Reaction the same as flare/disease activity??

[Sea_Star]

Hi all! I'm new to this forum. I was dx mild Crohns in 2010 and have seen a few drs, but have been off med for about 1.5 yrs because I've felt fine! D was never a symptom for me but studies showed inflammation.

I'm here out of a slight panic on something stupid I might have done this week. Because I've felt totally fine I've wanted to jump start weight loss. So on April 1st, I bought herbal Dtox and took it only once since it made me feel dizzy. So a couple days later i tried lemon water with cayenne pepper...nothing. Yesterday I heated canned red kidney beans with tomato and cayenne pepper (weight loss mindset lol). About 10 mins later I had to go to the bathrm ant 3 times...liquid!! Today I'm ok (just ate macaroni grill haha) but have some cramping which I think may be from yesterday. Idk why I can't remember what food does to crohns....I'm terrified I caused it to come back. Can you eat anything you want, even if you have reactions, but not cause a relapse of disease activity? I think I'm scared that food can cause inflammation/which triggers a relapse/disease activity...I'm worried! I have had an appt set for May to make sure all is fine but then I had to go do this! I've had cramps rarely but I think the intestines get irritated with spice...and that scares me that it might trigger reactivation

 

[theOcean]

Reactions don't necessarily mean that you kicked yourself out of remission, but you definitely need to be careful because you can agitate yourself by provoking frequent bowel movements like that! Especially when you aren't on medication.

If you think spice is setting it off, avoid spice. Avoid cleansing diets like these -- they might seem like they get you fast results, but they always just strike me as being starvation diets and for people with stomachs like ours it's doubly bad.

That you set up an appointment is good, though. Maybe you can ask if you can go on maintenance medication. (But even if you're on that, still don't do diets like these! It's like asking for a flare.)

 

[Sea_Star]

Absoluuutely!! I learned my lesson about kidney beans haha, now I'm super paranoid

Thank you so much, no more of those harsh diets! I've had cramping in the last days since, but hardly any bm....hoping it's just that.

Do you think eating something "irritating" can "wake up" an inflammation parade?

 

[theOcean]

Yeah... sometimes I'll eat things that set me off, but I try to take enzymes with them to help my body digest them without getting sick. (Beano for gassy foods, Lactaid for lactose...)

And sometimes it can definitely function as a trigger for inflammation, yeah. But other times it's hopefully just short-lived and you just have to be careful in the future. Are you feeling any better since stopping the diet?

 

[Sea_Star]

Well, I wasn't on a diet really...just tried one dose of different things over a couple days haha. What shocked my system was Friday night after I had a serving of Kidney Beans with Cayenne Pepper Like 10 mins after I had to go really badly. Since then I've had little to no BM, but moderate cramping. I have never been so stupid :ybatty:...I was 10000% fine before. So I'm hoping the cramping is due to minor constipation. I don't have much of an appetite either.

When you say set you off, do you mean a flar/disease activity? Or just a reaction? I'm still learning

Thank you for your support theOcean, I appreciate it...talking to you and others on here gives me some peace! :ghug:

ps: congrats on being in remission!

 

[theOcean]

Oh, good! I was so worried that you were on that longer-term. That's good to know your frequency is still pretty low, though the cramping is a concern. I hope the cramping is due to constipation, too! It would definitely be preferred over a flare. You could always try adding some fibre or fibre-supplements to your diet to treat that in the meantime, though. (Remember to drink lots of water if you do!)

And yes, when I say "set you off", I just mean temporary stomach upset, not a flare. Most of the people I've met with Crohn's or Colitis have "trigger foods" that they have to avoid! I have to be careful with spice (and usually avoid it where I can), fatty foods, and lactose. Otherwise I don't seem to have problems and can still enjoy everything I like!

And it's no problem! That makes me so happy to know joining the forum has helped you. :ghug: I know it's definitely been a comfort to me, too. Also, you can always feel free to PM me in the future if you have questions, or even if you're just worried about something! Or post here, of course.

Thank you so much! Hopefully I'll be in remission for a long time.