Sarah

[Sarah]

Hello. I was diagnosed with Crohns July last year. After 12 days in hospital being pumped with an assorted of drugs and undergoing tests I am now just on azathioprine. Although I am managing my physical symptons, mentally I am finding the whole Crohn's thing hard to comes to terms with.

I find the uncertainty of it all hard to cope with. On hindsight I know I've had Crohn's rumbling for many years and had mini flareups which settled by themselves but I'm scared of having another full blown flare up.

I would love to hear of anyone's experiences on what foods aggravate, early signs of a flare up.

I'm off on holiday at the end of May which is scaring me. I don't enjoy flying at the best of times. Have people found stress and nerves makes symptons worse? Any tips on destressing?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[Astra]

Hi Sarah
and welcome

glad you found us, lots of support here for you and advice.
I had a spell in hospital back in Jan, and it scared the hell outa me, so I know how you feel and your concerns. But, after that stint in hospital, I now know the signs and triggers of a massive flare, cos like you, I had mini ones which went on their own. I was vomiting with severe D, and excrutiating pains in lower back, so bad I couldn't walk, turns out, I was blocked, and after having this disease for over 15 years, I've never been like that before! My CRP was 261, and infection had set in!
Mini flares are different tho, I get them all the time, lots of D, gas, bloat and pain in abdo, when this happens, I give my bowels a little rest with the low residue diet, you can find this diet on the forum. And rest is crucial for healing and avoiding stress, which is hard as I have a very stressful job. I understand about the flying tho, I hate it too! very stressful! Maybe your doc could give you a mild sedative, or like me, I take herbal Nytol or Codeine Phosphate which also knocks D on the head!
Remember, everyone is different, unique, and foods effect us all differently, keep a food diary, and if it aggravates you, don't eat it again! process of elimination, trial & error, and have a scoot round the forum on diets and treatment.
It's scary stuff this Crohns, but in time you will be able to manage it, try not to stress about it, this will exacerbate symptoms, any questions, just fire away, lots of people here to help.
lotsa luv
Joan xx

 

[Dustin]

Hi Sarah, and welcome.

Foods that I cannot tolerate would include fruits, uncooked veggies (and a lot of cooked ones as well), any and all nuts, spice, and lactose to name a few. I find some things like cooked cauliflower is a 50/50 - half the time I am okay with it, and the other half it makes me sick. I find there are quite a few items that act that way for me, so I avoid them if I am not feeling the best, and take a risk with them if I am feeling good.

Early signs of a flare-up for me include pain, diarrhea, and nausea.

As for stress, it definitely does make my Crohn's worse. There is a thread(s) somewhere on this site regarding reducing stress - you might want to do a search for it, as there are a lot of good tips it there.

Best of luck, and hopefully you enjoy your vacation.

 

[Hedgehog]

Hi Sarah and welcome,

I find the uncertainty hard too. First signs for me are constipation and bloating. Then I get the diarrhea. Foodwise, I seem to be intolerant to wine, fibre and coffee though I'm ok with these when not in a flare.

Gail
x

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi Sarah. I know everyone is different, so my trigger foods and warning signs aren't necessarily going to be anywhere near what yours are. Having said that, my trigger foods are anything spicy or fried or greasy, dairy, most chocolates, garlic, and nuts. My "early" warning sign of a flare is pallor - I can feel all the blood drain out of my face and I go absolutely white, and that's when I know things are going to be bad.

As far as de-stressing for your travels, I've found that the best thing to relieve my fears and to have some sense of control is to plan, plan, plan. Make sure you pack extra meds & underpants, find out where the local hospitals or clinics are where you'll be travelling, pack some "safe" snacks for the flight and find out where the grocery stores are at the place you're going to so you can buy more food when you get there. If you involve yourself in preparations, you'll not only feel less worried about the unknowns that could happen, but you'll also distract yourself from worrying. Good luck and happy travels!

 

[ameslouise]

Hi Sarah and Welcome!

It's normal to be scared - especially being new to the disease and not sure how/when any Crohn's stuff will hit you.

I agree with Cat above - when travelling, extra undies and safe snacks are mandatory! Just be very, very careful. Even if it means you have to eat nothing but mashed potatoes and roasted chicken every day!

Keep reading around the forum - you'll find that many people live very active, "normal" lives with Crohn's disease.

Hang in there! - Amy

 

[Entchen]

Welcome, Sarah! Am also still learning to deal with uncertainty, not to mention changing symptoms. Re. your question, trigger foods for me are all fruit except bananas (believe me, I've tried most of them by now!) and vegetables unless they are overcooked and mushy, plus caffeine, pop, and alcohol. My hope is that this will improve significantly with meds.

Destressing can take many forms (hence your question!), but two general categories of coping with stress are active and passive techniques. Many people say that one (active) is better than the other, but it actually kind of depends on the situation and on individual factors. For example, is what you're stressed about something that you have control over? Then an active approach like problem solving to change the situation could work great.
When you are concerned about something in the future, like flying, try planning and making lists and doing other things to make sure you are well prepared for the trip. Knowing that you've got your spare undies and a snack can go a long way to helping you feel more at ease, and you can tell yourself that this is your chance to show yourself how well you can use creative problem solving to manage a challenging situation. Once you're on the plane, maybe some deep breathing (a slow in and out x 10) to get your body relaxed and help your mind slow down, followed by distraction (hello, smutty gossip mag or favourite TV show) will help. And...you're going on holiday! Awesome! While you're on the plane you can make plans for things to do and places to see -- or review your itinerary and think about how exciting each day is going to be.

 

[PeninsulaLil]

At a workshop recently, I heard the long time head of the Stanford Univ Hospital's Crohn's Colitis Clinic asked what to do about stress. She said "I used to tell my patients, take a bubble bath, read a good book, go out to dinner with friends...but I don't tell them that anymore. I tell them exercise, exercise, exercise; and if you can't exercise, exercise." She said it is the only thing empirically proven repeatedly to impact stress.

Lilly

 

[Entchen]

Absolutely agree! Exercise is the natural resolution to the fight or flight response (you're either wrestling the threat or running away).