thank you guys.
Jenifer- i still have not been tested for it. i will talk to my Dr regarding that. thank you.
unxmas- i have stopped eating pretty much everything which gives me a bloated stomach i have not had any stomach pains for some time. what are the symptoms that i should worry?
even after a home cocked meal i suffer from a light bloated stomach but its not very bad. the main symptom what i get after eating oily foods are not getting hungry and a bloated stomach. i worry when i get slightly lose stools. on somedays my stools are perfectly normal. most of the time i only go to the toilet once. how concern should i get?
how do i find out which foods trigger symptoms for me??
thanks guys for helping me it means a lot!
after a good night of lot of alcohol will even wont give me diarrhea, it gives me very good stools. but on the next day i wont feel hungry and it leaves me with a bloated stomach for a day or two. i stopped alchol for 3 weeks now. i physically feels better and i get hungry more often than previous days.
The symptoms most people with Crohn's get after eating something that doesn't agree with them are diarrhoea, stomach pain, bloating, gas, possibly vomiting. These may appear immediately after eating, or they may take a couple of days to manifest, which make it hard to know for sure what the problem food is.
Often, when you have active Crohn's, eating can provoke symptoms, no matter what you eat (and Crohn's symptoms will persist even if you fasted, because while food may aggravate symptoms, Crohn's is not due just to food and eating). Unfortunately, you may just have to put up with the symptoms that are brought on by eating, because it's more important to your overall health that you get enough to eat and that you have a varied diet that includes everything you need. If you don't eat enough or don't get all the vitamins, minerals, and everything else you need to keep going, your body won't be able to heal properly and you could actually end up making yourself more ill than if you'd eaten well but brought on bloating.
I know it's counter-intuitive, but I have to eat even when I'm not hungry, when my stomach hurts, when I feel bloated. You have to make yourself eat, and cope with the consequences as best you can. Choose foods that you like that will go down easily. Maybe try resting after a meal to help digestion. You might find liquids go down easier - you can get supplements from a doctor which are like milkshake but which include all the nutrients you need (brands like Ensure and Fortisip) or try drinking milk (if dairy doesn't seem particular bad for you) or fruit juice (instead of fruit).
Unless you are getting diarrhoea so bad that you are getting dehydrated, you shouldn't be that concerned. It sounds like your symptoms are fairly mild. Remember it's not just diet that influences your symptoms, it might be that foods are not triggering your symptoms at all - you need medications too. And unfortunately, with Crohn's sometimes it's just not possible to be symptom-free.
As I said in my earlier post, you can work out which - if any - foods are triggering your symptoms through trial and error. It takes a while and it can get confusing. But it seems you may already have identified alcohol as a trigger (which is great, because giving it up is going to help your health in other ways too!), and you can test other foods in the same way.
You might start with the types of food that most often cause people with Crohn's to feel worse - dairy products (lactose), high fibre foods, foods that are very rich, some people find gluten a problem. For example, try a lactose free diet for a couple of weeks, if you feel significantly better after this time, it's more likely that lactose is a problem for you. Of course it could also be that the improvement in symptoms was a coincidence, so if you're not sure, try giving it up for longer to check that the improvements continue, or test it by eating some dairy products for several days and see if your symptoms worsen again. Or if you go on a lactose-free diet for a couple of weeks and notice no difference or you feel worse, you know that lactose probably isn't an issue and you can start eating it again.
You mentioned lack of appetite has been a problem, so try eating high calorie foods so that you can take in enough calories without having to eat as large a volume of food. Try eating several snack-sized meals a day rather than three big meals, as this will likely be easier on your stomach. Maybe avoid very rich, stodgy foods that can fill you up and make you feel more bloated. This could also be a place for you to start.
Some people with Crohn's feel enjoying a particular food is so good that they choose to do so even though they'll get some symptoms worsening for it. Sometimes people feel that the health benefits that come from eating one of their trigger foods make it worth it - for example, some people find fruit and veg are problems for them, but they'd rather get the health benefits that come with eating some.
Don't worry too much! Food's role in Crohn's disease is not the same as a true allergic reaction, where a tiny amount of food can be life-threatening. With Crohn's, the rules are not nearly as well defined. Usually, if, say, fibre causes someone's diarrhoea to worsen, it may well be that they can eat fibre without it worsening, as long as they only eat a fairly small amount each day. If you do eat the wrong thing, it's not going to do you much harm.
If you're still getting symptoms that are worse than you feel you can tolerate, make sure you see your doctor and ask about changing medication. Diet is not the main thing causing your symptoms. Diet can often influence Crohn's symptoms, but it's just one of many factors. You do not have to work out everything for yourself - doctors should be guiding you through all your treatment options.
