- Joined
- Jan 24, 2013
- Messages
- 67
Hello,
It's been awhile since I last posted but I wanted to share some *success* with Paleo. Our son John, 9 years old, has had Crohn's since 6. He's had his ups and downs, with some success last year while gluten free in combination with MTX, low dose steroids, and Azathioprin.
He got scoped again in January '13 after he ditched the 'roids and his calprotecin went up. He was at 300 in July '12, up to 1200 by Xmas '12. He had dropped the GF thing in July after 6 months of being on it, and dropping his calprotectin from 3000 (yes you read that right) in November '11. Although his doctor, German--b/c we are Americans in Germany--thought we were crazy to change his diet, we felt that GF had a connection. That's regardless of all the tests that ran counter and said John had no sensitivities.
So after John's January '13 scopes we decided to put him back on GF come February. He weighed about 74lbs. He was drinking shakes for nutrition to ease his belly, you know, a common thing for Crohnies. His doctor wanted him on Remicade or a "pulse" of very high dose 'roids (a three day mega dose). We waited and didn't do either.
Then John got sick---VERY sick.
He started getting unexplained fevers once a day as high as 103. All he could eat was ice cream at one point. He had colds all the time. Then he had horrific smelling diarrhea for 6 weeks. He missed a ton of school. I suspected lactose, the doctor felt it might have been gallstones or maybe something else. After THREE MONTHS of screwing around, with the last 6 weeks being a nightmare and almost causing us to admit him, I noticed something at his little brother's 5th B-day party: John wanted BURGERS (sans buns of course). This from a kid who had severe diarrhea for two months and wanted nothing but Chex with no milk and ice cream every once in awhile.
SO, I said the heck with it and told John he could eat whatever he wanted, and John wanted plain burgers. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner--with a Sprite in the AM--that's all John ate for a week. No Sprite any more btw :*) To say it was a total 360 degree turnaround is an understatement. As a test, we did lactose-free products and guess what? Explosive diarrhea. Was it Casein? Whey? Who knows?!
Thus since about a month now, all John has had to eat is strict Paleo. He indeed cheats on one thing: Ketchup, which has real sugar, but it's organic and has few ingredients, maybe two TBs at most/day. Other than that, all John eats is meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts. He weighed 69lbs a month ago, now he's at 77lbs. I haven't seen the kid look this pigmented in three years and his body aches, mouth sores, diarrhea, gas, smelly stools/gas, are GONE. His appetite is CRAZY as he eats NON-STOP!! He's always hungry now. His belly pain? His classic ileum pain? All gone.
Of course John is still on his nightly immune-suppressant and MTX on the weekends. Other than these drugs, he's on nothing else. NO steroids. The last time he ate like this he was on high dose 'roids for a week or two.
I don't know. I was tired of my doctor telling me I was crazy altering his diet, so we've been doing Paleo on our own, and by golly it's doing something. I don't know if his calprotectin will drop, but the kid has gained 2lbs a week in 4 weeks. He's finally HAPPY and he hasn't been like this since he was diagnosed three years ago.
Of course, after doing this for a month, my bit of advice for those interested in a go at it is to be STRICT. Follow the rules of the diet. Give it time. I read posts from people who try Paleo and cheat-cheat-cheat!! They are also impatient. Who knows, maybe John's success will only last a month? But the gains he's had have been invaluable, I will say this.
And even if his calprotectin, C-reactive, ESR, all stay high--I'll probably keep him on this diet by virtue of the way it makes him feel, which is AWESOME as described by him...
It's been awhile since I last posted but I wanted to share some *success* with Paleo. Our son John, 9 years old, has had Crohn's since 6. He's had his ups and downs, with some success last year while gluten free in combination with MTX, low dose steroids, and Azathioprin.
He got scoped again in January '13 after he ditched the 'roids and his calprotecin went up. He was at 300 in July '12, up to 1200 by Xmas '12. He had dropped the GF thing in July after 6 months of being on it, and dropping his calprotectin from 3000 (yes you read that right) in November '11. Although his doctor, German--b/c we are Americans in Germany--thought we were crazy to change his diet, we felt that GF had a connection. That's regardless of all the tests that ran counter and said John had no sensitivities.
So after John's January '13 scopes we decided to put him back on GF come February. He weighed about 74lbs. He was drinking shakes for nutrition to ease his belly, you know, a common thing for Crohnies. His doctor wanted him on Remicade or a "pulse" of very high dose 'roids (a three day mega dose). We waited and didn't do either.
Then John got sick---VERY sick.
He started getting unexplained fevers once a day as high as 103. All he could eat was ice cream at one point. He had colds all the time. Then he had horrific smelling diarrhea for 6 weeks. He missed a ton of school. I suspected lactose, the doctor felt it might have been gallstones or maybe something else. After THREE MONTHS of screwing around, with the last 6 weeks being a nightmare and almost causing us to admit him, I noticed something at his little brother's 5th B-day party: John wanted BURGERS (sans buns of course). This from a kid who had severe diarrhea for two months and wanted nothing but Chex with no milk and ice cream every once in awhile.
SO, I said the heck with it and told John he could eat whatever he wanted, and John wanted plain burgers. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner--with a Sprite in the AM--that's all John ate for a week. No Sprite any more btw :*) To say it was a total 360 degree turnaround is an understatement. As a test, we did lactose-free products and guess what? Explosive diarrhea. Was it Casein? Whey? Who knows?!
Thus since about a month now, all John has had to eat is strict Paleo. He indeed cheats on one thing: Ketchup, which has real sugar, but it's organic and has few ingredients, maybe two TBs at most/day. Other than that, all John eats is meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts. He weighed 69lbs a month ago, now he's at 77lbs. I haven't seen the kid look this pigmented in three years and his body aches, mouth sores, diarrhea, gas, smelly stools/gas, are GONE. His appetite is CRAZY as he eats NON-STOP!! He's always hungry now. His belly pain? His classic ileum pain? All gone.
Of course John is still on his nightly immune-suppressant and MTX on the weekends. Other than these drugs, he's on nothing else. NO steroids. The last time he ate like this he was on high dose 'roids for a week or two.
I don't know. I was tired of my doctor telling me I was crazy altering his diet, so we've been doing Paleo on our own, and by golly it's doing something. I don't know if his calprotectin will drop, but the kid has gained 2lbs a week in 4 weeks. He's finally HAPPY and he hasn't been like this since he was diagnosed three years ago.
Of course, after doing this for a month, my bit of advice for those interested in a go at it is to be STRICT. Follow the rules of the diet. Give it time. I read posts from people who try Paleo and cheat-cheat-cheat!! They are also impatient. Who knows, maybe John's success will only last a month? But the gains he's had have been invaluable, I will say this.
And even if his calprotectin, C-reactive, ESR, all stay high--I'll probably keep him on this diet by virtue of the way it makes him feel, which is AWESOME as described by him...
