I was diagnosed with Crohn's in June 2011.
Before that symptoms were fairly minimal. I had one instance of blood in stool the previous summer, 1 instance of abdominal pain a couple of months after that, and then for about 2-3 months leading up to diagnosis I had diarrhea on an almost permanent basis.
So finally I went to the doctor, had a colonoscopy scheduled for the following week, but before I even got a chance to have the colonscopy a (trans-sphincteric) fistula had formed.
After endoscopies I got the crohn's diagnosis, and was prescribed Ciproxin, Flagyl, Budesonide, and Asacol, to start with, but on the assumption that this would not be enough to keep me in remission. I met with 4 different gastroenterologists, 3 advised me to begin remicade, one thought that azathioprine would be enough.
Instead I went to Cambridge, met with Professor John Hunter and started the dietary treatment described in his book ('Inflammatory Bowel Disease'). Initially I was on the elemental diet for 3 weeks, during which time I continued all medication apart from the antibiotics. The fistula healed during this time. After this point I went on the LOFFLEX diet (I can explain this in more detail if someone wants more information) but I relapsed immediately on this, mostly I think because I was basically not well yet.
So the next step was to go back on the elemental diet for another week, and then start the full elimination diet (where no food is considered safe, and you introduce one food every 4 days - or longer if needed). I am doing VERY well on this. I have been symptomless since mid-august and all my blood work is normal.
I have been surprised with the things that bother me. They aren't the grains and the dairy that we all would normally suspect. Wheat appears to be fine, as does milk, and even ice-cream in small amounts. But onions and pork are definite triggers for me. Citrus fruits and mushrooms are probable ones. And I'm sure that by the time I'm finished with testing I will have discovered a few more.
I still have a long way to go with food testing, as I am now testing each food for a full week to give symptoms time to develop. But I am confident that it is working, and by now there are a lot of foods that I CAN have, so eating is not really a problem any more. I am only on Asacol now, with the plan being to come off it very soon.
I just wanted to share, as I think it is very hard to take the plunge and try something like this, especially as there are no guarantees that it works, and it takes a lot of time and effort. But if any of you are thinking of trying this method, maybe it helps to know that it CAN work...
Before that symptoms were fairly minimal. I had one instance of blood in stool the previous summer, 1 instance of abdominal pain a couple of months after that, and then for about 2-3 months leading up to diagnosis I had diarrhea on an almost permanent basis.
So finally I went to the doctor, had a colonoscopy scheduled for the following week, but before I even got a chance to have the colonscopy a (trans-sphincteric) fistula had formed.
After endoscopies I got the crohn's diagnosis, and was prescribed Ciproxin, Flagyl, Budesonide, and Asacol, to start with, but on the assumption that this would not be enough to keep me in remission. I met with 4 different gastroenterologists, 3 advised me to begin remicade, one thought that azathioprine would be enough.
Instead I went to Cambridge, met with Professor John Hunter and started the dietary treatment described in his book ('Inflammatory Bowel Disease'). Initially I was on the elemental diet for 3 weeks, during which time I continued all medication apart from the antibiotics. The fistula healed during this time. After this point I went on the LOFFLEX diet (I can explain this in more detail if someone wants more information) but I relapsed immediately on this, mostly I think because I was basically not well yet.
So the next step was to go back on the elemental diet for another week, and then start the full elimination diet (where no food is considered safe, and you introduce one food every 4 days - or longer if needed). I am doing VERY well on this. I have been symptomless since mid-august and all my blood work is normal.
I have been surprised with the things that bother me. They aren't the grains and the dairy that we all would normally suspect. Wheat appears to be fine, as does milk, and even ice-cream in small amounts. But onions and pork are definite triggers for me. Citrus fruits and mushrooms are probable ones. And I'm sure that by the time I'm finished with testing I will have discovered a few more.
I still have a long way to go with food testing, as I am now testing each food for a full week to give symptoms time to develop. But I am confident that it is working, and by now there are a lot of foods that I CAN have, so eating is not really a problem any more. I am only on Asacol now, with the plan being to come off it very soon.
I just wanted to share, as I think it is very hard to take the plunge and try something like this, especially as there are no guarantees that it works, and it takes a lot of time and effort. But if any of you are thinking of trying this method, maybe it helps to know that it CAN work...