Hi, I am wondering if anyone on here manages Crohn's without taking medication, for example with diet and lifestyle changes? I have always been into health and natural healing, and rarely saw a doctor, but after being recently diagnosed with Crohn's I have started taking pharmaceutical drugs. I've tried 5-ASA and am now on Entocort while going through the preparation process for biologics, as recommended by my GI specialist. I have many friends who are in the health/wellness/nutrition industries and it's hard for me to explain why I would need medication. There was certainly a time when I also thought diet and lifestyle changes could put any illness into remission, but I am now struggling with my symptoms and my diagnosis. People in my life are very supportive but sometimes it feels like I am being judged or perceived as a hypocrite for deciding to take medication instead of... running off on a retreat to drink green juice and meditate... or something. Sometimes diet changes seem to help me, low fiber is definitely key, but sometimes my stress level seems to make my symptoms worse, or sometimes there seems to be no identifiable reason. I'm certainly not perfect, I eat junk food sometimes, but I am knowledgeable about nutrition, I shop at the farmers' market, I cook a lot and I put in an effort to eat whole foods. But also, sometimes it's the not-so-good food that seems gentler on my digestive system, like a fast food burger or grilled cheese sandwich on white bread. I'm rambling, but I guess these are my questions: Should I be trying harder with my diet before committing to medication? Does everyone with IBD need medication? If I am to follow my doctors recommendation, how do I explain to people (some are experts in the nutrition and natural health field) that I need the medication?

I feel like a failure. 

Reply posted for sgraham.

I wish I had known about kefir before I did the operations. I can now eat foods which I could not eat before my permanent iliostomy. But I wonder if home made kefir would've solved my crohnes instead. I still have crohnes. Proof is the white spots all through my intestines when I had the scope done. But I am not on any medications for crohnes. I believe it is the homemade kefir. You can buy seeds to rehydrate at a health food store or get active seeds from someone else. These are the Curds and a whey from Little Miss Muffit rhyme. People used to keep their kefir in a sack by the door in the very old days so it would get shaken every time someone opened the door. Take out kefir and just add milk back in. What I do now is strain all the thick liquid kefir from the seeds into a new glass and put the seeds into a different new glass. Pour milk onto seeds and cover with coffee filter and elastic band. Put into dark cupboard until repeat next morning. I add half with orange juice to improve taste. There are tonnes of different strains of good bacteria in the kefir. You can read about this all on the internet. I ALSO AVOID ANY CABBAGE AND SQUASHES OR ZUCHINNI. Very bad reactions from certain vegetables. I'm finding a clean keto diet works well. I'm not swollen anymore throughout my whole body. I have to say I have very little energy but who knows if that is my crohnes or my lupus. But I consider my crohnes is under control. But nutrient absorption may not be working. I saw on a forum recently that any doctor outside North America will first prescribe liquid vitamin therapy to get crohnes under control. Meaning no solid food for a while. But I cannot find the name on the internet again. AVD or something like that. 

I also do juicing. homemade and freeze in small amounts. Apples carrots celery ginger beet. I doubled this during Covid when I also started fish oil and zinc.  I also make homemade kombucha and Long Herbal Infusions. Look up on utube from Susan weed. And vitamin d 6000 for me daily. B vitamin complex and multivitamin daily. Oh and two FeraMAX iron pills daily (dangerous if no iliostomy). 

Reply posted for visionlifecoach.

Also could you let me know the nutraceutical that you have been using.

Thank you!

Reply posted for visionlifecoach.

Hi...Could you please tell me the name of quercetin supplement that you took..I badly need help.
Thank you!

Reply posted for southerngirl.

Absolutely, you can manage Crohn's. Nutrition alone is not enough, though. It's the first step to remission but you MUST get control of your mental, emotional, physical and environmental stresses. 

Keep in mind that conventional medicine only focuses on the symptom and not the cause. It's a very narrow-minded approach that leaves the rest of the body and its signs out of the equation. This is the reason most cannot get control of disease symptoms and it's a major failure in the medical system. 

There's a reason natural methods have worked for thousands of years, literally. Do your research on places like PubMed.com, MyRebelliousColon.com, DrAxe.com, Mercola.com. There are MANY more sites but that's beside the point here. 

Am I qualified to say any of this and how confident should you be in my words? 

The proof is in how I live and what natural methods such as traditional Chinese medicine, relaxation techniques such as acupuncture and meditation (prayer and reading my Bible).

I was diagnosed in 07' with Crohn's disease. It came out of the blue like so many of you. It was a VERY confusing time. I couldn't understand why my body was doing this. The doctors told me there's no cure, no diet, no exercise or medication that will take it away. That's encouraging, right? (That's a whole other topic)

It took me years to figure this out but I now teach others what I've learned to provide hope and encouragement. Not to mention the possibility of remission forever!

This disease is no joke and if you take it that lightly you will NEVER reach remission. You cannot rely on other people to tell you what to do either. Take control of this disease, do your due diligence, research, research, research and NEVER listen to conventional medicine. They do not understand this disease (as is the case with many diseases).

Now, please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying there's not a place for conventional medicine. Most doctors are not out to harm you but to help you. That's why they became doctors in the first place. However, their education does NOT teach nutrition. It's not even a course that's included in most medical programs. I know this because I pursued a medical degree myself.

Look for medical offices that provide natural methods. There's plenty of resources on the web but BE CAREFUL about where you get your information. Start with resources such as...

• http://draxe.com
• http://myrebelliouscolon.com
• http://mercola.com
• http://naturalnews.com
• http://drhyman.com
• http://www.4yourtype.com
• http://www.dadamo.com
• http://thetruthaboutcancer.com
• http://go.thetruthaboutvaccines.online/?a_aid=587e600c84d8e&a_bid=62acb2d5

Follow these people on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and learn about these people and their methods, habits, teachings, etc. It will change your life!


Consider natural treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic (maximizedliving.com for great wellness chiropractors!), Functional Medicine, Holistic and Integrative methods such as traditional Chinese medicine is amazing and it's been around for 3000 years. Think about how long medicine as we know it has been around. Not long! 

Why mess with your health? Without it, you can't function, work, play with your kids, or do the things God created you to do. Life goes down the toilet without your health. (pun intended)

Take initiative today, take your health back! 


Best Regards!

My Story

RebelliousColon
Joined Mar 31, 2017

Reply posted for sgraham.

I have had long conversations with my doctor about diet vs medication.  I have truly come to the decision that to avoid complications from the disease, I need medication.  And I hope that new microbiome research will eventually lead to a cure.  Our bodies are attacking themselves.  I don't believe that a change in diet is sufficient to prevent that.  It may relieve some of our symptoms, but we don't know that there still are not ulcers within us that could do major damage.  We take medication to prevent serious long term damage.

That said, diet can help us to manage symptoms.  Like you, some of my safest foods are things people consider least healthy, a hamburger would be an example.  No short chain sugars, no fiber, my body tolerates it very well.  My GI suggested a low FODMAPs diet.  It's a pain in the neck to learn, and it's no fun to do the initial elimination, but it has helped me to control symptoms that occur in spite of being on several immunosuppressants.  You can look it up online.  Monash University in Australia is where the research first started.  It's harder to find a list of foods by type of fodmap, but it's very helpful.  I have greater issues with certain ones of the fodmaps.  Not particularly bothered by oligisaccharides, but I am by certain foods with fructose, lactose, and polyols.  I would encourage you to look it up and see if it might help you, or ask your GI about it.

But I would also encourage you not to abandon medications that have been prescribed.

 Reply posted for healer.

More info please on what your taking and how  your doing ?

 Reply posted for healer.

More info please on what your taking and how  your doing ?

Very intrested in more info on your sight you said u couldnt share.....

 Reply posted for sgraham.

No. all info says nothing will prevent a flare up. Inflamation is from a flare up. Inflamation does not cause it. Eat what you want. If it gives you has or is unpleasant, dont eat it.

 Reply posted for southerngirl.

I've had left side colitis for 30 years and have not experienced any foods or diets that have triggered or improved the symptoms of a flare. UC is so mysterious that it's easy to see ghosts where none exist. 

 Reply posted for sgraham.

I have no direct experience with Crohn's, but with Ulcerative Colitis (diagnosed in 2004) which is a related illness.

In any case, I put my UC into remission through a very restrictive diet. Initially the SCD diet and later on the anti-fungal diet (a variation of the SCD diet). While being part of the SCD community and learning from the trials and tribulations of other UC folks, I also read about Crohn's folks who put their illness into remission through this diet approach.

If you search on Amazon for the book "Breaking the Vicious Cyle" by the Elaine Gottschall you can read the first-hand experience of folks following the diet in the review section.

Everyone is different, but I hope this helps.

 Reply posted for gutfeeling369.

Even doctors agree all diseases start in the intestines and yeast starts all diseases.

 Reply posted for pinkladybug.

Chrons disease is a progression of IBS. IBS is the intestine stomach colon full of yeast overgrowth eating your intestinal walls. When it eats through by causing bleeding ulcers it's called leaky gut syndrome and is what causes chrons. Chrons leads to intestines and colon removal-you don't want that. By the time you get chrons your intestines are raw with ulcers because yeast has eaten through your intestinal walls. Yeast is the piranha that eats away and never stops. Doctors cant test for yeast because they don't have the lab microscopes to pick up yeast infections. You have to call around and find a lab that tests for yeast. You will find yeast is your problem. Chrons is a yeast disease #1. Colonoscopy cameras is like taking a selfie it doesn't pick up yeast. You need a lab test and you will find your answer. You have to cut out yeast in bread and brewers yeast in beer and start eating lots of fruit and vegetables and rice or corn bread you will get well.

 Reply posted for pinkladybug.

Chrons disease is a progression of IBS. IBS is the intestine stomach colon full of yeast overgrowth eating your intestinal walls. When it eats through by causing bleeding ulcers it's called leaky gut syndrome and is what causes chrons. Chrons leads to intestines and colon removal-you don't want that. By the time you get chrons your intestines are raw with ulcers because yeast has eaten through your intestinal walls. Yeast is the piranha that eats away and never stops. Doctors cant test for yeast because they don't have the lab microscopes to pick up yeast infections. You have to call around and find a lab that tests for yeast. You will find yeast is your problem. Chrons is a yeast disease #1. Colonoscopy cameras is like taking a selfie it doesn't pick up yeast. You need a lab test and you will find your answer. You have to cut out yeast in bread and brewers yeast in beer and start eating lots of fruit and vegetables and rice or corn bread you will get well.

 Reply posted for sgraham.

I have read too many good articles regarding diet and UC/Crohns and have read research articles and presentations which support that diet can help our symptoms and achieve medical remission as well as medications. Everyone is different, so pretend like diet is a medication... it may not work for everyone so you may need to look into other options. For me personally, I have added a supplement regimen, diet, and medication (Apriso) which has helped me tremendously. Sure, there are things I cannot eat, but I would rather give those up and feel better than to enjoy them for minutes and feel bad for days.

There is other non medical advice in this thread so I will share mine... check out Colostrum powder by Soveriegn Labs... I take it and I think I have been feeling much better with it. I got in on Amazon and many others have wrote reviews supporting their IBD their with this product.

Good luck!

 Reply posted for marciam.

thanks for this post. I read into LDN a little after reading your post and like what I see. I will contact my GI to see what he thinks about it, if any of his patients use it, and if he is willing to let me try a prescription of it.

 Reply posted for sgraham.

Hi. I was diagnosed back in 2008 with Crohn's. At that point I had surgery removing some of my ileum, the ileocecal valve, appendex and 8 inches of my large intestines. At that time I took Lialda for about 4 or 5 months. The diagnosis sent me on a mission of self healing. I became an energy worker, Reiki Master and began to practice mindfulness with my diet. I started to listen to my body with what it could handle and what it could not. That pretty much brought me to being a vegetarian on the verge of vegan. I'm actually heading that way now. I am also taking an amazing nutraceutical that has a whole list of ingredients, the top ones being a pharmaceutical grade Quercetin that most naturopaths rave about, vitamin D and C along with things like B12 and more. I have notice a great difference for myself. Plus it's a vegan product so no moral issues for me and it's USDA certified organic. I've done a lot of research on Quercetin. There is a ton of it out there regarding it's benefits on Crohn's. Between the two my symptoms are practically gone. I'm sure once I give up cheeze I'll have no issues what so ever. Changing my diet did also mean cutting out Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Sugar and Alcohol. I was trying to follow and research the anti-inflammatory diets. I hope this helped.

I have been taking meds off and on as needed for years. I decided to manage on my own without meds, surgery, etc about a year ago.  Am I better?  I'm getting there.  I worked in the medical field for 37 years, performing CAT scans, and  often scanned  patients with Crohn's Disease.  The fact that I was sick for years and didn't get diagnosed for a very long time was especially frustrating for me because I had so much confidence in MDs.   The fact that they let me down, and that the medicine rarely helped me feel better led me down the path to treating my Crohn's "naturally".  Also, I am 65, and I am just tired of taking meds.

First, I  suggest that you find a good DO (Doctor of Osteopathy)...a holistic physician. They are much more likely to be supportive of this choice.  I have found that MD's just want to repeatedly  perform "tests", experiment with meds and refer you to a surgeon.

I have found that i feel no worse treating my Crohn's without meds and side effects.

 Reply posted for sgraham.

G'day. All I can say is, don't discount fibre as a solution. Science is now finding that a lack of fibre in our diet is a leading cause of inflammatory illnesses. I have colitis so can't really speak for chrohns sufferers but I have cured massive flares by hammering the fibre. It is easy to understand eating an apple would upset chrohns through physical irritation. The presence of fibre in our intestinal tract feeds bacteria which ferment it into anti inflammatory compounds such as acetate. It will take a fair while to influence your intestinal biota so you will likely have to stick with it for a few weeks before it starts to work even though symptoms may get worse to begin with. All bran and brown rice is a good start. Also raw oats. We have been eating 100g of fibre/day throughout evolution and now eat bugger all. Add to that the absence of worms, which also produce anti inflammatory compounds to prevent elimination and it is easy to understand where we are going wrong. Aim for at least 40g/day. Watch these videos for an understanding of fibre's role in our health. If it can fix asthma, it can fix chrohns. http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/catalyst/SC1502H024S00 http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/catalyst/SC1502H025S00 Cheers

 Reply posted for sgraham.

Take the medication you need and your doctor recommends You have Crohns ,and no one knows how you are feeling. I am taking both Methotrexate and Remicade. I hate being on these strong meds but feel I have no choice if I want to get better. So if you can get better and it takes medicine, you don't owe anybody an explanation. Wishing you well.

 Reply posted for tulsaucdude1289.

For the last few years I have managed my Crohn's with Balsalazide Disodium (Colozal) plus a variety of supplements & raw milk products. I follow a very strict gluten-free diet & avoid all pasteurized dairy. The best way to use raw milk is to drink or eat it cultured in order to maximize the benefits of the bacteria & enzymes--but the milk or cream must never be heated, otherwise you kill off all the good stuff.  I also take an anti-inflammatory compounded medication called Low Dose Naltrexone (4.5 mg). It has absolutely no side affects, except that it does an amazing job of reducing my inflammatory response. You have to find a doctor who will prescribe it, but you also have to find a pharmacy that will compound the purest form. I recently was directed to Foothills Pharmacy in Arizona; they ship it to me & it costs less than here in L.A.

I also drink raw cream, eat absolutely raw UNSALTED cheese from an Amish dairy farmer. I purchase all my healthy foods through my raw milk co-op here in L.A. Right now I am trying to help my 11 year old son come off a flare using my diet. He drinks 3 raw egg shakes a day with an intestinal healing powder added and RAW, UNTREATED honey--another absolute must. The eggs, which I buy from a safe source, are soy-free & kept at room temperature. They are super easy to digest & have sustained him through this horrible summer. I hope this helps. 

You can look up the benefits to Low Dose Naltrexone on the internet. It is a powerful weapon against  many auto-immune diseases. Most traditional docs know nothing about it. They must be educated.

comeonsammy,

You hit the nail right on the head with the following sentence:

"I could eat a handful of goldfish crackers and be okay but one bite of apple and suddenly there's a knife in my gut."

I feel like no truer words have been spoken, and this stubborn fact highlights the absolute frustration of living with a disease like Crohn's or UC. When I see people in pie or hotdog-eating contests just completely abusing their digestive systems, and I'm sitting over here like "really?" I can't even have a tasty salad? That's sad as *** .

The Answer to your question is Yes. I did it. You can read my story at www.healingmygut.com

The problem you are experiencing is that every one is different. One food might effect you and not someone else. A health food might make you hurt more than a junk food.

My personal non medical advice is to cut out everything and fast on bone broth and water for a day or two and then add one food at a time each day and see if it effects you. Start with white or brown rice. I lay it all out in my book... The trick is to find out what bothers you at first. After you know what gives you pain you can avoid it until you are healed.  Don't give up hope! There are people walking around healed....and I am one of them!

The Answer to your question is Yes. I did it. You can read my story at www.healingmygut.com

The problem you are experiencing is that every one is different. One food might effect you and not someone else. A health food might make you hurt more than a junk food.

My personal non medical advice is to cut out everything and fast on bone broth and water for a day or two and then add one food at a time each day and see if it effects you. Start with white or brown rice. I lay it all out in my book... The trick is to find out what bothers you at first. After you know what gives you pain you can avoid it until you are healed.  Don't give up hope! There are people walking around healed....and I am one of them!

I know what you mean about junk food. I could eat a handful of goldfish crackers and be okay but one bite of apple and suddenly there's a knife in my gut.

Don't ever feel bad for trying to get healthy. Even if that includes meds. There's only so much diet can do. You're not a hypocrite, you're realistic and deserve a life without pain. If your friends don't understand, maybe refer them to sites that explain your condition, From what I read, it SEEMS there isn't a foolproof food plan that will help heal your gut. Of course there are certain trigger foods you should avoid to not make the symptoms worse... but that doesn't mean you won't have flare ups with a strict diet. What some people also don't understand is that "healthy" foods aren't necessarily good foods for someone with an IBD. Salads tend to tear us up more than the junk.

Balance eating what makes your gut happy and what makes YOU happy. And trying to be as natural as possible isn't always possible, sadly. No one cares about your health as much as YOU. And YOU have to decide what's best for your body. You're the one who has to live in it, after all. 
I wish you all the best and I hope you can be at peace with your digestive journey. Maybe eating a big fat juicy burger WHILE meditating....? ;)

 Reply posted for sgraham.

my situation was so bad that i couldn't leave my apt at all. I got tired of taking the drugs they was giving me because they were destroying my body. after 2 years of juicing my body changed and im in remission. i stopped taking my meds two years ago. i realize that the bad bacteria was killing my insides. I had to find veggies that would out good bacteria in my stomach. it worked. A lot of raw onions and cabbage.

 Reply posted for sgraham.

I am new here,my Dr. has ordered x-ray and blood work for biologics,what does  BIOLOGICS MEAN TO ME?

You deserve to be healthy and enjoy your life! Thank you for sharing your story. I had Crohn's for a long time too, I think my bad eating habits were a major cause. My life sucked, I couldn't do anything... I went to so many doctors but none could help me. I started to try to heal myself doing a lot of research about my disorder. While doing that I found Dr. Brandeis and his intestinal repair protocol online which finally helped me, just google it. He focuses primarily on eating habits and natural supplements, no chemicals. He advised me which food to eat and what to avoid. My health improved a lot. I feel great now, I totally recommend Dr. Brandeis! All the best to you!

 Reply posted for sgraham.

There is absolutely no way you are a failure! I have not tried diet completely alone, but I have tried altering my diet. I have found some foods that trigger symptoms so I try to avoid those, but other than that, I haven't noticed that what I eat has a major effect on how I feel. I'm not saying it's not worth looking into, but I am on a biologic that the doctor recommended and that is what seems to be slowly helping. You can for sure try diet, I don't think it would hurt at all, but there is nothing wrong with taking medicine if diet alone does not help you. Hope you feel better soon!