In 2002, Pearl Jam guitarist and founding member Mike McCready made public his 20-year battle with Crohn’s disease. Since then he has been committed to raising awareness and funding for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
www.crohnsandme.com asked Mike to share his experience with Crohn’s and how he survives and thrives with the disease everyday.
Q: How would you describe the stage of your disease (mild, moderate, severe)?
A: Mild at the present. About a year ago I had a really severe flare-up.
Q: How are you feeling today?
A: 100% - I feel like I am really in remission, which is great with my busy touring schedule.
Q: What are good days like?
A: Normal amount of trips to the bathroom, which to me is about 1 or 2 times a day. No excruciating pain, or blood when I do go to the bathroom. Not feeling worried about where a bathroom is at all times.
Q: What are bad days like?
A: Just the opposite of a good day. No sleep, going to the bathroom up to 20 times a day.
Excruciating abdominal pain, weight loss, feeling weak, anemic. Feeling stuck in the house, bathroom panic, and depression.
Q: How has Crohn’s impacted your life?
A: Daily living
Crohn’s has made me very conscious of where all the public access bathrooms are in Seattle and elsewhere. It has caused me to stay at home a lot and have fears about being outside my comfort zone. At times I have felt like my disease was going to kill me. It has isolated me in the past.
Relationships
It has been a two-sided coin. At times I have had trouble explaining it to people or feeling like people don’t understand what Crohn’s disease is, because you can’t unless you have IBD. So in that way, it has probably affected my intimate relationships. On the other side of the coin, it has connected me with a lot of people through the CCFA when I came out publicly with IBD.
Career
I have been lucky to be in such a supportive band that they have done whatever they could to accommodate my illness. At times it has been really hard to be on the road. I have had some pretty big flare-ups, I have had accidents on stage, and had to see numerous doctors on the road over the years. Overall, I have still been luckier than most in regards to IBD.
Q: How do you currently manage your Crohn’s symptoms?
A: Various medications, exercise, diet, and trying to live a positive lifestyle. Connecting with other IBD patients is another way I manage my symptoms, it forces me to not be isolated and to keep on top of available options.
Q: Is there a need for other medications to help you better manage Crohn’s?
A: Since all IBD patients are different, I would say that there is always a need for new treatments.
Q: Has the band been supportive in regard to your condition?
A: Yes, 100%. They have supported me since the beginning. They come to as many CCFA functions as they can and are always willing to help in anyway possible. A good example is the CCFA Northwest Chapter benefit show.
Q: What do you do to cope with the stress of Crohn’s Disease?
A: I go for bike rides, I take yoga, I lift weights. I read, I take time for myself. I try to live a positive lifestyle.
Q: Can you tell us a way that you’ve been able to overcome limitations from your condition?
A: I have a great support system around me that helps lift me up when I am down. Over the years and currently, I have looked at different treatment options and have been lucky enough to have some great options available to me.
Q: Do you connect with other Crohn’s disease patients? If so, how?
A: Yes, through email when I am on the road, I have gone to support groups when I was not on the road. I have gone to Camp Oasis and hung out with the campers, and I continually do volunteer work with the Northwest Chapter of the CCFA, which keeps me connected to a lot of patients.
Q: If you had to give advice to someone suffering from Crohn’s, what three things would you tell them?
A: Go to a GI doctor (maybe a couple, until you find one you feel comfortable with), contact the CCFA and get involved with your disease so you realize you are not alone in this, and don’t allow IBD to take over your life. You do not live with IBD, IBD lives with you.
Q: What don’t people understand about Crohn’s that you want to share with them?
A: That it is not just something that you can take Imodium for, it is a chronic illness, even though you look ok on the outside, you are dying on the inside. It is like having an uncontrollable pain in your guts that won’t go away all day long.
Q: If you had to instruct a doctor on three ways to improve the care of a Crohn’s patient, what would you suggest?
A: That there are many ways to treat an IBD patient, outside of medication and surgery, such as yoga, diet, holistic treatment – in addition to western options. Also, that each patient is different and might need different treatment options. Finally, doctors should be connecting patients with organizations like the CCFA, so that they are not alone in their disease, for a long time my only connection was my doctor and it was very isolating.
Q: If there was one thing you could do but you can’t because of Crohn’s, what would it be?
A: There is nothing I can’t do, I won’t let IBD get the best of me.
Q: Imagine a Crohn’s sufferer watching you right now from the confines of their home – what message do you want to give them?
A: There is hope through various channels like family, CCFA, doctors, IBD community Web sites and friends.
Q: Did you always dream of becoming a musician?
A: Yes, ever since I was 11 years old when I got turned onto KISS and Cheap Trick. I used to run around with a tennis racquet and pretend I was Paul Stanley.
Q: How did Pearl Jam form?
A: I started jamming with Stone Gossard when I was 24; we started a band, asked Jeff Ament to come play with us. Recorded a demo with Matt Cameron playing drums. We sent the demo out looking for a drummer and instead we found a singer named Eddie Vedder. The rest is history…
Q: How would you say Pearl Jam’s music has evolved over the past 15 years?
A: We have all grown up together. We have a synergy and know intuitively how to play together. For the most part it is easy and it works. We are a family, and like any family we have our ups and downs, mostly ups.
Q: What do you consider your greatest musical achievement with the band?
A: That we have sustained a career for 15 years and written great music together.
Q: If you weren’t a guitarist in one of the most legendary bands of all time, what do you think you’d be doing for a living?
A: I would probably be working at a restaurant in the kitchen somewhere in Seattle, or working at The Lock (a local Seattle establishment.)
Mike's interview will be posted shortly at www.crohnsandme.com, an online community to help members stay informed about the latest developments in Crohn's disease and Crohn's disease treatments via videos from community members, member and expert audio and video podcasts and much more. Check out the community at www.crohnsandme.com.