Will I ever feel better + new insane diet !

[GI-Jane]

I am so sick of being sick. I have struggled with this flare for a year now. I finally got diagnosed and treated in sept and thought by end of dec I was in remission. Since then my symptoms are coming back and this week has been the worst. I can't take 5asas and the prednisone didnt get me %100 in that time. I have talked to a new nutritionalist and she has me on a probotic and slippery elm. But it's been 2 weeks and my health is still rapidly declining. I want to go natural esp so I know what my different options are but I'm afraid of it talking too long and being house bound again!

I did sensitivity testing and I am no longer allowed to eat : gluten, dairy, most sugar, citrus/strawberry (except lemon), bean/legumes, nightshades:tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, all peppers (including spices: paprika, chili, Cayenne etc) other random things like onion, sweet potatoes, wine, carageenan ( also common for us as its an inflammatory but it sucks it's in milk alternatives). Any words of wisdom, tips, recipes welcome. Thanks for the ear

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I don't have a lot of answers or advice for you, but I'm also avoiding lactose and carrageenan. I can tell you that Silk brand almond milk is carrageenan-free, and so is the Whole Foods store brand of almond milk.

As for recipes - I make myself a dairy-free, carrageenan-free smoothie for breakfast most mornings. My "recipe" is pretty loose as I don't really measure things, but here are the ingredients I use: I put in a big cup of crushed ice, some carrageenan-free almond milk, a scoop of carrageenan-free supplement powder (most supplement powders do contain carrageenan but I finally found one that doesn't - it's called "Total Soy" - I didn't see soy on your list of no-nos so I hope soy is okay for you?), a banana or two, and some cocoa powder to make it chocolatey. Blend it all up and that's it! You could add some peanut butter or almond butter or even avocado if you need extra calories, or you could add fruit instead of cocoa powder if you want to make it more fruity than chocolatey. Play around with it and see if you can come up with a smoothie that works for you. I played around with my smoothie "recipe" for awhile before I settled on this one which works pretty well for me.

 

[GI-Jane]

Thanks for the silk tip, it seems like every tetra pack has "
carageenan. I can't always make everything from scratch!
I have been doing smoothies its a good change up for breakfast.

 

[Tuff]

Did you by any chance have IgG testing? Doctors think it is a total waste of money. You should really have allergy testing by an allergist, if you think it is a food allergy and not just your Crohn's flare.
Here's an article by a doctor explaining why. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...s-a-waste-of-money-doctor-says/article535082/
I've had allergy skin testing, which I found very accurate. I've also done elimination diets, which are very helpful, but take a long time.

 

[UnXmas]

I agree with the above: food intolerance/sensitivity testing is a scam in most cases. I had IgG testing by a laboratory (using a blood sample) and another kind done by a nutritionist as well - it was all a terrible waste of time and money, and months following a diet, getting stressed over why I was deteriorating instead of getting better.

If you are concerned about food issues, I would recommend only consulting with allergists from mainstream medicine, and get tested for lactose intolerance and coeliac disease.

 

[lbligh]

The dietary restrictions you were given are very similar to the disallowed foods on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This might be a good time for you to give that a try. My daughter improved enormously in less than a week on SCD, and we find that many Paleo recipes are good for SCD. Sometimes they have to be tweaked a bit.

Hope you feel better soon.