Scd

[Gardengal]

I posted over a month ago about my 23 year old son who is trying the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (has had Crohns for 22 years). We soon realized from the replies that we were doing several things wrong, introducing some things too soon. Once we did the intro and got on track he has been eating meat patties, turkey, chicken and occasionally pork. Also pureed carrots, butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, broth, and applesauce and grape juice jello. He has been very strict with no illegals, but the problem is he is just getting worse. He has gone from 5-6 bouts of diarrhea to 8-10 a day. He has way more blood and now has to get up in the night to use the bathroom. He is trying to get enough calories by eating 5-6 meals a day, but sometimes gets bad breath (ketosis I think) from all the meat. He is hungary most of the time and is down about 12 lbs and can't afford to lose any more. He has become listless and lacks energy now - he had been doing much better before we started the diet.

I wondered if anyone else had this issue? We took out the fruit and jello for a few weeks thinking maybe that was the problem, but no change. He wants to continue on but is definitely going downhill. He is presently not on any medication because he can't tolerate most of them (allergic maybe). We're getting some blood tests run this week to check for deficiencies. He graduates from college in June and has a job already and I don't want to jeopardize that as he will get health insurance (He is still on ours presently)

I would be interested if anyone with more experience with Scd has any suggestions or to hear from anyone else who had a decline like this while on the diet? Did you turn it around? I feel we are running out of time and worry about making him worse especially when we don't have alot of other treatment options.

 

[Beach]

Sorry that your son continues to do poorly. That isn't good, obviously. I remember responding to your earlier posting, about where I mentioned my early problems. I got off to a ruff start eating a paleo/SCD diet. I figured out the main offender for me was fiber. I still have an IBD problem but not nearly as bad as I used to since eating this way, plus keeping fiber intake low. And fortunately over the past couple years have gained a good amount of weight.

Since your sons problem does not sound to much new fiber to the diet, and he continues to get worse, I would guess he is reacting to something being eaten. What is different from the new diet compared to the old where he was feeling healthier? Possibly an answer can be found there.

Additionally, if your son is in ketosis, for the first 2 to 3 weeks chances are he will feel lethargic. I believe some people can last even longer going through withdrawals. Dr. Eades had some posts about tips on adapting to a low carb diet.

Don't know how to help with the hunger pains, other than foods high in fiber make feel famished also. Hope that helps.

"Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt I"

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...cks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-i/

snippet:

...Probably the best explanation of low-carb adaptation (also called keto adaptation) was written by a Lt. Frederick Schwatka (pictured above left) over a hundred years ago.

When first thrown wholly upon a diet of reindeer meat, it seems inadequate to properly nourish the system and there is an apparent weakness and inability to perform severe exertive, fatiguing journeys. But this soon passes away in the course of two or three weeks.

Lt. Schwatka was a doctor, a lawyer, and an explorer of the Arctic, the Great Plains and northern Mexico. The above quote comes from his book on the unfruitful search for the Franklin party in 1878. (For all his experience and gifts, and understanding of low-carb adaptation, the good doctor listened to his own body a little too much and did himself in with an overdose of morphine at age 42.) You can read more about Lt Schwatka, low-carb adaptation, and his time with the Inuit in a post I wrote a few years ago.

The period of low-carb adaptation is that time between starting a low-carb diet and feeling great on a low-carb diet. It can take anywhere from just a day or so to two or three weeks. During this adaptation period people tend to fatigue easily, experience a slight lack of mental clarity and be tormented off and on by the unbidden lust for carbs that seems to rise up out of nowhere. Why does this happen early on with a diet that ultimately works so well to increase exercise capacity, mental clarity, and feelings of satiation?

It happens because both your body and brain are going through a profound change in the way they get their energy. You can’t run your car designed to burn gasoline on biodeisel…unless you install a converter. Then you can. We humans have the design for our carb to fat converters coded in our DNA – the low-carb adaptation period is simply the time it takes for the converter to be built and installed....

&

"Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt II"

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...ks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/