How do you eat?

[Yanick]

OK, here is a question for the group.

I am currently working on figuring out how to eat with Crohn's. What I mean to say is what to eat. How to decide what foods I should or should not eat. I read the "Maker's Diet" and now I am hearing about some Carbs diet (please, give more information if you have it). Otherwise, I have developed some "safe" foods that I know not to make me feel bad (most of the time). I have figured out that if I have Kefir with bread, I should be OK. Eating other foods, some times I am OK, and other times, I get bad cramps and have to run to the bathroom. This has caused me start getting more and more scared of "normal" foods. I have gone through almost a week of eating Kefir with bread 3 times per day!!! I am just tired of feeling sick, so I am choosing the same bland meal over and over again.

So, here are the questions:

1. How do I figure out what to eat? What makes me sick? I will eat a normal breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner, before pains begin. How do I know which of the three meals did this to me?

2. What are the various diets that people with Crohn's stick to? I became familiar with the Maker's Diet. Are there are any other diets that have been known to work? Has anyone direct experience with any of the diets?

3. Does anyone else suffer from Panic Attacks with Crohn's? (I know this is not related to eating, but I am having an attack right now (dizzy, head spinning, hard to concentrate, head hurts) so I figured I would add it in.

Thanks!

-- Yanick

 

[teeny5]

All I can say is start really bland then add one thing in a day. If you feel ill then you will know it was the one thing that did it. Also remember that you may get pains even if you did eat the right thing. For me stress and even exhaustion can make me have pain. I don't follow a diet I just stay away from the foods I know will hurt. The better I feel the more I can eat. Sometimes I try something new...only if I have the next day off from work though so if I am ill I am at home. I don't get panic attacks, but do get depressed some times and overwhelmed by the disease. I know how you feel...sick and tired of being sick. I think we have all been there. Good luck!

 

[monroe]

I think its trial and error with what food you can eat. I can have a little bit of bread, but if I eat for example two sandwiches throughout the day i'll be in the bathroom all nite. Start off with small meals ..for me its easier since I don't eat much ..and if 5 minutes into eating I get pains I know I'll be introuble later. Like teeny said, sometimes you do get pains from eating the right things, and some days you can eat things and other days you can't. Also try keeping a journal.

I don't stick to any specific diet, don't want to limit myself too much, but the makers diet could work for you.

I do suffer from panic attacks, I get really dizzy sometimes and recently I have been loosing my vision for a good 10 seconds when my dizziness comes on. I think if you eliminate stress and other things from your life the less likely you are to get panic attacks.

good luck

 

[RHOV]

simplify your diet down to a few food you KNOW you can handle. most people find things like rice and potatoes and other "bland" mushy food is tolerable. don't worry about 3 separate meals. eat when you want to. it really doesn't matter for now.

slowly add other food back into your diet. when flaring, most people can't tolerate nuts, seeds, raw vegetable, fruit skins, anything that "scrapes." definitely keeps a journal so you can remember what happens after you add a new food. just keep it simple at first.

you can try the various diets that are out there, like the maker's diet and the specific carbohydrate diet. i think there are a few people on the forum who follow those. there is no magic diet that will tell you what you can and can't eat. there are a lot of general good and bad foods that most people can/can't tolerate, but it'll take some experimenting on your part to figure out what you can eat.

as for the specific carbohydrate diet, you can google it and come up with some good stuff, or read the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle," which should give you a ton of info. basically, it restricts all grains and dairy, except for a few select cheeses. you can't have any canned vegetables, cane sugar, anything artificial, potatoes, or chocolate. pretty much only meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. it's very strict and notoriously hard to follow. some people swear by it though, so it's up to you to decide if you want to try it. most people give up after a few weeks. i tried it for a while. no longer.

i don't have panic attacks, so i can't help you out there, sorry!

good luck!

 

[Heathie]

A food diary is what they always tell me to do.

Eat certain meals and then right the response: how soon did you poop, did it hurt, how was your stool.

Then next time you eat that meal, take something out of it and see if you have the same response.

And so on...it takes a few months to figure it all out.

I don't diet but I just am careful with what I eat. Rarely any fast food, hardly any candy or sugar, hardly any dairy, and lots of organic foods.

 

[dayng1016]

Hi Yanick! Well, I would say the best way to start is a food diary. Keep track of anything and everything you eat, drink, condiments used, etc. Food affects each and every person differently. Myself, I can eat pretty much anything, I just have to watch how much I eat. The only thing I CAN'T eat is chinese food. I personally don't eat three meals a day. Dinner is my biggest meal, the rest of the day I snack on different things. If something is not going to agree with you, you should be able to tell w/in an hour after eating, possibly sooner.

I'm not sure on the panic attacks, as I have never had one, but I'm sure someone on here will be able to give you an answer. Good Luck!

 

[Yanick]

OK, you guys are beginning to irritate me with sounding too much like my wife!

Yes, I guess a food diary seems like a logical solution, though I am really not a "keeping a diary" kind of a guy.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

-- Yanick

 

[~TN~]

Yes, I guess a food diary seems like a logical solution, though I am really not a "keeping a diary" kind of a guy.

-- Yanick

I t doesn't have to be like....."Dear Diary....Today I had the most dreamy poop. I think I am in love!".