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Please help me to figure out what to eat.

Hi,
I have crohn's since August 2012. Few days back I got a severe abdominal pain and I was hospitalized, I have no appetite and after eating a normal diet I get nausea. My Dr was cutting me down on the prednisilon but since I got this,he put me back to 20mg a day. How should I maintain my diet to recover as early as possible? This is the first time something like this happened to me from crohn's.
Advising me on what to eat will be a great help to me since I have no idea on what to eat. And my parents are asking me to eat various things and I don't know whether that will make this worse.

Thank you!
 

valleysangel92

Moderator
Staff member
Hello kolitha

Im sorry to hear that you have been struggling. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question as everyone is different and what some people can tolerate will make others feel horrible. You can try keeping a diary of what you eat and what symptoms you experience afterwards, but you may find that its not what your eating thats the problem, it may be a case of whatever you eat will make you feel ill.

Try eating small meals, with easy to digest foods such as plain rice and chicken, and perhaps some peppermint tea or ginger to help settle the nausea. You may find it better to eat when you feel hungry rather than trying to force yourself into a 'normal' routine, for example, if you dont feel hungry at 12pm but you feel hungry at 3pm, eat at 3 instead. Many people find their symptoms are worse in the night, so you could consider eating your main meal earlier in the day.

Here is a link to a forum dedicated to SCD and Paleo diets, which some members have found useful in reducing symptoms.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=288

Some members find that juicing is helpful for when they really cant stomach 'proper' food, it allows the gut chance to rest as it doesnt take as much digesting and the complex fibres have been broken down, making the vitamins and minerals more accessible.

Here is a link to the juicing section :

http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=284
 
very sound advice posted above, I would certainly look into SCD and Paleo diets, they definitely minimise my symptoms. If you are getting nausea it is possible that you may have some gastritis from prednisone as pred is known to cause it.
 
I find it hard as I have tried cutting alot of things out over the years before the diagnosis... As I thought I just had intolerances...
But I have found its more of a day by day thing for me... When I'm not nauseated and eat, I keep my meals small and hope that this will sit with me... Some days not so good... :)


Sent from my littlefishes
 
I have found that eliminating Gluten, Peanuts, Corn and Soy have helped me. I take Lactaid when I consume Dairy. I also try to limit fats and sugar.
 
valleysangel was a good post….thanks.

you have active crohns now and the pain is caused by food passing the part of the gut that is most inflamed and sore….if the inflammation is severe the whole wall of the bowel thickens and that results in the intestine being narrowed…so, imagine a hose pipe and then imagine trying to get a peanut through a hose pipe - should be no drama…but if you ate ten peanuts and a banana, it would all gel together and make quite a large ball and that probably wont go through the pipe/intestine….this is called a 'stricture' of the intestine, if it is narrowed and it is worth finding out if the intestine is 'strictured' or not….you can do this via taking an oral lead based drink (usually barium) and they xray you while the liquid goes through the intestine and this lets them know the part of the gut that is severe. If it is happening 10-20 minutes after you swallow, it is probably in your small intestine.

The pain may well be caused by ulceration….rather than a blockage.

Once you know what you are dealing with, then you can start to treat it.

If it is a blockage, then you basically want to stick with low fibre liquids…soups and things and try to get the stricture sorted.

If it is ulceration then you want to try and feed it soothing things like aloe vera, spiralina…etc.

as for the general diet, what works for you may not work for me…..and also, what works for me today, may not work tomorrow. the SCD diet is a definite step in the right direction though, broadly speaking. limiting processed foods is a no brainer….limiting sugar is a no brainer….but it is harder to do than people think, because you feel so shitty all the time it is easy to reach for a chicken nugget, can of coke or chocolate bar as they give you that instant pick up, whereas working on your diet - the results take months or years to show.

arrrgh…..try and enjoy your food and try not to hate food because it is causing you pain….it may well not be the food, it is just the plumbing in your tummy…..so, try and love your tummy and give it lots of love to make it get better….

your tummy wants to get well again and your mind wants to slow right down and help that….but life gets in the way, for all of us.
 
SCD diet or specific carbohydrate diet is low in lactose and sucrose and can reduce symptoms of diarhea. avoid processed sugar and foods naturally high in sugar, like bananas. and switch from milk to cheese or yogurt. it may help to read the book breaking the viscious cycle and consider more of the diets recomendations. following this small bit of advice alone to create a diet plan has helped my maintain 1 solid bm a day for 4.5 years with no meds.

also check out my thread on fecal transplants and how they could cure IBD-http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=52400
 
Thank you for all the advice. I am looking forward to a SCD diet.... In my country it is hard to stick to a SCD diet since resources are limited.... But I have altered my diet as much as possible...
 
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