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Hello there
- Thread starter russlac123
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Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:
Cat-a-Tonic
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Hi Russlac, welcome to the forum. Late 20s / early 30s seems to be a common age around here, I myself am 30 and still awaiting a proper diagnosis (my GI thinks it's crohn's but so far every test I've had has been "normal" - the good news is, prednisone is working for me, so I know that means I'm not crazy!). If your doctor isn't listening to you, is it possible for you to switch to another doctor within the NHS? I'm in the US and am not very familiar with how the NHS works. Can you get your GP to refer you to a different GI? There are lots of Brits on here (I'm assuming when you say NHS that you're in the UK), so maybe one of them can recommend a good GI in your area.
As far as diet goes, we're all a little different in what we can and cannot eat. There's a good thread by Regular Joe in the Food section of the forum, where he lists what his dietician generally recommends avoiding (it's general recommendations, so obviously not all of the suggestions will apply to all of us). You may want to start with eating just very bland foods (rice, baked chicken, broth, plain potatoes with no skin, bread, plain pasta, etc) and slowly start adding in other foods to your diet to see what you can and can't tolerate. I've been ill for the better part of a year and I am still figuring out what foods affect me - sometimes it'll be just one small ingredient, like for me garlic is not tolerated. I had to eat a few different dishes with garlic in them to put two and two together. Keeping a food diary helps with that as well - you write down what you ate, how you feel, some people even write down how many BMs and if they had blood or other symptoms, etc.
I hope that's somewhat helpful to you, and again, welcome. It's a great group of people here who are very knowledgeable and supportive, glad you found us.
As far as diet goes, we're all a little different in what we can and cannot eat. There's a good thread by Regular Joe in the Food section of the forum, where he lists what his dietician generally recommends avoiding (it's general recommendations, so obviously not all of the suggestions will apply to all of us). You may want to start with eating just very bland foods (rice, baked chicken, broth, plain potatoes with no skin, bread, plain pasta, etc) and slowly start adding in other foods to your diet to see what you can and can't tolerate. I've been ill for the better part of a year and I am still figuring out what foods affect me - sometimes it'll be just one small ingredient, like for me garlic is not tolerated. I had to eat a few different dishes with garlic in them to put two and two together. Keeping a food diary helps with that as well - you write down what you ate, how you feel, some people even write down how many BMs and if they had blood or other symptoms, etc.
I hope that's somewhat helpful to you, and again, welcome. It's a great group of people here who are very knowledgeable and supportive, glad you found us.
Hi Russ, from what I've read about dxing crohns, it seems to depend more on the whim of a particular GI than any scientific checklist.
Cat is right about food and diet section and Joe's thread. It is a great place to start but different for everyone. Last night we even discovered that EJ can eat lettuce. I didn't want to let him try but the wife insisted that he used to eat it and today no problems. EJ can eat brocco as long as it is stir-fried or steamed but raw brocc just goes right through. Same with apples, it does no good to eat them raw because they go completely undigested.
Glad you've joined! You'll find much better advice than I could give so just look around and ask these guys.
Cat is right about food and diet section and Joe's thread. It is a great place to start but different for everyone. Last night we even discovered that EJ can eat lettuce. I didn't want to let him try but the wife insisted that he used to eat it and today no problems. EJ can eat brocco as long as it is stir-fried or steamed but raw brocc just goes right through. Same with apples, it does no good to eat them raw because they go completely undigested.
Glad you've joined! You'll find much better advice than I could give so just look around and ask these guys.
Astra
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Hi russlac
and welcome fellow Brit
where are you?
sorry you're having such a bad time, but cos you're in the UK, you have the right to choose your own hospital, not just the one your GP recommends! If you're not happy, then find a new gastro and get a second opinion, don't just give up on the say so of one doc who sounds like she doesn't give a flying F***! Try another town for example.
I understand your anger, fear, disbelief, confusion etc, so first of all, chillax!
have a scoot round the forum on the low residue diet, this consists of eating no fibre, just plain simple food, chicken, white rice, white bread, fish, potatoes, no coloured food, for starters, it's not just bananas! keep a food journal, it's a process of elimination, if it irritates, don't eat it again, then slowly reintroduce it back, this will become manageable as time goes on, I promise! I eat steak, but can't tolerate Chinese!
I see you're on Pred? give it time, it does work wonders, and did your doc mention Calcium supps to take with the Pred? if not, you need to ask about this, cos Pred can rob you of your calcium, any questions, fire away, we're Pred experts!
lots of support here, you're not alone with this, take care
lotsa luv
Joan xxx
and welcome fellow Brit
where are you?
sorry you're having such a bad time, but cos you're in the UK, you have the right to choose your own hospital, not just the one your GP recommends! If you're not happy, then find a new gastro and get a second opinion, don't just give up on the say so of one doc who sounds like she doesn't give a flying F***! Try another town for example.
I understand your anger, fear, disbelief, confusion etc, so first of all, chillax!
have a scoot round the forum on the low residue diet, this consists of eating no fibre, just plain simple food, chicken, white rice, white bread, fish, potatoes, no coloured food, for starters, it's not just bananas! keep a food journal, it's a process of elimination, if it irritates, don't eat it again, then slowly reintroduce it back, this will become manageable as time goes on, I promise! I eat steak, but can't tolerate Chinese!
I see you're on Pred? give it time, it does work wonders, and did your doc mention Calcium supps to take with the Pred? if not, you need to ask about this, cos Pred can rob you of your calcium, any questions, fire away, we're Pred experts!
lots of support here, you're not alone with this, take care
lotsa luv
Joan xxx
Cat-a-Tonic
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I found the link to Joe's thread about general dietary guidelines. Here it is:
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=10849
Since we're on the subject of food, I can also eat lettuce - been eating it since I got ill and haven't had a problem with lettuce yet. I see that mushrooms are on Joe's list but I can eat those too. The list says yogurt is okay but I can't do any dairy whatsoever (I found a good coconut milk yogurt that doesn't upset me and I substitute goat cheese and almond milk for cow's cheese and milk). So yeah, we're all a little different in what we can eat. Russlac, all I can recommend is to use the list as a general guideline and do a lot of trial-and-error to see what foods you can tolerate.
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=10849
Since we're on the subject of food, I can also eat lettuce - been eating it since I got ill and haven't had a problem with lettuce yet. I see that mushrooms are on Joe's list but I can eat those too. The list says yogurt is okay but I can't do any dairy whatsoever (I found a good coconut milk yogurt that doesn't upset me and I substitute goat cheese and almond milk for cow's cheese and milk). So yeah, we're all a little different in what we can eat. Russlac, all I can recommend is to use the list as a general guideline and do a lot of trial-and-error to see what foods you can tolerate.
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Hi Russ and welcome to the forum
According to the results of my gastroscopy and colonoscopy, I have Duodinitis AND also I have Crohn's Disease in the terminal ileum.
Although I guess it's not the same for everyone, I've found that cutting out milk has helped me quite a bit pain and D-wise. There are other trigger foods/combinations that effect me but for me milk was the main one as I was having it every day in tea, cereal, coffee.
I do hope you get sorted out soon *hug*
According to the results of my gastroscopy and colonoscopy, I have Duodinitis AND also I have Crohn's Disease in the terminal ileum.
Although I guess it's not the same for everyone, I've found that cutting out milk has helped me quite a bit pain and D-wise. There are other trigger foods/combinations that effect me but for me milk was the main one as I was having it every day in tea, cereal, coffee.
I do hope you get sorted out soon *hug*
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