playing onstage, I'm always aware of where the bathrooms are," he admits. "When Crohn's hits, I have to run, or it won't be pretty. It happened when we opened up for the Rolling Stones in 1997 in Oakland .

"It was our first show with them," McCready continues. "Five minutes before we went on, I went up to (Pearl Jam frontman) Eddie (Vedder) and I said, 'Look man, can we play 'Sometimes'? -- which is a slower song that I'm not really on. I was in pain. I went running offstage looking for a bathroom, and there wasn't one. Then, all of a sudden, there was one. It was a honeybucket. I heard my band play that song from inside a portable toilet!"

McCready says he is lucky to have the support of his bandmates, all of whom were on hand for his speech. (The group resumes its summer North American tour May 28 in Missoula, Mont.) Indeed, some proceeds from Pearl Jam's Seattle shows last December were donated to the CCFA, and McCready plans to remain active with the Northwest chapter of the organization.

Two days after his address, McCready played a CCFA charity concert with his side band, the Rockfords. "Crohn's can be humiliating and restricting," McCready says. "But getting in touch with an organization like CCFA has allowed me to begin dealing with those negatives in a positive way."

 

Just to clarify, Crohn's Disease, although it can affect the entire digestive tract, is not a specific stomach disorder but an inflammation of the intestinal lining that can cause severe cramps, bleeding, weight loss, even death in the worst cases. Although symptoms are similar to colitis--which is apparently a bad enough affliction--Crohn's is far more difficult to treat(no cure)and, as the Pearl Jam man knows, can cause diahhrea at any time, and makes being a diabetic--tough as that sometimes has been--seem a mild(for now)disease compared to Crohn's. I'm glad he came forward with the reality of his situation. Took me some time to tell friends about my db, and it's turned out for the best, since most never ask questions anymore(if I suddenly feel fatigued or strange and they see it, they know why it's happening).

ED

 

Man, that sucks. Amazing how they can keep something like this away from the public eye until they're ready.

 

Well, consider how tough and embarrassing this disease is: you'd probably hide it, too. And like any debilitating illness, you almost never get to forget you have it. His diet must be restricted to some degree. And it could get worse; it will probably never improve, even with medication, unless there's some kind of breakthrough.

ED

 

A woman I work with has this disease and is getting ready for her second surgery next month. There are days she's in so much pain it brings her to tears.

We just try to be supportive and not make her feel guilty about any time she misses dealing with this.

 

That's the disease in its worst stage: the inflammation, for want of a better way of saying it, is aggravated by any food or drink that enters the tract; and some kind of sores can form, I believe, accounting for the intensity of the pain, which is probably not helped by gas. How anyone could feel guilty about this I can't imagine; maybe she thinks people don't understand the affliction for the horror it can be. If so, if I were her, I'd give 'em an education. I did that, and suddenly, I was no less diabetic, but it was like a monkey off my back. Once people knew and understood, the worst I've gotten is the usual greeting, to this day: "How ya doin'?" followed by "How ya feelin'." I'm just glad there are friends and family around to care

ED

 

We understand what she's experiencing. She has explained to all of us what's happening and what the doctors tell her. She feels bad having to take a lot of sick time but no one, that I'm aware of, has complained.

I think, if anything, she feels bad that the rest of us have to pick up the slack when she's out. She's done the same for the rest of us. That's why we call our department a team.

 

I just recently thought I might have this, since all of the symptoms were there; but, it just proved to be that my diabetes medication was irritating the intestinal tract.

Crohn's sounds horrible to have. McCready is to be commended for continuing a career with this potentially debilitating disease.

 

Let me guess... Metformin? Occasionally does it for me. Not often but completely at random.

Agreed. As Ed said, db seems tame in comparison.

 

Metformin it is sir. You are correct! It was occasional, but starting doing it all the time. I feel so much better since I stopped taking it.

My 2000th post! Mudbone, are you listening?

 

Great. My docs are saying it looks like I have this. Oh joy.

Mild so far. Seems to have started suddenly in February.

I don't think I understand being ashamed of being sick either.

 

My wife has Crohn's. She feels ashamed often and generally refrains from talking about it. Her co-workers know and our families know, other than that it's just her close friends.

We've had some provocative discussions about it all. I think the disease has brought us closer together, strangely enough.

When she talks about the ashamed factor, she usually brings up the fact that other people, when they are afflicted with diseases such as cancer, heart problems, etc., have no fear of embarrassment discussing these personal matters. With Crohn's, it's dealing with a part of our body that in this particular culture is considered dirty or crude and not to be mentioned in polite company. How is someone in her situation going to get the point across that she is feeling bad? Invariably, people will ask what's the matter, and luckily at this point in time enough people know what Crohn's is that all she will say is "I have Crohn's", and that usually brings the groundswell of sympathy and support without any further prying.

I feel badly for her. At least it comes and goes, and is not full-time. She supposedly suffers from a milder form of the disease. God help those who have the more severe forms.