Food Testing whilst on pred ?

[FruitLoop]

Hi - I am currently following the LOFFLEX diet (basically a restricted diet that avoids all possible food triggers - wheat, dairy, yeast, pork, eggs, milk, e.t.c).

I then will re-introduce the possible triggers to find out if any cause symptoms.

My Q is - can i do thid whilst on pred or will the pred mask any symptoms ?

i.e will the pred give me a false positive so i *think* wheat is ok but in reality it is not if i am drug free ?

Or does it make no difference ?

After following the diet for 2 days I have noticed an improvement in pain and such but again is this the pred or the diet - although i am reducing pred so it should not mask too much ?

Thanks

 

[Jeff D.]

I'm also on pred right now. I have always been able to eat pretty much anything I have ever wanted to eat. I just stay away from nuts and popcorn and that kind of stuff while flaring. But the other day I ate buffalo wings with no problems. I don't think it will give you a false positive but it may make things not as painful as usual. My disease is right in my rectum right now so I don't have stomach cramps or the like. I hope someone can answer your question better than I. Good luck

 

[Keara07]

Hello FruitLoop - love the avatar! Welcome to the forum as well....it's a great place.

My thoughts on this one....I am tapering off pred now too - down to 5 mg after being on for 5 months, with an emerg surgery thrown in 10 weeks back....but will hopefully be off in just one week...yea! Yup, can say prednisone does mask symptoms of any illness so you cna't be sure if it's the food changes for you, or the drug, imo. That said. when tapering, and if you have not been on the drug for long term, I would think it's more the food choices. I have seen me now react to more the lower dosage I go whereas about 4 weeks ago, I was eating better. PLus, just a guess with me and my docs, that my eating pre surgery helped to inflame the blockage I ended up with - not so much the food choices, but we didn't know it was that bad and I wasn't put on a diet of any kind and went by how I felt which was a masked feeling given I was on anywhere from 40-50 mg Prednisone for almost 3 months before having the emerg surgery.....but didn't know until I hit a lower taper and the pain came out full force one night (thank goodness...if it hadn't the intestine could have burst)- the night I tapered to 30mg actually (and I also had a bad spell post surgery when I tapered to 30 again (I was put back up to 50 mg in hospital)

The only thing I know for sure is I have a lactose intolerance (figured that out pre surgery and two elimination tests since have provem me right!). Wheat is ok, but has to be processed things, for eg homemade bread still kills, but a low fat, like weight watchers which is smaller in proportion is ok. I can do some fibre (had to build it back in after the surgery anyway slowly) but not too much. Some fruits ok, others not. I bought 4-5 books on chron's diets (there is no one diet but the recipes in the books gave lactose free and wheat free and low fibre alternatives...which is awesome).

So for me, it's learning curve and trial and error but I would suggest, again, just my opinion here, not a doc, to taper more before trial and error. I think I won't have a good idea for sure until all the pred effects are gone and the doc told me that takes 3-4 weeks for some and up to 6 months for others. *sigh* .... PLUS everyone pretty much agrees while there is no specific diet, having a healthier lifestyle is best for all, esp anyone with a chronic illness like us.

Best wishes! Oh, and the kids ae adorable - have 4 of my own.

 

[Kev]

Yeah, I found that while on pred I could eat anything.. thought my disease was in remission. NOT! Pred gives us a false sense of security, suppress the reactions we'd have if we weren't on it. I figured on my 2nd pred round to stick to my diet.

 

[FruitLoop]

Well my dietician rang me today and she was great !!

She said to leave the food testing till i am down to 10 mg of pred and also wait a few days after dropping down to rule out a reaction to the drop.

She said i should test yeast first as if i am ok with that then it makes life easier.

She thinks there is a good chance that wheat / dairy will cause problems so it is worth testing them next.

I think that wheat is going to be a problem as i have a lot of symptoms after i have eaten a lot of bread.

TBH i can happily cut out wheat and milk although cheese will be a problem.

Without doing the rigid testing I already know of various foods that cause problems and need to find the will power to avoid these things permenantly.

 

[soupdragon69]

Hey FL,

Am just in from work and was reading your posts. Glad your dietitian could help in relation to the pred and testing with the LOFFLEX it certainly sounds like a sensible way to go and that you have great support there. The LOFFLEX is a good way to start as it gives you some idea of what you can have but the thing I always missed was decent gravy!!

It seems I have alot of food intolerances and am now gluten, dairy, salicylate, benzoic acid and azo dye free. Very tough to follow some days and I do give in very very occasionally. But my crohns and asthma and skin probs are all linked they reckon so diet plays a big part for me. I have managed to find some decent alternatives though.

Hoping very much you only have a couple of things to avoid. Thinking of you and hope it goes well. Keep us posted.

 

[BWS1982]

Yeah, I agree, the pred will skew the results of anything. It made a noticable difference for me at first for about 3 or 4 weeks and I felt practically cured, but it was fleeting, and the next few months weren't as successful. I'd hold off on counting on any results just yet.

 

[md87]

I'm also currently on Prednisolone, but I seem to find I still get the same stomach pains/cramps as I did before I started taking them.

I used to eat a lot of eggs and also drank milk in tea quite often, but since being diagnosed I have realised that all dairy products were affecting me, so I tried goat’s milk, Soya and lactose free but none of them seemed any different to cows milk. I have now found another milk called rice dream, which is dairy free but tastes quite similar to skimmed cows milk.
I also avoid eating things like pizza and certain fruits.

I’m just quite confused with the dairy products - can I start having them once I’m in remission? Or should I just cut them out for good?

 

[FruitLoop]

Well the food testing has gone out of the window as my symptoms got worse and the Dr has now upped my pred back to 25mg - i had dropped to 20mg last Thursday.

I think i need to get the flare up better controlled and get the colonoscopy and barium x-ray done and then test foods.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[karl]

i'm on pred right now. i'm at 20mg currently, i started at 40mg about 30 days ago. i can eat pretty much whatever i want, although i still avoid spicy stuff and popcorn/nuts/seeds.
so far it has been great after the side effects wore off in the first week. currently only side effect i have is a little insomnia and i'm breaking out on my chest and neck a little.
i'm really hoping the aza works, i'm doubtful though. i think the pred is doing all the work at this point and i will have to goto remicade or increase my aza when my taper is over.

 

[FruitLoop]

Karl - I find drinking loads of water whilst on pred really helps with side-effects and also lessens the hunger somehwat as well.

Hope the aza starts working soon.

 

[karl]

Karl - I find drinking loads of water whilst on pred really helps with side-effects and also lessens the hunger somehwat as well.

Hope the aza starts working soon.

yeah, i've been trying to drink more liquids like water and gatorade because my urine has been coming out more yellow since i started on the pred. i asked my GI about it and she said the pred will retain water and you need to drink more, also the slight soreness i get in my kidney areas is because of lack of water.

 

[AbstractDonut]

I know when I dropped down to 20mg pred was when my troubles came back. And just to let you know there are some cheeses which are low in lactose, though I am not sure its the lactose which causes the crohn's symptoms.

 

[BWS1982]

lactose is just the sugar found naturally in milk. Sugar=carb.....most cheese has almost no carbs if any....hard cheese is fine for me but milk will cause problems....still cheese is often a no-no food for Crohnnies, but just to clarify some info....

 

[karl]

i dropped to 10mg 2 days ago and i'm doing well. i've eaten pizza and did not have any cramps, usually i would.

only problem is that my chest is breaking out like crazy and my face is oily

 

[AbstractDonut]

The pred will make you break out, dunno why.

FruitLoop, how did they want you to test yeast?

 

[FruitLoop]

FruitLoop, how did they want you to test yeast?

They said you could test yeast spread but the brewers yeast tabs from health shops would be best.

You test for 4 days with no other possible trigger food on those days - if you get symptoms the yeast is a problem.