New here... just had colonoscopy and dr thinks I have crohns

[Tara44]

Ugggg I'm super bummed right now. Had a colonoscopy a year ago that was pretty normal. For GI bleed. Only found a small duodenal ulcer and biopsy negative for crohns. Today had another scope and was expecting it to be normal. Here are the results.... small duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcers, rectal ulcers, possible ileitis.
Grrrrr. I've been eating super clean. Did an elimination diet. But I never suspected crohns. I have to wait for biopsy results to know for sure what's up. The dr said it progressed. Not a good word. I'm so upset right now. I would really like some diet advice please. Maybe it's not the best diet for crohns. I'm dairy free, gluten free, and soy free. Those things bother me so they are off the list. Also eggs and beans make me gassy so non of that. And also tomatoes have caused bleeding so that's a no. Here's what I do eat...
Grass feed beef
Well cooked fish
Chicken, organic, free range
Salads... spinach or romaine with a little onion and guacamole for dressing
Cooked carrots
Cooked zucchini
Cooked mushrooms
Cooked onions
Cooked sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoe chips for snacks
Coconut yogurt
Coconut milk
Coconut oil
Pineapple, raw
Papaya, raw
Bananas, raw
Some times rice crackers, to eat guacamole with
Morning smoothy of coconut milk, chia seeds and hemp protein
That's about it. I know nothing about a diet for crohns. When I eat this way I feel pretty good. But i guess I've been doing something wrong since within a year i developed all these ulcers. Any advice will be well appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[ronroush7]

You might check the section on here called Diet, Nutrition and Supplements.

 

[Scipio]

You haven't been doing anything "wrong" with your diet, because Crohn's isn't caused by your diet. Everybody's Crohn's is a little different, and this is especially true with respect to diet. For some people avoiding or eating certain foods is crucial in keeping their symptoms under control. For others it doesn't seem to matter very much what they eat. But for Crohn's in general, diet may well affect the severity of symptoms, but it usually does not affect the progression or remission of the underlying disease. For that you need medicine.

The one exception to what I just said is dietary fiber in the case of severe strictures. For Crohn's patients with severe narrowing of the gut due to build up of scar tissue, it is often a good idea to avoid a lot of dietary fiber, since this can sometimes trigger bowel obstructions.

So my advice is keep vigilant with your diet. Try to identify foods that help your symptoms and avoid those that don't. But at the same time, listen to your GI and work with him/her to develop a plan of tackling the disease with medication.

Crohn's is a serious enough disease that we need to use every tool we have in order to defeat it - diet, medication, lifestyle changes, everything.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

I agree with everything scipio said and would also like to add that negative biopsies for Crohn's don't hold much weight. Lots of us on here have negative biopsies. Heck even a section of my bowel surgically removed due to Crohn's destroying it, to the extent I perforated, was tested as "negative for Crohn's" by pathology! With Crohn's doctors unfortunately have to look at a bigger picture, which may include watching for symptoms and disease progression over time to be able to confirm it. This seems to have been the case for both you and I.