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I was Diagnosed with crohns in September of 2010, To be quite honest I havent done too much positive with my diet. I have been on numerous types of meds. I started out on mesiline(sp). prednisone potassium and folic acid. I failed on the mesiline. I was put on humira  I  did ok on taking it weekly but my GI was afraid that he was missing something so he sent me to another GI in the area. He did a colonoscopy but didnt go as far as my illieum. Said i didnt have crohns and took me off all of my meds. I was so relieved. 2 weeks passed and I was a work had the worse attack I had ever had. Working in the ER at the time I was persuaded by my coworkers to be seen instead of going home. I did and the doc that saw me was our medical director at the time. He sent me for a CT scan to make sure I didnt have appendicitis. I didn't He sent the images to MY GI that saw me prior to all the changes. He put me in the hospital. He told me that my CT looked worse than it did when he diagnosed me the first time. I spent 10 days in the hosp. I was then started on Remecaid high doses of prednisone and back on Potassium and folic acid and Prilosec. He said that I did have Crohns and that I should have never been taken off of my meds.  Here it is 2012, I am feeling some better. I do still receive Remicaid every 6 weeks at 950 mg each time. But my diet still is out of control and I still feel like crud. I ache all of the time. I am tired all of the time. I quit working in the ER I now work in a Drs office. I am feeling some better due to the meds and the stress reduction now it is time to address my diet. My husband says that i should go vegetarian. I am lost. I am a nurse but I am lost when it comes to diet and fixing something without meds. SORRY! That is how we are trained. to look at Medicine not at all natural healings. Please Help!!!!

 Reply posted for crystalr75.

Hello Crystair,

I second the motion to try a vegetarian diet, or even to go vegan, both because it should help reduce or eliminate your issues and because it is better for the body.  Eliminating dairy, meat, fish, and fowl will help you feel markedly better, give you more energy, and prevent things like cancer and atherosclerosis from starting and can stop and reverse it if you already have it inside your body.  Eliminating grains is another step toward healthier living, reducing things like arthritis.  and wacky energy spikes.  

Think about it: people were made for a fruit-based diet.  We have tiny, serpentine digestive tubing, so what were we built to eat: things that can be chewed up into liquid before being swallowed, like fruit, or things that can't get smaller than chunks, like meat?

Give The China Study (T. Colin Campbell) a read, and the 811 Diet (Douglas Graham) as well.  They will explain how animal protein is the cause of almost every bad thing that can happen inside the body.  A summary of The China Study would be: The more animal protein one ingests, the greater the chance of disease.  It is shown over and over again based on a 30-year study.

I know that there is a lot of conflicting information out there, so do your hw.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's and IBS in 2002 and have been a vegetarian (for ethical reasons) for a lot longer. I think we all are different, and can find success with different strategies based on what affects our bodies in different ways - in my case it seems like I can't be friends with most dairy products, rice, or wheat. crystalr, I'm curious what brought about the suggestion that you should try a vegetarian diet instead of any of the other options available, like a low residue diet? Do you feel like there are foods in your diet that are triggering your symptoms? I know some people have had success with elimination diets, the kind where there's a baseline cadre of "safe" foods consumed and other foods are slowly re-introduced to check for negative reactions.

If you feel like you have no other options, it can be SO disheartening to think, "well, I have to take on this drastic measure because I'm sick and broken and I don't have any other options except crazy medications with terrible side effects." I know I've been there. But I think, and this is just my opinion, that you can learn a lot from your body's own reactions. Like, I LOOOOVE pasta. And I've noticed that pasta hates my guts. So I can't do pasta, but I can do quinoa. I love white potatoes and they will try to rip a hole in me, but sweet potatoes and yams, for whatever reason, are great for me. So, that's my thing, and you can find yours and be happy. You sounded miserable and I just hope you're in a better place - it CAN get better, I swear.

 Reply posted for crystalr75.

You can make a big difference with diet but vegetarian is not the way. The most suitable protein for our digestive system comes from animal sources.
Look at the scd diet and gaps diet and read Robb Wolf's book. Reducing omega 6 oils (by eliminating refined oils) makes a big difference but it takes a long time to see the result.  Low carb/high fat can make a real difference but it seems to go against everything we are told about diet. Read Jack Kruse's blog for some great scientific theories. I have used diet to control uc for 6 years with a lot of success and I have recently made further big strides using his theories on cold.

It's not  as difficult as it seems once you start to think  differently about what is good for us (it does take time to believe). I can eat as much as I want to without gaining weight and I rarely feel hungry between meals any more. Before changing I was always tired and frequently had to stop what I was doing to eat and I needed frequent courses of steroids.

Read as much as you can before you make changes. I think many fail with diet because there are ups and downs in the first months. Understanding the reasons why this happens  and that it could even be a sign of success makes it much easier to keep going.