New Here

[sejinro]

Hello,

I am in my early 30s and was diagnosed with CD back in 2002. At that time I was prescribed Asacol after the GI doctor found some minor inflammation in my colon. However, I never really changed my diet and continued to eat unhealthy at times. In addition, I smoked and drank heavily. Even though I was on Asacol, I had occassional flare-ups that concluded with no diahera but vomitting and extreme pain in my intestinal area.

Then, back in March 2007, I had really extreme pain in my intestinal area to the point I had to go to the ER. After a CT scan, the ER doctor and surgeon highly recommended a hemicolectomy due to excessive inflammation including fistulas and strictures. In addition, I had appendicitis.

Now, it's August 2007, I have been doing okay and quit smoking and drinking although I am hoping to drink the occasional beer or glass of wine with a nice charbroiled fish dinner in the near future. Now sure what will happen though.

Even though I have been eating healthy (no red meat, no fast food and no deep fried), I had a few flare-ups even after the surgery. I expressed this issue with my GI doctor and now I am scheduled for another colonoscopy. Also, I have been prescribed 6MP (I think that's what it's called).

It's frustrating because I thought my surgery would put me into remission but looks like not. Although my flares have not been extreme, I get anxious at times. What makes it frustrating is also that I am Asian and, after some research, it appears CD or IBD is not common in Asians. My GI doctor says that 1 out 20 of his CD patients are Asian.

Well, I am glad this forum exists and hope to use it as a great resource.

 

[sejinro]

I forgot to add that I am taking super-b complex vitamin, probiotics, fish oil and calcium daily. I also eat oatmeal and Activa yogurt daily.

 

[Sojourn]

Welcome. Sorry to hear the surgery did not put you completely into remission. I don't know what the statistics are, but not everyone gets a good remission following resection surgery. And I guess you feel on the raw end of statistics having CD and being Asian. I wonder if that applies to Asians who were raised in the U.S. or Europe as well.

I don't know a lot about oatmeal, but I think it has a lot of fiber. I may be wrong, but if it does, you're probably going to want to stay away from that.

A lot of us here get frustrated and anxious about the unpredictability and complications of this disease. There's just no standard treatments that work for everyone and everyone is affected differently. And many times the doctors can't even agree on how to treat it.

The support here and from family, friends, or wherever you can get it, can be an encouragement. I've yet to really be able to describe what this disease is all about to someone who doesn't have it.

 

[Kev]

Hi sejinro.. Welcome to the forum. My last op was an anterior resection of the colon. Surgeon took out 1 1/2 feet.. (+/-). told me I was cured (I was mistakenly diagnosed with DAC at the time). My cure/remission lasted just under 8 weeks. It was heaven! Then it all came back... faster & worse than ever. Aside from the physical pain I had to contend with was the deep, emotional turmoil. Thought I had dodged the bullet. Wrong. Thought I could implicitly trust my docs NOT to be just human beings with all the potential the rest of us have to make an honest mistake. Wrong again. Took me a while to get my head around all of the above. I since have come to terms with it, and make peace with it. As for your new diet, it sounds about right... but you may need to delve deeper. I have consulted many nutrition specialists... including those who specialize in IBD related diseases. That was a tremendous help... there are so many trigger foods, and others connected to stressing the digestive system.. you really have to keep a sharp eye out for a lot of innocous, innocent looking food items that can periodically play havoc on you
Frinstance, I am VERY sensitive to lactose... and it is found in lot of things that one would never expect.. like in margarine, or as a filler in pills and vitamin tablets, etc
Find a good nutrition expert, or research bona fide sites on the web, keep a daily food diary... train/teach yourself what your body needs, and keep in mind that it still won't work 100% all of the time. Why? I dunno. one of the quirks of crohns. but it should reduce/limit your flares. As for being Asian, and not one commonly predisposed to the disease... welll, my risk factor is amongst the highest in the world.. based on cultural heridity (sp?), geographic location, and family genetics. I don't know if it would matter to either you or I if we switched, as we both have it, but... my childrens risk factor IS much higher than yours would be, and that will never change. not sure if you have/plan to have children, but it's food for thought

Anyway, welcome to the forum. and, you're right, it's a tremendous resource.

 

[mikeyarmo]

Welcome sejinro,

I know it is frustrating to go through something like surgery and have symptoms come back, but as Kev said there are things you can do to lessen their impact on you. You mentioned possibly having the occassional drink for example, and in that area I think that beer is usually more trouble than wine or hard alcohol. That is the way it is with me at least. Anyways just like you have been making diet changes, try to continue to monitor what you are eating and feeling, and I also kept a food journal (as was mentioned in the past post).

Good luck and let us know how things go.