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Elemental Diet

soupdragon69

ele mental leprechaun
Hi Folks,

I saw my gastro cons today and he gave me three options.

Antibiotics for several months - he doesnt know how long for and it would be Ciprofloxacin.

Steroids - which would be budesonide, so local acting but I am asthmatic and usually end up on prednisolone every 6-8 wks so would mean swapping back and forth as I would be trying to avoid the side effects as much as possible.

Elemental Diet for 2-4 wks then reintroduction of food gradually with an elimination diet built in as things improve.

I opted for the elemental diet as I am fed up with all the drugs I am on for my asthma and skin probs. He sent me there and then to the dietitian and I have spent this evening doing a taste test to see which flavours I prefer. I then have to ring the dietitian in the morning so she can fax my GP the details of everything.

Time will tell eh? To be honest I think I will find it reasonably easy as I am not eating much at the mo anyway and will try anything to get improvement. Antibiotics and steroids dont work for me as I end up with rebound effects within a short space of time so this is why my gastro wants to try this. I see him again on Jan 30th but he said to ring if I needed to see him. I am so thankful to have a doctor that listens to me and has found the cause of the problem.

Anybody any thoughts or comments or advice about the elemental diet? I would appreciate your input.

Jan :)
 
K

kix66

Guest
Hi Jan - Has your doc. talked about Remicade? I went thru similar situation, got to the point that oral meds just don't work for me due to the terminal illium involvement, and Remicade was my best bet. Been on it for 1 1/2 and it's going well. Elimination is helpfull only in the short term in my opinion. Hope you feel better soon, have a wonderfull holiday season.

Hope to see you in chat again soon!
 
R

ruthymg

Guest
Hi Jan, I would have to agree with Kix66, I was offered the elemental diet but didn't really like the sound of it. My only other option was Remicade, which I am waiting to begin. The success rate in these diets isn't fantastic and it could only be short lived or so my consultant says, try mentioning the Remicade. Its known as Infliximab in the UK by the way, theres also another drug called Methotrexate that you may be able to have too.


Ruth
 
Hi Jan. Luckily I've not reached the point of needing Remicade, but I suggest you either try the elemental diet approach then go on an elimination diet or give diets such as SCD the chance, or maybe ask your doctor about immunosuppressant meds like Imuran or 6 MP. Many people go into remission using either of these approaches.

This is just a suggestion. My opinion is always to try the least harsh med or diet, before progressing up the med ladder... Good Luck and if you try the elemental diet tell us your progress and if it made you better....
 
Actually the success rate on the diets is fairly good it's not as quick as steriods as far as effect it does not not have as high of a success rate as steriods but again it's an option other than steriods though....

Me I'm off of Imuran been off of it for a while now... I've given up on Pentasa... And I'm trying to break away from the Remicade...

I'm just gonna try to control everything through diet... Granted I'm still on 10mg of prednisone but I'm ever so slowly getting off of it and once I'm off of it I'm NEVER going on it again... I'll more than likely continue with the Remicade treatments though since I'm paraniod about gettting sick again...
 

soupdragon69

ele mental leprechaun
Hi folks,

Well I am ten days into the elemental diet. Today is the first day my guts haven't complained in anyway. I did notice from last Sunday that my energy levels were picking up. Still resting lots too in between doing things and am glad am on annual leave at the mo so I can pace myself. I have managed some walks and floor exercising with light weights too on alternate days.:)

I really dont want to go down the heavy drug route if I can help it. I agree they have their place in treatment but if I can get into remission via this elemental diet AND get the nutrition levels improved to start with then thats the route for me!

I have prednisolone steroids on a regular basis for my unstable/brittle asthma and the side effects are just not funny. For those of you on either pred or budesonide I really understand what you are going through on that front believe me.

I think the trick with steroids and elemental etc is yes they may well get you into remission but it is staying there. Will see how I get on over the next week to ten days on this elemental diet and see what my gastro has to say at the end of January.

I agree with you GNC Crohn's Man and Mazen that the less we take into our bodies drugs wise the better even though sometimes they are are necessary evil. The more we can do to help ourselves the better eh?

Will keep you all posted on how things pan out.


Thanks for your comments.

Jan
 
hello, I hope it works for you I can't stick to a diet or theres too much on them I can't eat. I just try to stay clear of foods that I know doesn't agree with me
~~~HUGS~~
 

soupdragon69

ele mental leprechaun
Hi Folks,

Well I have now been on the elemental diet almost 8 weeks now. Originally it was supposed to be 2-3 weeks. As time has gone on I felt better but about 2.5-3wks into it I plateaued and ended up starting Pentasa also.

Had to reduce the Pentasa from 4 tablets twice a day to 2 tablets twice a day as my asthma and skin played up alot.

Am feeling much better overall and they say I can start eating again this wednesday (valantines day - love food is my motto for that day!).

My consultant says my Crohn's on a scale of 1-10 is about 7.5 ulceration wise and I have had a haemorraghic rash over my skin that is now going so they say my blood clotting wasnt good because I wasnt absorbing my vitamin K along with the other fat soluble vitamins.

He wants to start me on Azathioprine when he sees me again in April and I have to think about it. We will see eh?

Sorry I havent been around - had a relative die that I was very close to and have had a bit of a rollercoaster physically and emotionally these past weeks.

Will try and be around a bit more now.

Hope you are all well.

Jan
 
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