Hi. I'm glad I found this forum.
I started having serious stomach issues in 2000 immediately after returning to the US from a vacation in Japan. Literally, the day I stepped off the plane my problems began. I have no idea if this is just coincidence, or if there is a relationship, and no doctor has ever drawn a link, but I've always wondered about it.
It took two years and many visits with doctors (including one GI who did a colonoscopy) before I met my current GI in 2002 who diagnosed me with mild Crohn's Disease. I was on Asacol from about 2002 to 2004 and felt well. In 2004 I stopped the Asacol and referred to my disease as being "in remission". I had the occasional bout of diarrhea and blood in the stool, but I was usually able to link it back to eating high-fat foods, and when I went back to eating well it went away. I really didn't do all that much to manage the disease.
That changed in December 2012. I got myself to the ER with severe stomach pain and was diagnosed with a complete blockage of the small bowel. I was admitted for 4 days during which they evacuated the contents of my stomach and put me on a short course of Prednesone.
Since getting out of the hospital I've been feeling well. My doctor has me eating a low residue / low fiber diet, and I'm back on Asacol. That's been about 5 weeks. I'm feeling well and except for the fact that small amounts of food make me feel very full (so I eat small meals fairly often) everything seems to be OK.
Here's is the part where I'm hoping to get help from all of you.
The most significant change that I can identify between the time before the ER visit and the time afterward is my consumption of refined sugar. I gave up sugar sometime around 1993 (9 years before my diagnosis) for reasons completely unrelated to Crohns. I just didn't like how it made me feel so I took it out of my diet. Essentially anything with refined sugar added I avoided (i.e. cake, cookies, candy, etc.). I still got plenty of natural sugar from fruit, honey, etc. Just about 5 months before my ER visit I fell off the wagon in a big way. I started slowly and was eating progressively more sugary foods up to the date of the problem. Now I'm back on the wagon, but I am wondering if the sugary foods could be the only major issue and if I went back to eating like I had been (not low residue / low fiber) and just stayed away from the sugar if I'd be in good shape.
I still don't know if the recent experience was simply a short-term flareup or a progression of the disease that needs to be managed differently going forward.
Also, I'm ready to start adding foods back into my diet to see how they affect me, but I'm really kind of scared that I could find myself with another blockage. Are there any warning signs that can predict a blockage, and is there any way to prevent it once it begins, other than an ER visit?
Thanks for listening, and I look forward to getting to know some of you through the forum.
I started having serious stomach issues in 2000 immediately after returning to the US from a vacation in Japan. Literally, the day I stepped off the plane my problems began. I have no idea if this is just coincidence, or if there is a relationship, and no doctor has ever drawn a link, but I've always wondered about it.
It took two years and many visits with doctors (including one GI who did a colonoscopy) before I met my current GI in 2002 who diagnosed me with mild Crohn's Disease. I was on Asacol from about 2002 to 2004 and felt well. In 2004 I stopped the Asacol and referred to my disease as being "in remission". I had the occasional bout of diarrhea and blood in the stool, but I was usually able to link it back to eating high-fat foods, and when I went back to eating well it went away. I really didn't do all that much to manage the disease.
That changed in December 2012. I got myself to the ER with severe stomach pain and was diagnosed with a complete blockage of the small bowel. I was admitted for 4 days during which they evacuated the contents of my stomach and put me on a short course of Prednesone.
Since getting out of the hospital I've been feeling well. My doctor has me eating a low residue / low fiber diet, and I'm back on Asacol. That's been about 5 weeks. I'm feeling well and except for the fact that small amounts of food make me feel very full (so I eat small meals fairly often) everything seems to be OK.
Here's is the part where I'm hoping to get help from all of you.
The most significant change that I can identify between the time before the ER visit and the time afterward is my consumption of refined sugar. I gave up sugar sometime around 1993 (9 years before my diagnosis) for reasons completely unrelated to Crohns. I just didn't like how it made me feel so I took it out of my diet. Essentially anything with refined sugar added I avoided (i.e. cake, cookies, candy, etc.). I still got plenty of natural sugar from fruit, honey, etc. Just about 5 months before my ER visit I fell off the wagon in a big way. I started slowly and was eating progressively more sugary foods up to the date of the problem. Now I'm back on the wagon, but I am wondering if the sugary foods could be the only major issue and if I went back to eating like I had been (not low residue / low fiber) and just stayed away from the sugar if I'd be in good shape.
I still don't know if the recent experience was simply a short-term flareup or a progression of the disease that needs to be managed differently going forward.
Also, I'm ready to start adding foods back into my diet to see how they affect me, but I'm really kind of scared that I could find myself with another blockage. Are there any warning signs that can predict a blockage, and is there any way to prevent it once it begins, other than an ER visit?
Thanks for listening, and I look forward to getting to know some of you through the forum.