• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

New Member & Newly Diagnosed

Hello!

My name is Jess and I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease a few months ago. To say it rocked my world is an understatement but to be honest - I'm feeling a huge sense of relief.

I'm 28 years old and since age 19, I've dealt with painful, embarassing, and odd stomach symptoms that have been written off as lactose intolerance and stress by multiple doctors. For years, I wondered if something more was wrong but always pushed the thought out of my head, telling myself that I was just being overly paranoid. That changed in January of this year when I got SICK - more sick than I've ever been in my life. Thankfully, I happened to switch to a new doctor during that period and she took one look at my chart and sent me to a specialist. The Crohn's diagnosis followed a few months later.

I'm currently on Uceris and trying to get the disease under control. I've been researching this disease and was grateful to find this forum because I want to learn as much as I can about what I can do to change my lifestyle to fit this diagnosis. I feel fortunate that I do not need surgery right now but I know that if I do not get this under control, that could easily change.

Currently, I’m struggling with diet and weight loss. I’m a small person to begin with, so losing 20 pounds in a month hit me pretty hard. I’m also 90% vegetarian (I’ll eat fish occasionally) and I’m finding it hard to put weight back on with an already limited diet, so I feel lethargic and tired really frequently. My doctor provided me with an “IBD grocery list” but I’ve had trouble finding other food resources. Any advice in this area would be so greatly appreciated!

So sorry for writing a novel and thanks for reading. Really grateful that you all are here.
 
Welcome to the forum. I was also vegetarian, but have added chicken to the menu for calories and protein. You could try peanut butter and nut butters for more calories. Hard cheeses if you can tolerate them. There's also drinks like Ensure or Boost. Try to have smaller meals more often. I even have a bedtime snack. I went to a nutritionist a couple of times to tweak my menu. :ghug:
 
I don't know about Boost but Ensure has caaregeenan which most people should stay away from except for Ensure Clear. I would do a food diary to see which foods aggregate your gut. I hope you feel better soon.
 
Welcome! Just want to say that Ive have crown's for 24 years and bland foods are the best for me. No salads, little alcohol, cooked veggies only, no milk or spicy stuff. Seafood really bothers me but everyone is different. I take B12 shots, multi-vitamin, vitamin D3 & calcium which I believe has helped me a lot. I never miss my vitamins.
 
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