Hi Everyone

[Lody]

I am brand spanking new to this- I was 99% diagnosed by a colonscopy last week (6/14/07). I have all kinds of IBD in my family- Mom- Crohns & Ulcerative Colitis- Sister- Diverticulitis, Sister- Ulcerative Colitis, Brother- Diverticulitis-
so, it's no wonder I too, have a problem. I find out the exact findings this week, but in the meantime, and having alot of symptoms- was put on Asbocol??? not sure of the name- by the dr upon diagnosis, and he wants to follow up in 3 weeks-

I really need a diet- I seem to not be able to eat anything- I either get heartburn, or cramps and diarrea after eating anything- The Dr. told be to eat ZERO fiber for 3 weeks- I don't know what to eat??? And I feel like crap....tired, tummy aches, I ordered some probiotics and should be receiving them on Wed.

What else can I do, what can I eat???? HELP???? ANYONE???

 

[Kev]

Hi Lody, welcome to the forum... Sure you'll find a lot of help and support here. It is impossible for anyone here to tell you what to do, as everyone is slightly different in how the disease affects them, and the exact nature of their disease. Just look at the variety of it in your own family. However, there are some typical do's and don'ts that I can pass on from my personal experience. I am on a low fibre. low residue, low fat, low lactose, hi protein diet. what does that mean? OK, the fibre thing is that youv'e got to watch how much fibre, and what type you eat. For example, white bread or rice is ok (for me) dark grains/wild or brown rice isn't.
So, I can eat un enriched white bread, but not multi grain or enriched white. That means I have to check the content labels. Low residue foods are one that don't leave a lot of residue in the intestinal system.. like, have you ever heard it said a hamburger from mcDonald's stays with you forever... any food that really takes a long time to digest, or doesn't digest well at all (like kernal corn) you may want to avoid.. (but you really need to consult your doctor, get your 'exact' diagnosis, and see a nutritionist).. the idea behind low fibre, low residue, is to 'rest' your whole digestive system... it's obviously enflamed, and you don't want to give it a heavy workload to deal with. As for low fat, high protein, well that's my particular case. you may be (and most likely are) totally different. but often IBD can equate with difficulty processing fats, or sugars, or grains, etc., etc.. The list depends on what enzymes your body is producing, where the issues are in your digestive system, and how extensive the problems are. You need to keep a food diary, and watch your body to see how it reacts to foods.. typically that reaction can be 18 - 36 hrs AFTER you eat (so you can see the need/benefit of keeping a diary). There are as many different 'trigger' foods as there are varieties to this disease. For example, in my particular case, I am extremely sensitive to lactose. For some, it means just a little extra gas or diarrhea if they drink milk. For me, I get worse even if it's just from the lactose used in pills as a filler... Sugar is another no no for me, but since I find honey an acceptable substitute, it's no big deal. Anyway, the point of my long winded reply is... there are no easy answers, you need to talk to your doc AND a diet/nutritionist, you need to watch AND record what you eat AND how it affects you, and you need to do a lot of this for yourself... as there are no shortcuts, and the folks on here (like myself) aren't in a position to offer anyone medical advice.. just share their own experiences that MAY, or MAY NOT, be similar to those you face. Not sure if that's the answer you expected, but it's the best I can offer, OK?

 

[soupdragon69]

Hi Lody,

I agree with Kev completely. Food is very much an individual thing for each of us and its trial and error and time consuming and also exasperating at times too!

One aspect my dietitian told me to watch out for on a fibre front was looking at vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower - if I have them I have to take the stalks off but can have the floret/head only. The same with mushrooms. Other veg like brussel sprouts and cabbage may cause too much discomfort and wind.

For me I have to avoid wheat, dairy and rice - the rice aspect makes life awkward because it is a subsitute in so many things that are wheat free. But with time I am getting there and you will too.

Keep asking questions - especially of your gastro team and if you cant remember what they said or understand ask them to go through it again. Its your body and you want a quality of life back!!

We will all help in any way we can support wise good days and bad.

Welcome to the forum

Jan

 

[Lody]

Thanks to you both- I have been watchng everything I eat, but didn't realize it took that much time for the effects to show- I thought if I ate something for lunch and had problems by dinner time, then that food needs to be let go of.....Like yesterday- I ate a chicken salad pita (on white pita) plain chicken salad- and had horrible stomach aches by the time I got home from work.

I bought some of that Dan Activ Probiotic drink- UGH- horrible- but I drank it anyway- and I am eating yogurt- and taking vitiamins- for now I am just trying protein and white rice- which seems to be ok so far- but yesterday I was feeling horrible and stumbled on this site and am now happy to have found it!!

Thanks again to both of you!!!

 

[Cara Fusinato]

The whole diet thing is highly annoying, isn't it? I finally got tired of eating cheesecake and not fruit, and I have been feeling really good. I have had some fruit and some veges with no difficulty, until. . . my dog sort of attacked my new kitten. It upset me and the stress clamped that stricture area up and I don't feel so hot today. However, I will maintain it's the stress and not the food, but I guess it is back to cheesecake for a couple days until it settles back down.

 

[Lody]

I have 2 new kittens- and my chihuahua loves them- but they don't like her......I think my husband let me get them due to the Crohns diagnosis- he knows how much I love kitties- they add alot of laughter after a day at the office-

 

[Cara Fusinato]

Yes, we have two Australian Shepherds. One is great and loves the kittens. The other will chase our older cats. The kitten just didn't make a gettaway. I feel better now, but the dog gets her shock collar back on tonight (we had to buy batteries). She'll learn. She's real smart and about two shocks makes her figure it out. I hate the concept, but she is a really really strong-willed dog. It's better than leaving her out in 100+ temps or getting rid of her or shooting her. She's a great watch-dog, though and keeps me safe because we live on 5 acres far from others. Kittens are doing well, though, happily playing with each other.

 

[Lody]

I did that with a dog we had- but it didn't work- she was the dumbest dog I have ever had. We ended up selling her.

Not to change the subject- I started on Probiotics 2 days ago- and OMG my symptoms have been getting less and less- not even the big "D" today at all (yet)!!!!

I hate the taste of the yogurt and drinks, and the thought of digesting "live" anything kills me and gives me the willies, but I am definetly going to be faithful to Pro Biotics from now on!!!!