I'm new to this sight and have been reading all the posts, very helpful and very interesting. My son was diagnosed with Crohns 7/4/12 at the age of 16. No prior symptoms until he came to us at 3 am because of the stomach pain. I rushed him to the ER and he saw every Dr and Specialist on call that night into the next day. We spent 9 hrs waiting for something, anything that would tell us why this sudden onset of symptoms. Severe pain with a fever of 103. Peds Dr thought his appendix was the problem and decided to admit my son and "wait" for it to rupture so they cold remove it. I am not in the medical field, but this seemed odd to me. A new to the area GI dr suggested Crohns and wanted to do a colonoscopy. So the battle begun between the Drs on what to do next. When his appendix did not not rupture, it was decided to do a colonoscopy which revealed Crohns disease. With no prior symptoms and no family history, this was a shock. As we spent the next 4 days in the hospital trying to do some research and wanting to take control of this before it took over my son. I agreed to the drugs to help get him feeling better quickly. IV flagyl and Entocort. That helped somewhat. He started Prednisone a couple weeks after that and that helped almost immediately, to a degree. He was taking off Entocort and flagyl and put on 6MP. As I did more research I found help and hope in reading about the Macrobiotic diet. We are not following it 100% but it has given my inspiration in what I do give my son. After being in pain and flaring for almost 2 months, I started preparing all organic meals. No Gluten, no sugar, no dairy, no red meat. Within about a week he was feeling a lot better. After a month his labs came back and his inflammation had dropped significantly! He also takes cod liver oil, multi vitamin, calcium, and a probiotic. After feeling really good for 2 months, he figured he was "cured" and started eating whatever he wanted. This weekend has been hell as he has had a major flare again. I have noticed so far, the drugs don't do much but take the edge off and what has really helped him is watching what he puts in his mouth. Has anyone else tried and had good results with this type of diet??? Thank you!
Anyone try a "natural" approach for treatment?
- Thread starter jeepmom
- Start date
Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2012
- Messages
- 6,292
Welcome the forum! We have a diet/supplement link on the forum you may to browse through. Many members have posted about their experiences with a wide variety of diets and supplements. Also, check out our parents of kids with IBD subforum as they are a wonderful group with loads of experience, compassion and humor.
My son is 16 and was diagnosed this year, we try to follow a clean diet and avoid processed food he is also on a combo of Remicade and methotrexate. We are basically in the wait and see mode right now to determine if this combo is going to get him into remission.
My son is 16 and was diagnosed this year, we try to follow a clean diet and avoid processed food he is also on a combo of Remicade and methotrexate. We are basically in the wait and see mode right now to determine if this combo is going to get him into remission.
DustyKat
Super Moderator
- Joined
- May 8, 2010
- Messages
- 15,469
Hi jeepmom and :welcome:
I'm so sorry to hear about your boy, what a shock for you all! :hug:
As Clash has said, have a look through the Diet forum as it contains a wealth of information on various diets. I personally believe that diet, although not causing Crohn's, is beneficial in symptom control and maintenance of remission. remission is the key here, achieve remission and that is where you may like to read up extensively on Enteral Nutrition. There are many parents that have or have had their children on this treatment. It is used widely as a first line outside of the US and can be as effective as steroids at inducing remission, particularly in the area of the bowel that it sounds like your son's Crohn's is located, the ileum...is that right?
Diet, EN included, is like most other aspects of this disease, there is no one size fits all. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another and I see you have already had that experience with some of the meds. The best thing you can do is to keep an open mind and be prepared to change tack if there is any indication that something isn't working whether it be medication, diet, supplements etc.
Both of my children are in surgically induced remission and do take a maintenance medication called Imuran, it is the parent drug of 6MP. My daughter, now 20, has over the years moved to a raw vegan diet, little sugar, no caffeine. It is in my opinion an extreme diet but she is an adult and it is her choice. She says she feels well and energised on it but I know full well for many people here it just wouldn't be an option. I personally opt for a diet that is as organically based as possible and lean toward white meats and seafood with a limited amount of dairy. This is not hard in our household as my son, since surgery, finds red meat does sit well with him.
So read, read and read some more and ask, ask, ask questions, of us, of doctors, of anyone that you think may provide with you support and assistance. Good luck and welcome aboard!
Dusty. xxx
I'm so sorry to hear about your boy, what a shock for you all! :hug:
As Clash has said, have a look through the Diet forum as it contains a wealth of information on various diets. I personally believe that diet, although not causing Crohn's, is beneficial in symptom control and maintenance of remission. remission is the key here, achieve remission and that is where you may like to read up extensively on Enteral Nutrition. There are many parents that have or have had their children on this treatment. It is used widely as a first line outside of the US and can be as effective as steroids at inducing remission, particularly in the area of the bowel that it sounds like your son's Crohn's is located, the ileum...is that right?
Diet, EN included, is like most other aspects of this disease, there is no one size fits all. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another and I see you have already had that experience with some of the meds. The best thing you can do is to keep an open mind and be prepared to change tack if there is any indication that something isn't working whether it be medication, diet, supplements etc.
Both of my children are in surgically induced remission and do take a maintenance medication called Imuran, it is the parent drug of 6MP. My daughter, now 20, has over the years moved to a raw vegan diet, little sugar, no caffeine. It is in my opinion an extreme diet but she is an adult and it is her choice. She says she feels well and energised on it but I know full well for many people here it just wouldn't be an option. I personally opt for a diet that is as organically based as possible and lean toward white meats and seafood with a limited amount of dairy. This is not hard in our household as my son, since surgery, finds red meat does sit well with him.
So read, read and read some more and ask, ask, ask questions, of us, of doctors, of anyone that you think may provide with you support and assistance. Good luck and welcome aboard!
Dusty. xxx
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,786
i remember think i was cured at one point and did the exact same thing.
but this disease is for life, you will only manage it. but a fecal microbiota transplant is the only possibility for a cure i believe.
i have had crohns for almost 4 years now and i have only tried pentasa for a few months and lialda, thats it, and its been really hard. i only did it this way because i was super paranoid of anything produced by the medical industry, and convinced that the only way i was to regain my health, was through my own efforts, due to so many doctor visits unable to give answers and learning about the dangers of antibiotics and the years i spent on them for acne. I was simply done with the medical industry. although my attitudes were a little extreme, i dont entirely feel the same way now, in the future, i may consider trying more drugs, but now i may not have to, i have gotten very far without them. i have crohns in the ileum/colon, and in the small intestine, so it is wide spread in my GI.
some ideas for your son to try:
coconut oil, up to one tablespoon a day, take some with every meal, it is a strong antibacterial.
oreganol p73, oregano oil in enteric capsules, also antibacterial.
vsl#3, probiotics, help kill bad bacteria.
i find oats and wheat to be well tolerated, but only use quick oats not the original oats. and only wheat without any added gluten. i eat 700 calories worth of wheat a day, and it is tolerated well.
i also eat refried beans every day about one cup a day and if cooked correctly and thouroghly, they are tolerated well. they must be soaked in warm water for 4 hours, then drained. then soaked another 4-10 hours in very warm water, then cooked on high heat for 2 hours. it cannot be done any faster then that i have discovered.
Pomegranate juice contains no sucrose, neither does prune juice, these are very safe to consume on a regular basis.
some tips from SCD(specific carbohydrate diet)
avoid some starches like corn and rice.
avoid sucrose.many fruits have some sucrose.
soluble fiber supplements may help under certain conditions, but they can also cause alot of problems. psylluim is good when you have alot of diarhea and need more stool formation, but do not use psyllium when there is any degree of constipation, you need something with strict antibacterial power, like probiotics and coconut oil, other wise psyllium can make constipation worse.
i hope something helps.
but this disease is for life, you will only manage it. but a fecal microbiota transplant is the only possibility for a cure i believe.
i have had crohns for almost 4 years now and i have only tried pentasa for a few months and lialda, thats it, and its been really hard. i only did it this way because i was super paranoid of anything produced by the medical industry, and convinced that the only way i was to regain my health, was through my own efforts, due to so many doctor visits unable to give answers and learning about the dangers of antibiotics and the years i spent on them for acne. I was simply done with the medical industry. although my attitudes were a little extreme, i dont entirely feel the same way now, in the future, i may consider trying more drugs, but now i may not have to, i have gotten very far without them. i have crohns in the ileum/colon, and in the small intestine, so it is wide spread in my GI.
some ideas for your son to try:
coconut oil, up to one tablespoon a day, take some with every meal, it is a strong antibacterial.
oreganol p73, oregano oil in enteric capsules, also antibacterial.
vsl#3, probiotics, help kill bad bacteria.
i find oats and wheat to be well tolerated, but only use quick oats not the original oats. and only wheat without any added gluten. i eat 700 calories worth of wheat a day, and it is tolerated well.
i also eat refried beans every day about one cup a day and if cooked correctly and thouroghly, they are tolerated well. they must be soaked in warm water for 4 hours, then drained. then soaked another 4-10 hours in very warm water, then cooked on high heat for 2 hours. it cannot be done any faster then that i have discovered.
Pomegranate juice contains no sucrose, neither does prune juice, these are very safe to consume on a regular basis.
some tips from SCD(specific carbohydrate diet)
avoid some starches like corn and rice.
avoid sucrose.many fruits have some sucrose.
soluble fiber supplements may help under certain conditions, but they can also cause alot of problems. psylluim is good when you have alot of diarhea and need more stool formation, but do not use psyllium when there is any degree of constipation, you need something with strict antibacterial power, like probiotics and coconut oil, other wise psyllium can make constipation worse.
i hope something helps.
Last edited:
