Thinking about going on a liquid/soft food diet for a little while

[karl]

thinking about going on a liquid/soft food diet for a little while

i started on prednisone 8 days ago, 40mg a day. tapering over 40 days. i also take pentasa 500mg 8x a day and i'm on imuran, i think it's 50mg. i've been on the pentasa for about 4 months and it hasn't done a damn thing. i started on imuran 2 weeks ago and i'm really hoping it works. i know i can't afford remicade, as that seems to be the next step

anyways, since i started on the pred, things have sort of gone down hill. i find that if i eat something solid like a turkey sandwich (which i hardly consider solid anyways), about 4-5 hours later i will be paying for it. lots of gurgling, nausea, abdominal pain, you know what i'm talking about. my gi says that its the bowel trying to move past the strictures in my small intestine and when it gets stuck, i get all the pain/nausea

i'm thinking of spending the next week or so eating mostly liquids and some soft foods. is this a bad idea? i'm thinking mostly chicken noodle soup, apple sauce, vanilla pudding, yogurt. maybe some buttered pasta

anyone ever do this? i'm looking for suggestions on what i could eat

 

[Kev]

Hey Karl.. A liquid or semi soft/soft diet shouldn't hurt, and should help you avoid issues with strictures. You need to watch the level of nutrition you are getting, AND you may need to monitor/allow for such things as fat content, sugar content, perhaps even lactose amounts. I don't know if you've consulted a dietician, or if you've researched IBD relevant diets, or if you've started keeping a daily diary of your food consumption N body reactions. Each of us is just a little different. We have our own specific 'trigger' foods that pretty much result in immediate issues... plus we have to look at limiting those foods which will result in extra stress on our GI tract over time. This area is well worth you exploring... because it helps with immediate pain levels, and gives your tract the best chance at going the distance. Problem is... the trigger foods, they are something you will likely have to discover on your own. The long term foods; well.. those are something a dietician experienced with IBD, or a good IBD diet book, should be able to categorize into.. ones most likely to, one least likely to

That sort of thing.. Hope this was helpful. Like, I could have listed all the foods I no longer eat, and those that I can.. but any/all of them might not apply to you... Generally speaking, low fat is better, low fibre when theres inflamation, low sugar to stop feeding the 'nasty' bugs.. low residue to rest the GI tract, and in my case... low or no lactose.. as for some reason I'm sensitive to it. my diet also consists of hi protein.... it gives me good building blocks, more energy and apparently it also lowers any hunger levels... meaning I'm less prone to eat more 'empty' caloric foods thus stressing my digestive system. sort of akin to opting to use only 'premium' fuel to power my digestive system. In your case it might be a problem getting protein from a lot of sources past your strictures.
You would probably need to switch to liquid or soft proteins.. like perhaps a low fat peanut butter... Then again, a lot of people are allergic to peanuts, and you certainly would need to avoid 'crunchy' .. I'm sure other folks will pop in to tell you of their diet restrictions. Some folks eat just anything; either pay for it OR maybe they're playing a down the road form of Russian roulette. Time will tell.

 

[BWS1982]

I would think it's worth a try as long as you're sufficiently nurished from nutrients and macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats). See if it helps.

 

[AbstractDonut]

Hmmm, go low fiber just as Kev said. Eat smaller meals. I am with you on the stricture thing. Do not know if applesauce is a good idea it has some fiber in it.

 

[Kev]

Yeah, the applesauce thing may be a bit of a stretch... like, I'm not supposed to eat fresh fruits or veggies.. closest I typically come is over-ripe bananas. you know, the ones most people throw out. I can have juices, in fact I drink OJ with added calcium (unsweetened, and with no lactose - many calcium enriched foods have lactose in them) daily. But I have tried applesauce, unsweetened, and I will cook that to help break down the fibre, then refrigerate it again. Too much does give me problems, so I won't have more than 1 serving a week at the most. Unfortunately, trial N error with a diary is about the only way one can determine what their 'triggers' are; and they sometimes need repeated trials just for confirmation.. I think everyone who has done this can confirm it.