Newbie!

[TinyHammies]

Hi All,

Looking forward to chatting about our common interest from now on having recently been given the reason to my tummy troubles!

It began months back when during one of my runs, my tummy was making amazing noises. Then it started to get more often and then I struggled to go to the toilet. A trip to Vietnam was a horrible affair, not for aesthetics but for bodily issues. The upshot was that a trip to the Gastro guy, and here I am.

Not too much to report just yet, but am very keen to start figuring out and itemising 'trigger' foods and how to manage my diet to prevent any flare-ups or consistent uncomfortable tummy pains or need to have a toilet on demand.

Also doing a lot of activities it has placed some pressures and loss of confidence in competing and completing events without serious pain or necessary toilet break.

Guess first up it anyone has any methods as to working through foods (diary?) and how they then weedled out any triggers!

Also was thinking of may be fast fact sheets for nearest and dearest, so they can be aware of personality characteristic of condition and how they may be able to help? E.g. Lack of concentration - If they notice I'm not listening, tell me to listen!

In terms of my partner, she's really supportive, but am somewhat concerned that the condition will put a 'burden' on her and us. So any tips in that regard, fire away!

Tiny Hammies

 

[Grumbletum]

Hi Tiny
Sorry to hear about your tummy troubles but I'm glad you found us here. Is it Crohn's you've been diagnosed with? Are you on any medication?
Re: diet, pop over to the Diet and Fitness sub forum where you'll find lots of info and tips. An elimination diet of some sort is probably the best way to identify your triggers. Means paring the foods you eat right back and reintroducing them gradually.
About info for your nearest and dearest, the NACC (UK) or CCFA(US) websites would be a good place to start for a better understanding of the disease and it's implications.

 

[TinyHammies]

Hi Helen,

Yep have Mr Crohn's. Am in the 3rd week of a 10-week course of Prednisone (reducing as weeks go on) and Mesalazine (forever apparently).

Will check sub forum out for Diet. Have sort of started elimination Diet, back to basics and seeing what is good or not (i've found cider is not good!). Have a Dietician Appt soon which am hoping will be helpful for some sort of plan.

Thanks for tips on websites, if there are any other useful bits of info you know of please send them through.

Tiny

 

[Grumbletum]

That's the same med regime that I started out on. How are you doing on the Pred? It can have some side effects that you might want to warn the folks about! Lol.
And lol at the cider Avoiding fizzy in general might be an idea and caffeine is a common trigger. You could also start by cutting out dairy and/ or gluten to see if that makes a difference. It's a long, painstaking process but worth it if you get some relief from symptoms.
Be interesting to see what the dietician says. The one I saw hadn't dealt with a Crohnie before, but it was good to have my diet analysed to make sure it was balanced enough etc.

 

[TinyHammies]

Only noticeable physical change is that now I look as though i'm back in my pubescent years with so many zits (am 31)! Am less and less attentive too, which means that instead of doing one thing and completing it, am doing 3million quarter jobs!

The 'fact sheets' am trying to prepare for nearest and dearest are sort of along those lines, will try and do one for and of course the girlfriend!

Thanks for drink tips and dairy/gluten.

In a bit of a awkward 'positive' way for me, the dietician's twin brother has just been diagnosed with Crohn's and she has had first hand experience of 'managing' and a 'flare-up'. So hoping that will help me, albeit sad for her and her brother.

 

[David]

Greetings and welcome

To elaborate a little further on what has already been discussed, don't so much make it an elimination diet of FOODS, make it an elimination diet of INGREDIENTS. "I can't eat yogurt" might not be true if you get plain organic yogurt that is just yogurt. "I can't eat yogurt" might be true if you get the yogurt with all kinds of additives, chemical sweeteners, preservatives, hormones, and other science experiments. See where I'm going with that?

I'm also a huge fan of organic and as natural as you can get. "I can't eat corn" might be true if you get the normal GMO'd corn with BT toxin built in that kills the bugs that eat it. "I can't eat corn" might not be true if you get organic corn that isn't a science experiment.

As you're on prednisone, speak with your dietician about how to best account for this:

Prednisone causes decreased absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the small intestine. It also causes increased losses of calcium, zinc, potassium and vitamin C. With continual use of high doses of prednisone, the result may be bone loss and development of bone disease. Protein needs also are increased for people taking prednisone because it increases protein breakdown in the body.

All my best to you. I hope you stick around and remain a part of our community

 

[TinyHammies]

Thanks David,

How did you start the ingredient elimination process?

 

[David]

How did I start it? Kicking, screaming, and crying I LOVE food as most of us do. I also am one of those people that doesn't turn to alcohol or drugs when I'm emotional, I turn to comfort foods.

With that said, once I TRULY got so sick of the pain and realized it wasn't going away unless I took medications or made drastic changes I:

1. ONLY eat natural and organic.
2. Prepare everything myself, from salad dressings to bread.
3. The meat has to be naturally raised as well. No shoving corn down some poor cow's throat that just wants some tasty grass.

Before you close the thread as I realize that isn't really viable for most, here is what I wrote in another thread:

That enteral / elemental nutrition is shown to have about the same remission inducing rates as prednisone is proof positive to me that diet plays an ENORMOUS role. Much moreso than is communicated.

I'm starting to feel like a big key is avoiding foods that agitate existing inflammation while still ensuring your body gets all of the necessary nutrients so it can heal (easier said than done I realize). Of course, there are multiple forms of agitation. Nuts and seeds and the like that literally hurt as they pass through, certain foods that invoke allergic responses which are different for everyone, and then of course the science experiments: the additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, pesticides, herbicides, and all the crap that is ending up in our food supply that has no business being there.

On the dietary side of things, if I had Crohn's (I have a different form of IBD that is currently in remission) I would go on an elemental / enteral nutrition diet to induce remission while taking a broad spectrum of very high quality supplements and having those levels checked every couple of weeks. Once in remission for awhile, I would begin introducing back one food at a time to see if they caused me any issue. Those foods would only be organic.

Easy? Absolutely not. Guaranteed to work? Certainly not. I just got so sick and tired of the pain that I finally decided to kick my heroin-like habit: unhealthy food.