Great news!!! Glad to hear Clark is doing so well! :banana:
As Kim mentioned, Stephen has been on only EN as his treatment since diagnosis. He was put on EEN for six weeks to induce remission (May-July 2011) and he did very well, he then continued it as his maintenance treatment at 1/2 dose, 5 nights per week and has continued with this until now.
It has kept him in clinical remission and other than the random day or symptom, he has not had any problems. When diagnosed, he had inflammation in his stomach, duodenum, colon and TI; the inflammation has continued in his TI but has cleared from all other areas (ironic as EN is supposed to be most successful in the small intestine!

). However, as MREs continue to show inflammation in his TI, his GI is strongly recommending remicade. We will be commencing remicade in the next couple of weeks.
EN has been fantastic for Stephen in so many ways - while not eliminating all inflammation, it has kept him stable for almost two years with no meds; as a picky eater, it has significantly reduced my concerns over his diet; and, as he feels and looks so good (and doesn't hear me nag about his diet), he has asked to continue EN while on remicade.
However, keep in mind, Stephen was almost 17 when he was diagnosed and, when he was diagnosed, the GIs did mention that that the younger the patient, the more likely crohns will continue to develop (as MLP said above). I'm not sure what factors affect the progression of crohns (age, size, hormones, etc.) but, prior to becoming sick (and losing weight), Stephen was already 5'10" and 150 lbs, so past the majority of his physical development. I don't know if this was a factor in EN controlling his crohns for so long???
I hate the thought of adding meds and my only regret is that while Stephen was doing well, I didn't push to make any changes... if I could go back, I would push more to try LDN or Pentasa together with EN. At the time, the ped GI said EN was ok and neither LDN nor Pentasa would be effective, as Stephen looked and felt well, I was relieved to add no meds so was happy to accept their recommendation. It is his new adult GI who is adamant that we need to add remicade to avoid the risk of surgery due to chronic inflammation... perhaps a milder drug (even when it didn't seem necessary) together with the EN could have helped avoid the remicade now???
As you mention that Clark is the first to try EN at your hospital, I'll pass along our food reintroduction schedule given to us by the hospital's nutritionist (Stephen's hospital are big supporters and have quite a bit of experience with EN). Food was introduced in stages, with each stage lasting 3-5 days.
1. 'White' foods - bread (any type), pasta, rice, potatos, plain cereal (ie rice krispies but NO milk), plain muffins, etc. He was allowed a very little bit of toppings like strained tomato sauce for pasta, butter or light cream cheese, etc.
2. proteins - any type but I stuck with chicken, eggs, fish
3. fruits/veggies - soft or cooked, no skins, seeds or membranes (skin around orange segments)
4. dairy - low fat
5. all else as tolerated
We were told to always avoid popcorn or corn kernals, seeds (sesame, sunflower, etc., also seeds in berries, tomatos, ets., no multi-grain bread, no seeds on buns, etc.) and pieces of nuts (smooth nut butters are fine). While I strain all tomato sauces at home, I haven't worried about the few seeds that would be on pizza or sauce eaten outside - it hasn't been an problem for Stephen. We were also told to limit veggie/fruit skins.
Hope some of this can help you! :ysmile: