Hi everybody!
I found this forum while looking up the link of Crohn's to sugar consumption. I've been a Crohn's patient for 10 years this past summer. Before I was diagnosed, I had a lot of the symptoms but nobody could quite figure out what was wrong, to the point that I was once diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. So I ended up with frequent prescriptions for prednisone, and at the end of each weaning I would promptly end up in the bathroom throwing up (one time during an AP test).
Fast forward to the summer of 2002, I was back at my primary care doctor for my symptoms and a newer doctor suggested visiting a gastroenterologist. A hospital stay later and I was diagnosed with Crohn's. It was an especially interesting time, and a stressful one for my parents, as my mother had just been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis the previous winter (and yes, I have pondered the possibility of something having triggered both our diseases at the same time). I was put on Imuran and went on from there.
My disease is more moderate than many cases I've heard about. I've never been hospitalized for it, other than when I was diagnosed, and outpatient for a colonoscopy.
That said, it has had a profound effect on my life. There are the symptoms themselves, of course, but also the mental toll. The idea of being outside and not knowing where a bathroom is at any given time has significantly limited my activity. When I was in college, I hated it because the part of town I was in was very beautiful and great for walking. I also hate it because I like to travel. Still, I try to be active and to travel when I'm able.
A couple years ago, I made a departure from how I had been handling things before. I quit using Imuran for the stupidest of reasons: I hate having to get my blood drawn because I almost pass out every time. This led to me being very stubborn about getting my blood drawn for the liver test, which now and then led to my gastro doctor refusing to refill my prescription until I had the test.
If I had known them what I know now about how to combat the wooziness I got when getting my blood down - laying down - I might still be on Imuran. I also realize it was a risky thing to do, but it turned out to be one of the best things I've done (so far - we'll see if I regret this over time), as I actually don't feel any better or worse than when I was on it.
Since then, and to a limited extent before then, I've mostly been focused on controlling symptoms with diet. For whatever reasons, my doctors never really suggested diet as a means to control symptoms, others than the standard "some foods act as irritants" routine. Did I just have bad gasto doctors? Who knows? Anyway, I've mostly eliminated dairy from my diet, as I found it made me gassy, and have since confirmed lactose intolerance.
I mostly keep to fish, chicken, and turkey when it comes to meat. Rice is also usually good for me. I've also tried eliminating wheat, but I've only had limited success, as it's really difficult to do that. I've also found that it makes me go to the bathroom less - which might sound like a weird statement from a Crohnie, but it was to the point where I actually couldn't go because, I expect, lack of fiber. As you may have guessed from the beginning of this story, most recently I've been focused on eliminating processed sugar where I can, including a stop to my soda drinking habit. Of anything else I've tried, limiting sugar intake seems to have helped most of all.
Then there was this Christmas. I was not nearly as careful as I should have been with my sugar levels, and have been paying for it since Friday. I seem to be getting better now, but it'll be some time before things are completely back to normal, I expect.
So that's it! Sorry for the book, but I saw the opportunity to lay everything out for what's really the first time, and I took it.
I found this forum while looking up the link of Crohn's to sugar consumption. I've been a Crohn's patient for 10 years this past summer. Before I was diagnosed, I had a lot of the symptoms but nobody could quite figure out what was wrong, to the point that I was once diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. So I ended up with frequent prescriptions for prednisone, and at the end of each weaning I would promptly end up in the bathroom throwing up (one time during an AP test).
Fast forward to the summer of 2002, I was back at my primary care doctor for my symptoms and a newer doctor suggested visiting a gastroenterologist. A hospital stay later and I was diagnosed with Crohn's. It was an especially interesting time, and a stressful one for my parents, as my mother had just been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis the previous winter (and yes, I have pondered the possibility of something having triggered both our diseases at the same time). I was put on Imuran and went on from there.
My disease is more moderate than many cases I've heard about. I've never been hospitalized for it, other than when I was diagnosed, and outpatient for a colonoscopy.
That said, it has had a profound effect on my life. There are the symptoms themselves, of course, but also the mental toll. The idea of being outside and not knowing where a bathroom is at any given time has significantly limited my activity. When I was in college, I hated it because the part of town I was in was very beautiful and great for walking. I also hate it because I like to travel. Still, I try to be active and to travel when I'm able.
A couple years ago, I made a departure from how I had been handling things before. I quit using Imuran for the stupidest of reasons: I hate having to get my blood drawn because I almost pass out every time. This led to me being very stubborn about getting my blood drawn for the liver test, which now and then led to my gastro doctor refusing to refill my prescription until I had the test.
If I had known them what I know now about how to combat the wooziness I got when getting my blood down - laying down - I might still be on Imuran. I also realize it was a risky thing to do, but it turned out to be one of the best things I've done (so far - we'll see if I regret this over time), as I actually don't feel any better or worse than when I was on it.
Since then, and to a limited extent before then, I've mostly been focused on controlling symptoms with diet. For whatever reasons, my doctors never really suggested diet as a means to control symptoms, others than the standard "some foods act as irritants" routine. Did I just have bad gasto doctors? Who knows? Anyway, I've mostly eliminated dairy from my diet, as I found it made me gassy, and have since confirmed lactose intolerance.
I mostly keep to fish, chicken, and turkey when it comes to meat. Rice is also usually good for me. I've also tried eliminating wheat, but I've only had limited success, as it's really difficult to do that. I've also found that it makes me go to the bathroom less - which might sound like a weird statement from a Crohnie, but it was to the point where I actually couldn't go because, I expect, lack of fiber. As you may have guessed from the beginning of this story, most recently I've been focused on eliminating processed sugar where I can, including a stop to my soda drinking habit. Of anything else I've tried, limiting sugar intake seems to have helped most of all.
Then there was this Christmas. I was not nearly as careful as I should have been with my sugar levels, and have been paying for it since Friday. I seem to be getting better now, but it'll be some time before things are completely back to normal, I expect.
So that's it! Sorry for the book, but I saw the opportunity to lay everything out for what's really the first time, and I took it.
