Hi Everyone,
Long Story:
I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in February 2014. I went in for a colonoscopy due to some perianal swelling and blood on the stool. Gastro determined there were segments colon which were very irritated and most likely the primary source of the bleeding. Additionally, noticed some irritation at the beginning of the small intestine (ileum?) and the segmentation of the irritation is what I believe led to the diagnosis of Crohn's disease as opposed to Ulcerative Colitis.
Since my diagnosis I have primarily been looking to diet as a solution and I started the SCD diet in late March. I can say with near certainty, the diet has made the bleeding go way down, but it is still present. As for the swelling, I now believe this was due to an abscess, as a fistula has since broken through and the swelling went away. The fistula oozes some each day, I would say somewhere around one teaspoon of clearish fluid with a hardly discernible amount of blood mixed in. The fluid also hardens similar to the way mucous does. Other than the blood in stool and the fistula I have no other regular symptoms. (I say regular because a couple days after colonoscopy had intense abdominal pains for a couple hours each day).
I have stuck mostly to the SCD diet, although after around 6 months on a strict diet, the bleeding never quite went away so I incorporated a few other items (including oatmeal) with no noticeable change in symptoms. I do lean towards diet and natural remedies as my primary source of treatment due to the little/no side effects, the (seemingly to me) low severity of my disease, and the low cost to try different remedies. Of course, I recognize the importance of medication and I will likely start on medication if I notice my condition progressively getting worse and/or natural alternatives have been exhausted.
Short Story:
Diagnosed with Crohn's Feb. 2014
Symptoms: Blood in Stool (usually a few streaks, not covered), thin stools, Perianal Fistula Leaking Clearish Liquid), and no abdominal pains.
Medication: None
Treatment: SCD Diet, Probiotics, L-Glutamine, Vitamin D
I would be very interested to hear from anyone with similar symptoms and the treatments/medications/lifestyle changes they have had success with. Also, feel free to chime in if you have any general advice as well, thanks in advance. I've been a lurker since my diagnosis in Feb 2014 and this site has been a phenomenal resource so I also want to say big thank you to the community as a whole for sharing your experiences here.
Long Story:
I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in February 2014. I went in for a colonoscopy due to some perianal swelling and blood on the stool. Gastro determined there were segments colon which were very irritated and most likely the primary source of the bleeding. Additionally, noticed some irritation at the beginning of the small intestine (ileum?) and the segmentation of the irritation is what I believe led to the diagnosis of Crohn's disease as opposed to Ulcerative Colitis.
Since my diagnosis I have primarily been looking to diet as a solution and I started the SCD diet in late March. I can say with near certainty, the diet has made the bleeding go way down, but it is still present. As for the swelling, I now believe this was due to an abscess, as a fistula has since broken through and the swelling went away. The fistula oozes some each day, I would say somewhere around one teaspoon of clearish fluid with a hardly discernible amount of blood mixed in. The fluid also hardens similar to the way mucous does. Other than the blood in stool and the fistula I have no other regular symptoms. (I say regular because a couple days after colonoscopy had intense abdominal pains for a couple hours each day).
I have stuck mostly to the SCD diet, although after around 6 months on a strict diet, the bleeding never quite went away so I incorporated a few other items (including oatmeal) with no noticeable change in symptoms. I do lean towards diet and natural remedies as my primary source of treatment due to the little/no side effects, the (seemingly to me) low severity of my disease, and the low cost to try different remedies. Of course, I recognize the importance of medication and I will likely start on medication if I notice my condition progressively getting worse and/or natural alternatives have been exhausted.
Short Story:
Diagnosed with Crohn's Feb. 2014
Symptoms: Blood in Stool (usually a few streaks, not covered), thin stools, Perianal Fistula Leaking Clearish Liquid), and no abdominal pains.
Medication: None
Treatment: SCD Diet, Probiotics, L-Glutamine, Vitamin D
I would be very interested to hear from anyone with similar symptoms and the treatments/medications/lifestyle changes they have had success with. Also, feel free to chime in if you have any general advice as well, thanks in advance. I've been a lurker since my diagnosis in Feb 2014 and this site has been a phenomenal resource so I also want to say big thank you to the community as a whole for sharing your experiences here.
