I know there are others out there living with Crohn's how do they function

I have missed 2 and 1/2 days of work


I am really tired and very tired of feeling this way



going to keep a diary of foods I eat and reactions I have.

Maybe I can pinpoint certain triggers and avoid them

and I am getting tested for it on November 20th.

A doc I know has been prescribing this as means of lessening the symptoms, for those with IBS, too. He's a specialist (neurologist), but when his patients also have other GI issues, he swears by them using kefir and probiotics.

My niece was diagnosed with Crohn's and has found this has eased her symptoms.

I feel for everyone suffering with this and other painful conditions.

:hug:

I don't have Crohn's, but a lot of allergies and a really sensitive stomach.

Possibly millions of people have sensitivities to wheat gluten that they are not aware of, so pay close attention to that.

Medication has helped me a lot (at present I only need to take a very low dose). Sometimes a medication does not work for an individual, or only works in doses that have unacceptable side effects. In that case, trying another medication may work. Have you discussed it with your doctor? Fortunately many people with Crohns have long remissions where they feel well and don't need to take anything. I hope your health improves soon.

Diet is a very important factor for most people with Crohns, and different people are affected by different foods, so it's IMO an excellent idea to keep a diary about it. I find that I do best if I avoid very high-fibre foods (which might be healthy for most people!) and too much fat. Other people have other triggers. Some people with Crohns find milk and dairy products a problem, though I am fine with them.

There is an organization in the UK for people with Crohns to share information and to learn about research:

www.nacc.org.uk

There may be an American equivalent.

Best of luck!

Results 1 - 10 of about 3,470,000 for crohn's support group. (0.09 seconds

Perhaps there will be something helpful at some of those links

thank you tho

and she has been able to reduce the symptoms dramatically by eliminating dairy, fatty foods, red meat, and very little chicken or fish.

The point she got to after doing this for about 2 months, was the point she has stayed at for the last 2 years.

She has only missed 4 days in almost 2 years because of a Crohn flair up, and usually it was because she fell off the wagon and ate lots of stuff she knew she shouldn't have eaten. Google will help you out.

Good Luck and hang in there!

:hi:

I'll ask her how she handles it.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet www.BreakingTheViciousCycle.info and Low Dose Naltrexone www.LowDoseNaltrexone.org
I recommend you buy the book by Elaine Gottschall called 'Breaking The Vicious Cycle' Within days of starting this diet I was relieved of symptoms. The diet saved my life.
People with bowel disease do not have the enzymes necessary to break down long chain sugar molecules - di & polysaccharides.Those sugars remain in the gut feeding bad bacteria & yeast. It is the by products of those bad bacteria & yeast which produce toxins and continue the vicious cycle. So by eliminating all di & polysaccharides from your diet you eliminate the food sources for the bad gut pathogens. I have been on the SCD for 5 years. Here is the SCD Yahoo Group I belong to: BTVC-SCD@yahoogroups.com There are many beginners every week that join to ask questions. The beginning can be tough - everything you eat you have to make from scratch. You cannot have any processed food. Start with the intro diet. Also, www.PecanBread.com (SCD for kids) has suggestions for stages of food introduction.
The Low Dose Naltrexone I found recently. There are clinical trials for Crohn's underway at Penn State.You can access those trials through the LDN website. It works by modulating the immune system, helping your body to make endorphins and endorphin receptors. Here is the Yahoo Group I belong to: LowDoseNaltrexone@yahoogroups.com LDN is being used for auto-immune diseases, MS, cancer, HIV. And the drug is cheap.
Good Luck!

More at link, much more: http://www.lef.org/protocols/gastrointestinal/inflammatory_bowel_disease_01.htm


Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a common cause of discomfort and misery for tens of thousands of people in the United States. The two major types of inflammatory bowel disease are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Because Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are comparable and treated similarly, they have been combined in this chapter.

As the name implies, inflammatory bowel disease is characterized by inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract. In Crohn’s disease, the inflammation can extend to any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. Up to 55 percent of people have Crohn’s disease that affects both the small and large intestines. In Crohn’s disease, diseased portions of the intestine often alternate with healthy intestinal areas. By contrast, ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon.

Both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis typically have active periods followed by periods of remission. Conventional medical therapy relies on anti-inflammatories to provoke a remission and for remission maintenance. In serious cases, surgery may be necessary.

Fortunately, both diseases offer excellent opportunities for nutritional therapy. It is important that patients with these diseases pay careful attention to their nutritional intake, making sure to maintain healthy levels of nutrients. Many people with inflammatory bowel disease almost completely stop eating during flare-ups. Also, malabsorption of nutrients is a significant problem (especially in Crohn’s disease), making it doubly important to use supplements. Finally, a number of nutrients have been shown to reduce inflammation and possibly reduce symptoms associated with these difficult conditions.

No definitive cause has been uncovered for inflammatory bowel disease, although there is clearly an interaction among genetic, environmental, nutritional, and inflammatory factors (Marteau P et al 2004; Prehn JL et al 2004; Soderholm JD et al 2004).

reviews would be of import for anyone doubting what is possible with a little guidance.


http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Vicious-Cycle-Intestinal-Through/product-reviews/0969276818/ref=cm_cr_pr_redirect?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0
472 of 478 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars nothing short of a miracle, July 5, 2000

By Rachel Turet (Deer Park, NY USA) - See all my reviews
With a great deal of skeptisizm, I read this book over five years ago. Ulcerative colitis was bleeding me to death, not that I had a life much worth living at the time. My world revolved around pain and I could be no further than 30 seconds from a bathroom. Ms. Gottschall, her book, and the diet completely vanquished all my symptoms of UC, saved my life and restored my intestinal health. I've just finished reading the reveiws of Courtney Lewis and a reader from Conneticut, who were both put off by the amount of work involved in maintaining this diet. Perhaps their symptoms were not as crippling as mine. Perhaps they have success with medication and have no problem with staying on it for the rest of their lives. I wish them well and hope they do not eventually require the surgery that many of us with this disease must face. I am concerned however, that their reveiws might prevent even one person from reading the book, which is why I am writing about my own experience. After 6 months on this diet I went for my yearly colonoscopy and my doctor declared my colon to appear "like that of a healthy 18 year old's". I have been off of all medication for over 4 years. I currently facilitate a listserver of almost 400 participents, most of who are on the diet. If anyone is interested in joining it, write me at rturet@optonline.com

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216 of 220 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Proof positive - the SCD works!, February 26, 2000
By "mikesimons" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
I have been on this regimen for three years. During this time I have been drug and symptom free. A year and half ago I posted the following review, which is even more dramatic proof now: After a year and a half on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I finally followed my gastroenterologist's request to get a colonoscopy. After all, it had been over four years since the last time anyone had given me any sort of exam of the gut, and 18 years with Crohns. My doc said "We got all the way to the cecum. No evidence at all of Crohns. No scars. No inflammation. Nothing. You look completely normal."

This dietary modification is far better than a drug-induced remission for me because even in past drug-induced 'remissions' my past exams have showed indication of disease. Now there are no drugs, no side effects. I believe this diet is a superior way to bring on a controlled remission.

This book guides the patient through the process of understanding their illness, describing the research that contributed to creating the diet, how to start the diet, what foods can be added and when. The book also contains valuable a list of links to "SCDiet" resources and online support groups that are available over the Internet.

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124 of 124 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I am slowly getting my life back, July 6, 2005
By Debora H. (Santa Cruz, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
2 years ago, I was suffering from nightly fevers, night sweats, diarrhea 5-8 times a day, pain and cramping, and would black out every time I stood up and had to rest when walking to the back yard. I was taking the highest dose of Colozal possible, and had lost 30 pounds in one month. I decided to start Remicade, which stopped the diarrhea for a week, and then I would regress. 3 rounds of Remicade were providing relief for 7-10 days after each one, and my doctor was suggesting 6 MP or Imuran, even though I had had a near-fatal reaction to it many years ago.

I decided to try the SCDiet again, which I had tried 8 years before with great results, but hadn't continued when I became pregnant, and had misplaced the book in a move. When I began the diet this time, my fevers stopped in a day! I continued to take Remicade, and followed the diet, though I suffered continuous ups and downs for the first 6 months, and my diet was very limited, since I couldn't tolerate most fruits, most vegetables, the nut flour, or the yogurt for the first 3 months.

I gained back the 30 pounds in a few months, despite the rocky progress, my anemia slowly corrected itself, and I started having energy again for the first time in years. I continued on the Remicade, though by now, I was able to stretch my infusions out to 8 weeks, then 10, but still would relapse towards the last weeks.

A year into the diet, I found out that I had a stricture in my descending colon and sigmoid colon that was the size of a pencil. In July, 2004 I had surgery to remove the stricture, and continued on with SCD in the hospital and afterwards. Recovery was fairly easy, and the doctors were amazed at my speedy progress. I discontinued Remicade, since it was unnecessary with the stricture gone.

It is now one year after surgery, and 2 years on the diet. I had a colonoscopy a month ago, and my GI found very, very slight inflammation in the rectum and secum, and all of the biopsies were normal. I haven't had Remicade since the surgery, and am continuing on a very low dose of sulfasalazine, which I plan to discontinue in a year. I weigh the most I have weighed in over 17 years of this disease, my bloodwork is all normal for the first time in 17 years, and my skin and hair are healthy. Many people have wondered if I am pregnant, because I look so "radiant."

Hopefully, in 2 more years, my follow up colonoscopy will be all clear, and I will have weaned from my last medication. I am just saddened that I didn't stick with the diet 8 years ago, because I probably would not have had to have surgery, or 17 years ago, when I was first diagnosed at 16. There are so many things I lost because of this disease; a year abroad at a very prostigious art school, a modeling contract, a normal college experience, besides many, many years of blood, fever and sickness.