- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2
Everybody has their own unique body, and will respond to different diets differently. Of course some diets may work for a number of people, whose bodies are wired similarly, but I genuinely believe what I'm about to post has the power to help EVERYONE suffering from Crohn's disease. It will provide you with a diet that is specific and unique to your body. I'm quoting a previous post of mine from another topic, so please excuse irrelevant information.
Hi,
I was first diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 7, and am currently 23 years old. Up until a year ago, I struggled with Crohns my entire life. Running home from little league baseball games with my mom when an attack would strike, missing school, having to give up sports I excelled at and loved to play due to a lack of energy, and a deterioration of my body from excessive steroid use. I was partially home schooled in high school from 10th-12th grade, typically missing as many days as I actually attended school.
I've been on every drug for Crohn's, all the ASA's, 6MP, Prednisone, Entocort, Pentasa, Remicade, Humira, and a ton more that I'm forgetting, because I was on them for such a short period of time with nothing but failure. The only thing that ever curbed my symptoms was ridiculously high doses of Prednisone, and for a short period, Remicade before I started having horrible allergic reactions. Because it worked so well I would be given an IV drip of Benadryll that would knock me out a good deal longer than it took to receive the infusion, and I would still wake up with mild allergic reactions that were at least bearable, but eventually my symptoms came back.
I understand that for a lot of you with children, prednisone is the only thing that allows them to get through the day without constant pain and suffering, but if I knew then what I know now about the ill long-term permanent effects it has had on me, I don't think I would have ever continued to take it. (Easy to say now that I'm not suffering the symptoms -- chained to a toilet all day long in horrible pain, suffering a significant blood loss leaving me completely drained), but for any of you out there with children who have been on prednisone long-term or are considering it as an option I urge you to try something else in the meantime. As I said, I'm currently 23 years old, and have a bone age of 12 years old. I continue to struggle with that both psychologically and physically every day, and at this point there is nothing I can do to rectify that situation, other than learn to live with it. If I'm not careful I'm injured very easily, and it makes it incredibly hard to keep up with my peers, even symptom free from Crohn's disease.
I managed to go away to college for four years despite my struggles, but going into my final semester my symptoms were getting so bad, my weight loss so extreme (I am still extremely skinny, though I no longer look like a skeleton), and my depression and anxiety so intense that I needed to take a leave of absence to try to better address what was going on in my body. Like I said before, from age 7-20 I had been on every pharmaceutical drug that's been approved for Crohn's disease, I've tried a million diets, supplements, eastern medicine, have flown to Texas and Seattle (I'm from New York), to visit with doctor's promoting alternative and experimental treatment options for Crohn's, and nothing ever worked other than high doses and long term use of Prednisone (which is another monster itself).
When I came back home to focus on my health, I was able to make an appointment with a naturopathic doctor I had been reading about for years, and had made previous attempts to see but could not due to the high volume of patients he had. Once I went to see him he ran two tests on me - a Neuroscience Brain Chemistry Test (which dealt with problems such as anxiety, depression, low mood, low energy, restlessness, low motivation), and more importantly, a IgG and IgA Hidden Food Allergen Test.
I'm sure many of you have had allergy tests done, and so had I in the past. I had previously had many allergy tests, the needles under the skin, blood tests, I had even seen a kinesthesiologist who placed different foods in my hands in a strange test that promised I was allergic to the things that were the most difficult to lift. What I'm trying to say is I thought I had tried everything, so please don't be dissuaded if you have had many allergen tests done with no luck in regards to quelling Crohn's symptoms.
The results came back, and I was informed that my body could not tolerate Gluten, Egg, or Dairy. (I already knew I was lactose intolerant, and my egg allergy was very obvious). I had also been previously tested for Celiac's disease, and the results came back negative.
Not only was my bodies inability to process these things affecting my physical health through the manifestation of Crohn's symptoms, they were contributing to my emotional problems as well (depression, anxiety, etc.). From the results of the brain chemistry test, I was given four supplements to restore balance to my body (Tyrosine, TravaCor, and 2 others I cannot remember unfortunately), and was given a specific regimen to take for a few months. I promise this is not a money grab, I only had to take them for 4 months, before stopping use (after cutting out 100% Gluten, Egg, and Dairy) for the same amount of time. After that point, balance is restored to the body, and their use is no longer necessary so long as you stick to the diet religiously.
Now it has been a full year since I first started this program, and I am 100% symptom free and have been ever since 2 months after I started the program. It's not easy to make the transition to completely Gluten free diet though. It is hiding in literally just about everything. It took a lot of research to figure out what I can eat, and a lot of work at first to find enough things to eat so I was still taking in enough calories to be healthy and gain weight and restore energy to my body, but after a couple of months it became so routine, and the results were so prominent that it felt good to seek out the things I knew were benefiting my body, and preparing them for myself.
And that is a huge key in making sure it works, preparing just about everything yourself. Going out to eat, or hitting up fast food places/panera/chipotle/whatever needs to stop, or at least be significantly cut back because there are always things lurking that you will be unaware of. It's not fun at all at first and it was a difficult and at some times saddening change to get use to, but you really have to get into the habit of reading every single label and making sure it has nothing that may interact poorly with your body. I promise it's akin to going underneath the sink and spraying cleaner into your mouth, getting violently ill, then going back the next day and spraying some more Windex in your mouth and wondering why you're getting sick. The hidden allergens your body cannot tolerate are literally acting like poisons on your digestive system.
The specific allergens I have mentioned (Gluten, Egg, Dairy), as well as the supplements I took should NOT be seen as a specific guide for yourselves or your children however. I want that to be clear. You should really have a Neuroscience Brain Chemistry Test and a IgG and IgA Hidden Food Allergen Test done for yourselves and figure out what is specific to you. It isn't cheap though, it cost about $1,000 and insurance does not cover it (or at least doesn't in New York State -- naturopathic doctors cannot be legally considered doctors in New York, although they are legally recognized as such in other states). With that said, from conversations with my doctor, Gluten and Dairy seem to be the leading culprits in the majority of Crohns/UC patients he sees. If you can't afford the test, or find someone you like/trust to have it done, it could not hurt to try on your own, though for the best results you should really have it done. If it works (and I earnestly believe it has the potential to work for every person suffering from Crohn's, I had it as bad as anyone), it will quickly pay for itself when you no longer have to pay for doctor's visits or prescription drugs.
With all that said, if you choose to do this, YOU CAN NOT HALF ASS IT. If you do not cut out the things your body can't tolerate 100%, it's not going to work. If you can't have Gluten, you can't have a burger once a week with a bun, it doesn't work that way. There are many, many, many food alternatives out there that if you take the time to find and experiment with, you don't have to feel horribly restricted in what you eat. Unfortunately in my case, I'm also allergic to Egg and Dairy, which cuts out pretty much all gluten-free bread products as Egg and/or Dairy are often needed to play the role of gluten in forming many of these products.
However, even so, I have gained 30 pounds in the last year (mostly in the first 6 months, and have been maintaining it since), and have been 100% symptom free. I don't have any memories of ever being this healthy, or not being dependent upon prescription drugs that I hated taking. I don't need to go in for blood work every 4-6 weeks, and I don't have to worry about the side effects of drugs, all I have to worry about is what I put into my mouth. From the age of 7-20 I was constantly told by western doctors that Crohn's disease cannot be controlled by diet alone, but it's simply not the case. If you or any loved one's are struggling with your symptoms and nothing is working, you or they deserve to have these tests done and get their lives back.
Hi,
I was first diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 7, and am currently 23 years old. Up until a year ago, I struggled with Crohns my entire life. Running home from little league baseball games with my mom when an attack would strike, missing school, having to give up sports I excelled at and loved to play due to a lack of energy, and a deterioration of my body from excessive steroid use. I was partially home schooled in high school from 10th-12th grade, typically missing as many days as I actually attended school.
I've been on every drug for Crohn's, all the ASA's, 6MP, Prednisone, Entocort, Pentasa, Remicade, Humira, and a ton more that I'm forgetting, because I was on them for such a short period of time with nothing but failure. The only thing that ever curbed my symptoms was ridiculously high doses of Prednisone, and for a short period, Remicade before I started having horrible allergic reactions. Because it worked so well I would be given an IV drip of Benadryll that would knock me out a good deal longer than it took to receive the infusion, and I would still wake up with mild allergic reactions that were at least bearable, but eventually my symptoms came back.
I understand that for a lot of you with children, prednisone is the only thing that allows them to get through the day without constant pain and suffering, but if I knew then what I know now about the ill long-term permanent effects it has had on me, I don't think I would have ever continued to take it. (Easy to say now that I'm not suffering the symptoms -- chained to a toilet all day long in horrible pain, suffering a significant blood loss leaving me completely drained), but for any of you out there with children who have been on prednisone long-term or are considering it as an option I urge you to try something else in the meantime. As I said, I'm currently 23 years old, and have a bone age of 12 years old. I continue to struggle with that both psychologically and physically every day, and at this point there is nothing I can do to rectify that situation, other than learn to live with it. If I'm not careful I'm injured very easily, and it makes it incredibly hard to keep up with my peers, even symptom free from Crohn's disease.
I managed to go away to college for four years despite my struggles, but going into my final semester my symptoms were getting so bad, my weight loss so extreme (I am still extremely skinny, though I no longer look like a skeleton), and my depression and anxiety so intense that I needed to take a leave of absence to try to better address what was going on in my body. Like I said before, from age 7-20 I had been on every pharmaceutical drug that's been approved for Crohn's disease, I've tried a million diets, supplements, eastern medicine, have flown to Texas and Seattle (I'm from New York), to visit with doctor's promoting alternative and experimental treatment options for Crohn's, and nothing ever worked other than high doses and long term use of Prednisone (which is another monster itself).
When I came back home to focus on my health, I was able to make an appointment with a naturopathic doctor I had been reading about for years, and had made previous attempts to see but could not due to the high volume of patients he had. Once I went to see him he ran two tests on me - a Neuroscience Brain Chemistry Test (which dealt with problems such as anxiety, depression, low mood, low energy, restlessness, low motivation), and more importantly, a IgG and IgA Hidden Food Allergen Test.
I'm sure many of you have had allergy tests done, and so had I in the past. I had previously had many allergy tests, the needles under the skin, blood tests, I had even seen a kinesthesiologist who placed different foods in my hands in a strange test that promised I was allergic to the things that were the most difficult to lift. What I'm trying to say is I thought I had tried everything, so please don't be dissuaded if you have had many allergen tests done with no luck in regards to quelling Crohn's symptoms.
The results came back, and I was informed that my body could not tolerate Gluten, Egg, or Dairy. (I already knew I was lactose intolerant, and my egg allergy was very obvious). I had also been previously tested for Celiac's disease, and the results came back negative.
Not only was my bodies inability to process these things affecting my physical health through the manifestation of Crohn's symptoms, they were contributing to my emotional problems as well (depression, anxiety, etc.). From the results of the brain chemistry test, I was given four supplements to restore balance to my body (Tyrosine, TravaCor, and 2 others I cannot remember unfortunately), and was given a specific regimen to take for a few months. I promise this is not a money grab, I only had to take them for 4 months, before stopping use (after cutting out 100% Gluten, Egg, and Dairy) for the same amount of time. After that point, balance is restored to the body, and their use is no longer necessary so long as you stick to the diet religiously.
Now it has been a full year since I first started this program, and I am 100% symptom free and have been ever since 2 months after I started the program. It's not easy to make the transition to completely Gluten free diet though. It is hiding in literally just about everything. It took a lot of research to figure out what I can eat, and a lot of work at first to find enough things to eat so I was still taking in enough calories to be healthy and gain weight and restore energy to my body, but after a couple of months it became so routine, and the results were so prominent that it felt good to seek out the things I knew were benefiting my body, and preparing them for myself.
And that is a huge key in making sure it works, preparing just about everything yourself. Going out to eat, or hitting up fast food places/panera/chipotle/whatever needs to stop, or at least be significantly cut back because there are always things lurking that you will be unaware of. It's not fun at all at first and it was a difficult and at some times saddening change to get use to, but you really have to get into the habit of reading every single label and making sure it has nothing that may interact poorly with your body. I promise it's akin to going underneath the sink and spraying cleaner into your mouth, getting violently ill, then going back the next day and spraying some more Windex in your mouth and wondering why you're getting sick. The hidden allergens your body cannot tolerate are literally acting like poisons on your digestive system.
The specific allergens I have mentioned (Gluten, Egg, Dairy), as well as the supplements I took should NOT be seen as a specific guide for yourselves or your children however. I want that to be clear. You should really have a Neuroscience Brain Chemistry Test and a IgG and IgA Hidden Food Allergen Test done for yourselves and figure out what is specific to you. It isn't cheap though, it cost about $1,000 and insurance does not cover it (or at least doesn't in New York State -- naturopathic doctors cannot be legally considered doctors in New York, although they are legally recognized as such in other states). With that said, from conversations with my doctor, Gluten and Dairy seem to be the leading culprits in the majority of Crohns/UC patients he sees. If you can't afford the test, or find someone you like/trust to have it done, it could not hurt to try on your own, though for the best results you should really have it done. If it works (and I earnestly believe it has the potential to work for every person suffering from Crohn's, I had it as bad as anyone), it will quickly pay for itself when you no longer have to pay for doctor's visits or prescription drugs.
With all that said, if you choose to do this, YOU CAN NOT HALF ASS IT. If you do not cut out the things your body can't tolerate 100%, it's not going to work. If you can't have Gluten, you can't have a burger once a week with a bun, it doesn't work that way. There are many, many, many food alternatives out there that if you take the time to find and experiment with, you don't have to feel horribly restricted in what you eat. Unfortunately in my case, I'm also allergic to Egg and Dairy, which cuts out pretty much all gluten-free bread products as Egg and/or Dairy are often needed to play the role of gluten in forming many of these products.
However, even so, I have gained 30 pounds in the last year (mostly in the first 6 months, and have been maintaining it since), and have been 100% symptom free. I don't have any memories of ever being this healthy, or not being dependent upon prescription drugs that I hated taking. I don't need to go in for blood work every 4-6 weeks, and I don't have to worry about the side effects of drugs, all I have to worry about is what I put into my mouth. From the age of 7-20 I was constantly told by western doctors that Crohn's disease cannot be controlled by diet alone, but it's simply not the case. If you or any loved one's are struggling with your symptoms and nothing is working, you or they deserve to have these tests done and get their lives back.
