I am new to the forum and the mother of a 23 year old who has had Crohn's for 22 years. We've been through it all and I won't get too much into the details here, but basicly he has inflammation of his entire large intestine (and it is not UC because he has had two flares in his small intestine), most of the medications make him worse, he has had no surgeries, and the only drug that really worked long term was Cipro. We found out recently he can't take any of the biologics and since he moved home to finish his last year of college, it seemed like the right time to try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I am very well read about the diet and knowledgeable about many of the recipe sights. My son is presently on an antibiotic for sever acne (doxycycline), he was unable to take Acutane - just another drug he can't tolerate. He takes no other drugs from the gastro at present. Can't find one he tolerates.
So we started the diet and things seemed to go well at first. He did have flu like symptoms and a runny nose which seemed okay (he took some epsom salt baths). By day three, his diarrhea had become all water and day four there was bright red blood and alot of gas. He has lost 8 lbs so far and has been on it eight days. He is going to the bathroom about 10-12 times a day about double what he usually does. I did not initially stop the doxycyclline because when his acne improved a about 6 months ago and we tried to stop, he became much worse - terrible gas and watery diarrhea. He has a real issue with milk too and milk products and hasn't had any for 16 years. I planned to start the diet and after the intro stage to stop the antibiotics. He normally takes probiotics from his naturopathic doctor, but because they have FOS which is not legal, I stopped them for a few days, since he was still on the antibiotic I thought it would be okay. I was going to try and find a safe probiotic for him that had no FOS and no milk products that might make him worse. We were still going to try the yoghurt a little later.
I think the food passing through him so quickly is irritating his intestines, rather than a bacteria die off at this stage. It could also be that bad bacteria or C. difficile has gotten hold, but I don't think so. I don't know whether to forge on or stop and get his weight back up and try again. We are both so enthusiastic about the diet and feel it might work for him because alot of his issues seemed to be bacteria related. He is presently at Stage 1 of diet. He normally eats whatever he wants (but very healthy) and never has a problem - fried eggs, apples with skin, peanut butter. Getting him enough calories is starting to be an issue and he is tiring of the butternut squash and carrot purees. I would like to try the nut flour muffins or something else more substantial so he doesn't lose interest and can provide something more substantial to eat so he doesn't lose more weight.
By the way, he is 6'5'' and normally weighs 190 lbs (which constantly baffles most doctors when they see how much inflammation there is in his intestines). He only has a little pain when he uses the bathroom. Otherwise leads a pretty normal life, hasn't missed a day of college classes, works out etc. But we know he can't continue like this with the inflammation the way it is.
I have looked all over the internet but can't really find much about people who had trouble like this with the diet. I know this is very individual for each person who tries the diet, but if anyone has thoughts or had experiences like this I would look forward to hearing from you. My son will see his naturopathic doctor in a week and he can tell us alot about what is going on with him once he tests him. He is more familiar with GAPS, but knows quite a bit about SCD. This doctor has helped him so much over the years, but even his remedies are not working as well as they used to.
So we started the diet and things seemed to go well at first. He did have flu like symptoms and a runny nose which seemed okay (he took some epsom salt baths). By day three, his diarrhea had become all water and day four there was bright red blood and alot of gas. He has lost 8 lbs so far and has been on it eight days. He is going to the bathroom about 10-12 times a day about double what he usually does. I did not initially stop the doxycyclline because when his acne improved a about 6 months ago and we tried to stop, he became much worse - terrible gas and watery diarrhea. He has a real issue with milk too and milk products and hasn't had any for 16 years. I planned to start the diet and after the intro stage to stop the antibiotics. He normally takes probiotics from his naturopathic doctor, but because they have FOS which is not legal, I stopped them for a few days, since he was still on the antibiotic I thought it would be okay. I was going to try and find a safe probiotic for him that had no FOS and no milk products that might make him worse. We were still going to try the yoghurt a little later.
I think the food passing through him so quickly is irritating his intestines, rather than a bacteria die off at this stage. It could also be that bad bacteria or C. difficile has gotten hold, but I don't think so. I don't know whether to forge on or stop and get his weight back up and try again. We are both so enthusiastic about the diet and feel it might work for him because alot of his issues seemed to be bacteria related. He is presently at Stage 1 of diet. He normally eats whatever he wants (but very healthy) and never has a problem - fried eggs, apples with skin, peanut butter. Getting him enough calories is starting to be an issue and he is tiring of the butternut squash and carrot purees. I would like to try the nut flour muffins or something else more substantial so he doesn't lose interest and can provide something more substantial to eat so he doesn't lose more weight.
By the way, he is 6'5'' and normally weighs 190 lbs (which constantly baffles most doctors when they see how much inflammation there is in his intestines). He only has a little pain when he uses the bathroom. Otherwise leads a pretty normal life, hasn't missed a day of college classes, works out etc. But we know he can't continue like this with the inflammation the way it is.
I have looked all over the internet but can't really find much about people who had trouble like this with the diet. I know this is very individual for each person who tries the diet, but if anyone has thoughts or had experiences like this I would look forward to hearing from you. My son will see his naturopathic doctor in a week and he can tell us alot about what is going on with him once he tests him. He is more familiar with GAPS, but knows quite a bit about SCD. This doctor has helped him so much over the years, but even his remedies are not working as well as they used to.
