Soothing things to pick up today? please help

[Dereksmagic]

OK quick question first.

My gf is going to swing by the store and pick up a few things for me, so is there anything people can recommend that will help keep my system mellow? im in full flare, just out of the hospital. (just found out I have crohns)

Right now i have peppermint and chamomile tea on the list, as well as some ginger, is there any other small things like this that I can have her pick up that will kinda sooth my symptoms (I know everyone is different) but I am hoping that maybe there are 1 or 2 other things I can add in now to bring the pain / flair / cramping / inflammation down.

I had my first post going in the introductions thread but I thought it would be appropriate to bring this question to the correct thread. I am new to this whole world... you can see my intro thread here.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=44899


Thank you!

 

[Jennifer]

Hey Dereksmagic, sorry to hear about your diagnosis but you're in the right place for help and support.

Whenever I'm in a flare (mine usually involves pain, blood in stool, diarrhea, mucus, body aches, joint pain, nausea etc) I follow a couple of diets depending on symptoms. The BRAT (bananas, rice, apple sauce and toast) diet is great for diarrhea because it helps form the stool a bit. There are other soft foods you can add like mashed potatoes etc. Its a soft bland diet basically.

Anther one I follow is the low residue diet http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Low-Residue-Diet. You can make any meal low residue really. Its basically bland, low fat, low fiber, minimal spice, nothing raw (steamed veggies), no skins or seeds etc.

Another diet I follow when symptoms are really bad as listed above would be a liquid diet. With the liquid diet what you're doing is allowing your gut to rest so it can try and heal some on its own. With this diet you can have tea, juice, broth, jello, basically anything liquid. What you really want to do is make sure you're getting enough nutrients if you're planning on doing something like this for long term (best to discuss it with your doctor). There's Ensure Clear out there you can have to try and add more nutrients and another thing you can do is make your own broth in soups and stews and strain in and just drink the broth. Again you really want to have your doctor aware that you're doing this if you do want to.

Only thing I can suggest from the store is the Ensure Clear. They are a bit pricy but are one of the few that don't contain the added ingredient Carrageenan http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Carrageenan which has been found to increase symptoms which is something to avoid for sure.

 

[Sunione]

White rice is my go to comfort food when in a flare. Watermelon (seeds removed) also soothing.

 

[Johnnysmom]

Don't forget a heating pad if you don't have one. Tylenol PM can help you sleep too.

Hope you are feeling well again soon. ((((Hugs))))))

 

[Susan2]

I agree with Sunione, especially if you cook the white rice for a long time in more water (or mild stock ) than usual so that it becomes gluggy. (It's what the Chinese call "congee".) It's very soothing on the stomach.

 

[Charleigh]

Natural Chicken broth, bananas (eat them when very ripe), smooth natural peanut butter, applesauce.