Inflammation not going down on SCD intro

[nogutsnoglory]

I have been paleo for 6 weeks now and have been following the SCD intro diet for 3 days. The inflammation and pain is bad and not going down.

I know the SCD intro isn't supposed to go longer than 5 days. I'm feeling very discouraged and scared and may need to just go totally liquid for a few days. I don't even want to call my GI because he will want me on entocort or cipro.

 

[mizgarnet]

noguts...The chicken soup in the intro to SCD gave me problems. I had to make sure to skin the chicken. I pretty much just use veggie broth now. I cook my chicken and throw out the broth, debone, add to veggie broth (cook carrots in broth) and it works for me. Also, I do not do well with the yogurt. I would only eat about a tablespoon a day. Good luck and I hope you find relief soon.

Wendy

 

[KatyBuckeye]

A couple of suggestions...There are several things that could be giving you problems:
1.) Fruit (the juice, bananas if you've added them)
2.) Dairy (the yogurt and dry curd cottage cheese)
3.) Eggs (some people are sensitive)
4.) Nuts (not on the intro, but in case you've added them)

The yogurt and dry curd cottage cheese gave me a lot of problems in the intro. I cannot handle any dairy. Also, the juice gave me problems. You could experiment by cutting out all of them or one at a time. You may also just want to drink the chicken broth (no carrots, celery, or onions) and eat ground beef with a safe vegetable that is pureed (carrots or zucchini) for a day. See if things start to settle down and proceed from there.

Don't give up!!! I had quite a bit of die-off while first on the SCD. You may have already taken care of that because you were on Paleo, but just so you know, it's not uncommon to get a little worse before getting better. One thing I've learned with this diet is that patience is needed. I'm still not 100%, but overall, I'm about 70-75% better after 7 weeks on the diet. I have a mild-moderate case of Crohn's, so take that as you will. I was expecting to be miraculously better and symptom-free after the intro was over and that was not the case. It's been a fairly slow process and I've had days where all was well, followed by a return of diarrhea. My joint pain is just now finally starting to go away.

I believe that diet WILL help, but it will also take time. I've read some accounts where it may take several months for symptoms to resolve. Hang in there.

 

[KatyBuckeye]

noguts...The chicken soup in the intro to SCD gave me problems. I had to make sure to skin the chicken. I pretty much just use veggie broth now. I cook my chicken and throw out the broth, debone, add to veggie broth (cook carrots in broth) and it works for me. Also, I do not do well with the yogurt. I would only eat about a tablespoon a day. Good luck and I hope you find relief soon.

Wendy

If this works for you, great! I just want others to be aware that throwing out the broth that the chicken is cooked in will discard a lot of nutrients and the gelatin substances that can help to heal the gut. Another option would be to strain the broth or cook a bone broth from beef marrow bones.

 

[kiny]

Why not take something instead of nothing.

 

[KatyBuckeye]

Why not take something instead of nothing.

Speaking for myself, the risks and side effects of medications are not worth possible benefits. If any, the benefits will be short-term. Medications only serve as a band-aid for symptoms; they cover up the problem, but don't get to the root cause. By making dietary changes, I feel good knowing that I'm feeding my body healthy fuel and possibly making changes that will address root causes. I'm also not poisoning my body with toxic substances that will lead to other problems in the present or future. If diet wasn't working and symptoms were getting bad enough that I had no choice, I would try medication. Luckily for me, diet is helping much more than medication did.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I have been doing 4 days of only chicken soup, not eating the veg and straining the broth, chicken, eggs and fish only.

I am also paleo so have no interest in the SCD dairy but started a probiotic.

Feel a bit better today but still in pain. How long does the die off generally take?

I'm on zero carbs now so nothing is feeding the bacteria.

 

[KatyBuckeye]

How long ago did you start the probiotic? Probiotics are very problematic for me. I haven't been able to tolerate any, but I've been focusing on eating fermented foods instead. There are some SCD-legal probiotics that I'm going to order as well, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Maybe try cutting out the eggs for two days and see how you feel? Don't stay on the intro too long...

I'm not sure exactly how long die off usually lasts, but I don't think it's more than 3-7 days.

Just focus on the fact that you are starting to feel better! Even though you aren't "feeding" the bacteria, it can take a LONG time to balance your gut bacteria.

 

[Ozboz]

SCD did absolutley nothing for me

 

[nogutsnoglory]

How long ago did you start the probiotic? Probiotics are very problematic for me. I haven't been able to tolerate any, but I've been focusing on eating fermented foods instead. There are some SCD-legal probiotics that I'm going to order as well, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Maybe try cutting out the eggs for two days and see how you feel? Don't stay on the intro too long...

I'm not sure exactly how long die off usually lasts, but I don't think it's more than 3-7 days.

Just focus on the fact that you are starting to feel better! Even though you aren't "feeding" the bacteria, it can take a LONG time to balance your gut bacteria.

The thing I'm afraid of is once I stop the intro and eat carbs and sugars that it will re-energize the bad bacteria. Not sure how those guys got there to begin with. If that is even the case!

I'm on probiotics for 3 days, been on them in the past and it definitely causes gas and bloating the first few days. Which probiotics are scd legal?

 

[KatyBuckeye]

The thing I'm afraid of is once I stop the intro and eat carbs and sugars that it will re-energize the bad bacteria. Not sure how those guys got there to begin with. If that is even the case!

I'm on probiotics for 3 days, been on them in the past and it definitely causes gas and bloating the first few days. Which probiotics are scd legal?

For the SCD-legal probiotics, check out www.giprohealth.com. I'm not sure what you mean by once you stop the intro- the carbs you do eat should be the "right" kind of carbs (monosaccarides). The idea is that these types of carbs are easily absorbed and there is minimal digestion required. Because they are absorbed, there are no "leftovers" for the bad bacteria to feed on. The only legal sugar is honey. As long as you're not going crazy on the honey, you should be okay (although some people are really sensitive and then you may have to cut it out for awhile). And hopefully, you're not on the strict intro anymore. Five days is the maximum. You should slowly start adding other foods.

I recently started reading "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" that describes the GAPS diet, which builds upon SCD. I really recommend the book. It is great in describing the science of the gut flora and how they become imbalanced.