Are any of these trigger foods?

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KWalker

KWalker

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I ran into a bit of a snag last night. I've been doing really well after I started taking Psyllium Husks. I started taking it 4 days ago now and almost immediately saw an incredible improvement with bowel movements, going from diarrhea 5-7 times a day down to pretty solid 1-3 bm's. Everything was going really well until last night when I woke up in the middle of the night with some pretty bad diarrhea and it really hurt when coming out. (sorry, that sounds gross)

Here's what I'm wondering: Yesterday for dinner I had shrimp tortellini with a cream/pesto sauce and I'm wondering if the cream could be the problem. I also had quite a bit of Nestle Iced Tea yesterday (which I don't drink a lot of) so that is on my list of contributors right now.

Another thing I'm wondering partially is if by taking the psyllium and now requiring some effort to go to the bathroom if I caused some sort of hemmerhoid and with the loose BM it caused it to sting.

Being on the psyllium with the solid bowel movements (aside from last night) I want to start a food diary again and see if I notice any trigger foods so I was wondering if any of these foods seem to be common among crohn's sufferers.

Thanks guys!
 
My son consumes Nestea iced tea quite regularly (not daily but certainly weekly) and has never seemed to have a problem with it. It was even something he was allowed to consume while doing EN. It is his go to drink when all his friends are drinking pop since carbonation doesn't always agree with him.
 
Okay thank you for that. The iced tea was my last choice but I figured that since this has happened after drinking it, it couldn't hurt to ask
 
Does iced tea have the same amount of caffeine as normal tea? It's not something I've ever drunk ( I like my tea hot! ) Can you tolerate tea and coffee? Caffeine is one of my big triggers and even in remission it would cause problems so I avoid.
 
I'd guess iced tea is way worse for you than warm tea...especially the kinds like these that come packed with sugar. Something I never thought about though and no coffee doesn't bother me. I rarely drink regular tea.
 
Ice tea causes my guts to ache. I'm on pred right now so D isn't an issue but I bet when I am off of it then ice tea will give me D.
 
Hmm so it seems they could both be the cause. I'm still trying to fight this right now and hoping I see improvements before monday when I have to go back to school. Fortunately pasta noodles have been a safe food for me and give me something to go too when I'm not feeling well and need something bland
 
I can have problems with creamy foods - since started Pred again I've found that most foods have been safe to eat, but I got a bit overexcited and really overdid it last night at a tapas restaurant - I think my undoing was delicious mushrooms with stilton (blue cheese) sauce plus a few other rich plates - and then ice cream for dessert, what was I thinking? The cream overload really did me in this morning, people at work thought I had been out drinking last night .. embarrassing to say it was a food hangover?
 
Mmm that sounds delicious! I'm pretty much narrowing it down to the cream. I do know that sometimes when I eat a lot of creamy pasta I feel funny that night but never like this.

Whatever it is, I'm still "flaring". My temp right now is 101.6, my butt absolutely kills when going to the bathroom and I have had a terrible headache. I've been honestly spending my whole day either in the tub or when I'm out, laying on my stomach with a heating pad on my butt.

I have no idea how I'm going to go to school tomorrow. My old school was set up so each class held less people and in return we had higher quality, padded chairs with room to even sit on your leg (so my butt didn't touch/hurt) but this new school has it set up so some of my classes hold 1500 kids and as a result we get the crappiest chairs available that are cheap, hard plastic and your jammed against the person next to you so even for a normal person there's no comfort.

I hope you are feeling better now!
 
Oh that's awful you poor thing - have you contacted your doctor about your fever and the pain? I hope you start to feel better soon and it's not too uncomfortable. :)

My stomach has calmed down a bit now, I also actually started on the psyllium husks again yesterday after not taking it for months, maybe this combined with the big meal caused the upset (I think the psyllium causes a bit of gas and bloating for me as I get used to it). I find the mornings are worse and it calms down as the day goes on.
 
I'm glad your stomach is feeling better. I decided to stop my psyllium for a few days because I didn't want the anal pain to get worse if I now have to "push".

I haven't contacted a doctor because I don't really have a GI (don't see him because he's worthless) but I have a really good family doctor, a doctor on campus and I even thought about contacting my surgeon to see if she has anything to help. My bum is causing me a lot of pain/discomfort and I'm really stressing that it will completely mess up my whole school year
 
Iced tea doesn't bother me at all but cream does. I had a pasta dish made with heavy cream and i had bad diarrhea. I notice anything high in fat does that to me.
 
i don't find any foods to be particular triggers, unless I overdo fibrous fruit and veg like oranges or corn where the gut doesn't break down the fibres. I was wondering though if ou actually were unlucky enough to eat a bad shrimp and that has caused both the D and the temp? I can't eat any seafood but think this is more 'allergy' rather than crohn's intolerance. Any one else have problems with seafood? The other thing I cant have is spirulina makes me feel awful for days but again I dont think crohn's related. Pity cos its meant to be packed with nutrients which would be good for all of us.
 
How have you been getting on KWalker? I hope the pain is getting better, I've only dealt with a couple of minor fissures that healed on their own and I thought they were paaainful so it must be really bad for you... And you can't exactly explain what is going on to people around you at school or work either! :(

Anna I've been looking into starting spirulina this week, I will have to let you know how I get on and if I react or not, fingers crossed!
 
HMm I'm thinking pasta. When I eat non gluten free pasta I'm fine but when I eat regular pasta foods my stomach goes crazy. Just a thought
 
I just got home from an appointment with my surgeon and it turns out none of those were a trigger for me. It turns out I actually have a large internal abscess that requires surgery and is the cause for the fever, pain, etc. She gave me a prescription for percocets to tie me over and I will more than likely be having surgery on Monday.
 
Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. This disease is so frustrating! Here we all are talking about food triggers and its actually an abscess! Best of luck with the surgery on Monday, we'll be thinking of you.
 
Thank you :) As much as it sucks to have to go through this (3rd surgery in a year), I have to admit I am happy that I now know the cause, I'm going to get it taken care of, and I have the best surgeon available to do the surgery.
 
Third surgery in a year? Thats terrible. What were the others for? You poor thing - and here I am feeling sorry for myself just having to go to hospital endlessly. At least they're not operating on me. How do you manage with your children etc? I think I remember reading you have little ones (or one) but may be confusing you with someone else.
 
annawato said:
Third surgery in a year? Thats terrible. What were the others for? You poor thing - and here I am feeling sorry for myself just having to go to hospital endlessly. At least they're not operating on me. How do you manage with your children etc? I think I remember reading you have little ones (or one) but may be confusing you with someone else.
Click to expand...

I do not have children yet lol. I'm only 22. With that being said I am however living away from home and have worked my ass off in University without the support (financially or emotionally) of my own family so the surgeries definitely make things difficult at times. I'm doing a double major in Psychology & Child and Youth Studies so it is a lot of work. Luckily the school is supportive and really helps me out with catching up missed assignments and what not.

My first two surgeries were also for abscesses. I was originally only supposed to have one on November 11,2011 but because of my homecare nurses negligance I caused my infection to instead get worse leading to a second, more serious abscess surgery on December 11,2011 where I was given a 7.5" long incision. Technically those two were in a different calendar year but seeing that its not in November yet, it makes it 3 in one year.

After surgery I will definitely be going back on medicine
 
haha, no I'm glad you don't have children yet - double major, living away from home is quite enough for now! :) I have twins who just turned 21, one is studying sport and exercise science at Uni and the other is studying bachelor of visual communications so i know how much work is needed, particularly if you need to support yourself financially too! Hopefully you can get some of the emotional support you need from the people here, but its not the same as family. Are your family far away?
Abscesses are such a pain! In every way. I get recurrent abscesses too so i know how much pain you are in. Going back on medicine is definitely a good idea, even though they can have horrible side effects the alternatives are worse. How long have you been diagnosed and have any of the medications worked? Keep in touch and don't hesitate to pm me if you need some of that emotional support from someone who understands.
 
Thank you :) that means a lot. With two children in University I could only imagine the cost of that! I'm actually doing okay financially. My fiancee (been together since 14) are living together and were both very focused on school and save as much as we can to try to cut back and school debt. I have a fairly decent job in the summer as well so right when I'm done school for the year, I have a job that pays the bills and gives a little extra to save for schooling. She does the same. I also get scholarships and grants because last year I made the Dean's list (above 90%) both semesters even while taking 2 months off when I needed surgery.

My dad passed away from brain cancer when I was 9 and I actually decided to move away from my mom because of the emotional stress and abuse she was causing. She never went to post secondary school so she doesn't see it being important these days. She lives about 2 hours away but I haven't talked to her for about 6 months now. It was different once I moved away so when she started on one of her rants about school I could just hang up the phone and be done with talking to her but right after Christmas of 2011 things went downhill to where they are with no communication. She didn't even acknowledge my birthday this year. It is what it is, I'm not going to waste my time arguing with her when it just gets in the way of things I need to do now. She made the bed, she can sleep in it.

I was diagnosed with crohns when I was 2. I've been on the meds listed in my signature (Remicade, Humira, Methotrexate (oral/injection), Prednisone, Cipro, Flagyl. For me it was like they all worked and then my body would get immune to them so they stopped working..hence why I was on so many. I was like a guinea pig for my doctor. I was never on two different meds at the same time (except cipro/flagyl). The worst flare up and actually the last that I can think of was way back in 2007. The doctor counted over 20 mouth ulcers, I spiked high fevers, couldn't eat and barely drank causing me to lose 45lbs in a matter of 3 weeks, etc. I got that taken care with Remicade and after that, (crohns wise) I've felt really well aside from my abscesses. If it weren't for them I wouldn't know I had crohns anymore (besides the fact that you can't get rid of it). I stopped all medicine in 2010 and was feeling awesome up until my first abscess surgery and then after that slowly things started to go bleh. I do actually feel quite well but these are quite an obstacle that I don't want to deal with anymore.

I will keep that mind. Thanks so much for your support
 
KWalker do you find that when you are stressed your crohn's gets worse? I am a bit older then you are (30!!!). So I am over the college phase now, although I am studying maths part time because I want to be qualified to teach it eventually. But over the years I notice my flares are worse when i am stressed. 2004 was a bad year, that was because I was in college and it was my last year, involved a lot of teaching practice. 2007 was a bad year, but that was because me and my boyfriend had just bought a house together and we were moving house etc. along with juggling work and i think that was what made it worse that time. this year has a been a bad year, and again its emotional stress caused by problems at home that have been the cause. I am my parents 'parent' instead of the other way around. they are both in their 60s and fit and able to walk around but Dad is an alcoholic and continually gets himself into situations that I have to sort out. My mom has a lot of health problems but is doing absolutely nothing to help herself. I continually try to motivate her with diets, and getting out etc. I can identify with you wanted to move away because sometimes you just have to eliminate the stressor. Hopefully you are getting support from your fiancee and friends. Because you definitely do need emotional support. I went through phase this year where i just kinda wanted to cut everybody off. I still went to work etc., but I just felt I was continually moaning about my health and family problems and decided nobody wants a moaner in their company. But I realised now that is the wrong way to do things. So instead I just decided I would make an effort and meet up again and i do feel so much better. because they had their problems too and had no one to share with either. I guess is what I am saying is emotional support is very important and I hope you have some people you can rely on.

Long term though cutting your Mom off completely might not be the answer but you are the judge of that. But judging from my own experience I tried to cut off my Dad a few times, but I found over the years it does come out in other ways eventually, you still find yourself thinking about them.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with your parents. I always try to see if stress makes my crohns acts up and it doesn't usually affect it but when it does it seems like something stressful will happen and my crohns will act up a few days later. So it's not instant but it seems like worrying about things gives me BM problems the day or two after. I try not to stress over things that I can't control because it just gets you in the cycle that if affects your crohns and then if your crohns is acting up odds are you're not in the greatest mood so it's like a circle.

I'm thankful that my fiancee and her family is very supportive. Her step-dad actually has crohns as well so it helps when I say I'm not feeling well because they've seen similar through him and I can talk to him about problems and vice versa. Unfortunately I can't say I have many (or any) close friends right now. There's so many kids at school that to see the same person twice can be hard sometimes so to break the ice can be challenging and then once you do, it seems like most kids these days just want to party all day and every weekend and my fiancee and I just aren't into that.
 
And considering the fact that crohn's and alcohol are not a good mix anyway I wouldn't blame you. College life can revolve around alcohol unfortunately. I did a lot of it myself pre 2004!! Maybe joining a society or hobby group might be a good idea? I know they involve time but might be a great way to meet the same people.

I totally get what you say about the crohn's acting up a few days later. usually i'm too involved in the situation at the time to actually stress out if you know what i mean, but it is always after the event my crohn's flares. usually after the whole thing is solved!! Its great that you get on with your financee's family. And getting on with the step dad has to be a plus :).
 
Wow, big update! I just dodged a bullet!! I went out for a small walk this morning and when I came home it felt like my underwear were wet. Well, they were indeed soaked and covered in blood/fluids from the abscess that popped drained itself. It was quite messy cleaning up as it was draining quite heavily but it is almost completely gone now and feels 100% better.

I immediately called my surgeon to see if I needed to go to the hospital right away and she actually said that if its opened and draining/drained then there's no need to do surgery!
 
I do feel a lot better! I had an appointment at school this afternoon so I went for a little and it is sore once walking around where the hole is so I'm hoping that feels better soon. I'm also nervous as to how much is left to drain that could come out from sitting on the hard chairs at school so I'm hesitant as to whether or not I'm going to go to class for a few days until I know for sure there's nothing left...atleast no blood.
 
Sorry K, here I am offering emotional support then I disappear. We've actually been away for the last week caravanning up the coast while I was well enough to escape from the doctors! Great news that the abscess self drained, has it improved since your last post? ie are you able to attend class again?
And yes stress is definitely a trigger for me. i think a lot of people find this but not sure why. Anyway, hope all is going ok now,
Anna
 
Hey, no problem! I hope you guys had fun :). I am since doing so much better and it almost gone! I have returned to class and although it ocassionally gives me discomfort depending on what I'm sitting on, I have been sitting through all my lectures without pain meds! The surgeon said as long as its not giving me pain and has gone down in size than there is no need to do surgery right now
 

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