Newbie-16 yr old diagnosed

[deb8997]

Hello,im a newbie here and a parent of a 16 yr old daughter just diagnosed with crohns and boy what a bunch of information to take in.she's on 20 mg of prednisone,and i believe the dr is going to start her on the pantesa but we will discuss that at the follow up visit. she advised us what foods to avoid during the flare up but im so worried im giving her stuff that could aggravate it,im wondering if baked or poached chicken is ok as well as white bread,rice and fruit cups,i know as long as she's handling it well it should be ok but im so worried im going to make it worse,so far she's eaten and has not had pain. the hardest thing is going to be at school and lunch. what would be an ideal lunch suggestion? and any other tips or info is greatly appreciated.

 

[SarahBear]

Welcome to the forum, deb! I'm sorry to hear what your daughter (and you!) have been dealing with.

I suggest you check out our Parents of Kids with IBD section (you can follow that link directly to it) where you can talk to others in similar situations to yours.

As for foods… that's difficult. Unfortunately, we all react differently to different foods. I would definitely say chicken is worth a try, at the least - just skip the seasonings. White bread and rice would likely be fine, as well. Fruit cups are worth a shot, but the fruit itself or the sugars may bother her. Unfortunately, there's a lot of trial and error. You may want to help her keep a food journal, in which she can detail everything she eats and her symptoms, so as to more easily draw connections between the two and pinpoint the foods that cause her problems. While doing this, I'd keep in mind that things like raw vegetables, spicy foods, caffeine, carbonation, and dairy are fairly common trigger foods. You may want to be extra cautious with those. In your position, I would try things like potatoes, potato soup (my personal favorite when my stomach is upset), pasta (unsauced or lightly sauced - mac and cheese might be okay as well, depending on how she reacts to dairy), unseasoned chicken and fish, meat and cheese sandwiches (skip or go easy on veggies), scrambled eggs, oatmeal, pudding, etc.

:hug: I hope things get better for both of you soon!

 

[Axelfl3333]

Welcome to the club no one wants to join.sarah is spot on about the food stuff soup is really good you,gotta have veggies well cooked and or blended stock cubes are great and healthy.i never thought of macaroni and cheese good shout.good luck,all the best

 

[deb8997]

ok all this sounds great thank you, I guess my concern is that if she's eating foods that don't bother her or give her pain does that mean she's not having a flare up? I mean she's eating a lot of bread and soup and a few rice Krispy treats(homemade)it seems to be ok no pain at all. so should I assume that those foods will be ok?

 

[DJW]

Hi. Go with what's working now. It may change in the future but don't worry about it now.

 

[Jmrogers4]

Welcome deb8997,
My son is 14 with Crohn's. As others have said a food diary or journal is really helpful especially in the beginning. What your daughter is eating is a similar diet to what my son eats when he is flaring. Chicken, white rice, white bread and applesauce (He does those little squeeze packets GoGo applesauce, they don't have any added sugar). We also do supplemental nutrition, especially when flaring (Boost, Ensure, Pediasure) to make sure he is getting his nutritional needs met.
As she feels better you can try adding other foods in usually only 1-2 at a time for a few days before adding something else. If it bothers her go back to what she was eating and try a new food in a few days.
As far as lunch goes, my son packs his. We just found it easier then looking each day to see what he was going to be able to eat. We got a nice small wider thermos and pack it with chicken/rice or a soup or he has a PBJ. He generally has an applesauce, jello or pudding and a piece of fruit. When he is feeling well he is generally able to eat pretty much everything though we stay away from seeds, nuts and popcorn all the time. We found that smaller more frequent meals help as well.

 

[Tesscorm]

hi deb, ditto all above re diets. My son can eat anything but I so remember feeling exactly as you do - it seemed so confusing and contradictory! :ack: But SarahBear gave you great advice and, as Jacqui said, the only things we avoid are seeds, nuts and popcorn (keep in mind that, depending on sensitivity, seeds can also include those in tomatos, cucumbers, berries, etc.). My son eats peanut butter, nutella, etc. just not pieces of nuts. Also, he too drinks one to two Boost shakes a day to bump up nutrition.

Keep in mind that food will not trigger a flare. Many GIs will go as far as saying diet has no impact - but, I don't believe this is correct either. While food will not trigger a flare, some people will have certain sensitivites (ie dairy, gluten, high fibre, etc.), certain foods may worsen symptoms during a flare or scarring (ie spicy or seeds may 'scratch' at inflammation or high fibre may have difficulty getting through a scarred area) and certain foods may help certain symptoms (ie nutritional formulas to allow some bowel rest, prune juice for constipation, etc.). Once I began to look at food from this perspective, it helped me to make sense of it all.

Please do pop over to the parents section as well... lots of welcoming and informative parents who will understand your concerns as well.

 

[SarahBear]

ok all this sounds great thank you, I guess my concern is that if she's eating foods that don't bother her or give her pain does that mean she's not having a flare up? I mean she's eating a lot of bread and soup and a few rice Krispy treats(homemade)it seems to be ok no pain at all. so should I assume that those foods will be ok?

No, she can flare without having food sensitivities. Other symptoms are a much better indicator. If she goes into remission, she should essentially feel normal. She might still have symptoms, but they should be mild and should not interfere with daily life.

If those foods aren't causing her trouble now, yes, it's probably safe to assume they're okay. However, keep in mind that not all symptoms relate directly to what she eats. Stress is also a huge factor. If she has pain after eating something, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a trigger food for her. It's all a bit complicated, unfortunately.

:hug: