Which medicine should I choose

[Mikey989]

Hi I was recently diagnosed with Crohns and finally went to the doctors to start a medication until remission. I decided to choose taking a formula, for this process I will have to basically live on this formula(90% of my intake will be formula 10% will be normal food) for 8 weeks. This formula has no side effects so that's why I chose it over prednisone. My question is should I stick to the formula I know I can do it or should I just do prednisone? Thanks you guys have all been so friendly and nice to me I really appreciate it!

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Which formula? Certainly it's preferred to the awful side effects of pred. After you gain remission or help heal the inflame you still need a maintenance medication.

 

[Mikey989]

Yeah at the doctors we talked about that I will be taking Methotrexate or Remacade after I reach remission to maintain it and the formula is called PediaSure Peptide and is a 1.5 cal.

 

[Clash]

My son uses that formula for supplemental nutrition. He couldn't abide the taste so he inserts an ng tube each night and takes the formula in then removes the tube each morning. Others have took the formula orally or others similar to this one.

 

[24601]

I personally think that liquid diets are a great alternative to steroids (even for adults). The side effects from prednisone can be awful so I think it's highly preferable to do the liquid diet if you can manage it.

I've taken all my nutrition from Elemental 028 (orange and pineapple flavor!) orally for similar periods of time and I've also done Modulen, which is probably even more palatable.

I have also tube fed, inserting my own ng tube as I prefer to have that control over having someone else do it, when I needed to feed at very slow rates (50 ml/hour because of strictures and an intussusception) but I can totally understand some finding that preferable over the taste.

Have you been given any guidance over what sort of foods you can include in the other 10%?

 

[Mikey989]

Ya they gave us a packet of good and bad foods for inflammatory bowel diseases.

 

[24601]

Could you share what they list as allowed foods? I'd always been told that a liquid diet was only as effective as steroids when foods were cutout completely (with the possible exceptions of clear boiled sweets and popsicles) so I'm interested to hear about this different advice.

Thanks

 

[Lady Organic]

hi,
If you can drink enteral liquid diet and if its working for you, that is super great. Prednisone has not only potentially bad side effects for short term, but for the long term as well, especially on bones.

If liquid diet brings you to remission, I highly recommend you read this book, for further insight on diet possibility (u can read it for free online) Its by a IBD dr-professor gastro-enterologist in the UK:

http://books.google.ca/books/about/Inflammatory_Bowel_Disease.html?id=zoQFKq8YRWEC&redir_esc=y

you may also take a look at a different diet (IBD-AID) newly developped and experimented with interesting primary results:

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/13/1/5