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I have been recently diagnosed with crohn's and am weaned off prednisone and onto methalamine and imuran but still having problems.  I keep hearing about how to change my diet but I don't really know where a good place to start is?  What would be some typical easily digestable foods and what are some common triggers.  I started a diary of what I eat but sometimes I don't do anything different and get sick.  What impact does stress have???  Any help would be great.

 Reply posted for JERizzo2.

No I never received them, if you send them again let them know and I will keep checking.  Thanks again.

Laura

 Reply posted for fishead4.

@fishead..did you ever receive my email with the recipes?

 Reply posted for Salmos5.

I am so sorry I am just seeing this! I would be happy to send them over. Whats your email address??

 Reply posted for Salmos5.

I am so sorry I am just seeing this! I would be happy to send them over. Whats your email address??

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Everyone is different so it is hard to tell what foods may bother you.  I tried many things over the years and wanted to let you know that I was successful with a gluten free diet.  Eliminating gluten has made a tremendous difference for me.  I still have to watch raw vegetables but I can eat nearly everything else.  Some common things I've heard of affecting people are gluten, diary, eggs, soy, peanuts and nightshade vegetables ( tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers).  So you might start by choosing one of those and eliminating.  With some like gluten and diary you will have to really watch anything that is processed and read labels carefully.  Don't eliminate more than one thing at a time so you can tell what is working.  Good luck to you!  I hope you find what is causing your problems.  

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Thanks for your input I am going to look into the recipe books.  I have found that cheese and salad don't bother me as long as I don't have it daily and I drink soy milk.  I don't think much has changed however I am on a ton of medication.  I have officially been in "remission" for one month and 2 days, woohoo!!  Something I have found for everyone is if I don't drink a lot of water every day I feel lousy and start having symptoms.  One great thing in all of this mess is my children are learning about foods and what they can do to you and how to eat better to stay healthy and feel better.  Hope everyone has a "normal" day :)

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Everyone's body is different, but I read many of the posts here and I see people changing to Lactaid milk and Lactaid products. People with IBS, IBD, Colitis and Crohn's commonly think they are lactose intolerant because they have a hard time and bathroom issues when they have milk products. You are not lactose intolerant, the amount of fat in whole and 2% milk is difficult for your body to digest. I used to drink whole milk and then switched to 2% and I still had problems. Just earlier I drank 3 - 16oz glasses of 1% milk and no problems at all.

You do not have to follow special Crohn's diets, or give up milk products, I have not given up much except to eat smaller portions due to the diabetes. I noticed someone saying they keep a diary of what they eat. That is the best place to start if you really want to achieve remission. Keep a diary of all intakes, food and drink. Write down the time you ate, what you ate, what you drank, how you felt after the meal. If the meal caused symptoms, how long did it take before you felt the symptoms, what exactly happened? Also include any other pertinent information, especially if your someone who likes medium rare or under cooked meat.

Some people say avoid lettuce. I say eat a small salad of some sort with your meal, but eat it last. Many people eat their dinner salad before the meal, it actually helps digest your meal better if you eat it after.

Finally search Google or Bing for free Crohn's recipe books or cook books. I have gotten many free cookbooks for both my Crohn's and Diabetes from doing simple searches.

 Reply posted for JERizzo2.

to JERizzo2
I would like to have some of your recipes if this is possible for you to send them to me, I will appreciate it. Thank you

 Reply posted for fishead4.

I have found this book called "What to Eat with IBD" by Tracie Dalessandro. She is a Registered Dietitian and also has Crohn's disease. This book is very reasonably priced and available on Amazon. She gives good, down to earth recommendations, shopping lists, lists of foods that heal and foods that hurt, and recipes that don't use a bunch of exotic ingredients. I think this will help you.

 Reply posted for fishead4.

I found a list of great foods to eat and prepare for those with crohns.  I know it can be really hard to change your diet and everything, I know it was definately hard for me but I found these foods are the best to eat, they're like power foods you know?  Suddenly you can just get up and move and not have to worry about anything, felt great!

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/crohns-disease-power-foods

Anyway, I hope this helps!

 Reply posted for Karl40.

Personally...I cant have it. Almond and soy milk make me extremely constipated. Which....compared to the alternative of crohns induces bathroom trips 6 times a day doesnt seem that bad...until you don't go for 10 days. lol So...For me? Nut milks are a big no no...but I know many people who have had great results with them and I love the taste...my stomach just cant digest it. So...I found lactaid brands and they have been a life saver-they even have Ice cream now!! :)

 Reply posted for JERizzo2.

What is your opinion on almond milk?

 Reply posted for JERizzo2.

Thanks for your help, my boy is 5 and twin daughters are 12.  Happy Birthday to ya!

 Reply posted for fishead4.

I'll put some stuff together for you tonight/into the weekend. Its amazing what you can substitute for things. We celebrated my birthday yesterday--my mom has made the same dinner since I was about 3 and for obvious reasons I cant eat fried chicken cutlets. We had a complete "Crohns" dinner and everyone loved it! Lactaid milk in the mashed potatoes and oven "fried" chicken with Panko bread crumbs. It was fantastic. How old are your children? I have some fun recipes they might enjoy too!

 Reply posted for JERizzo2.

Thanks for advice everyone:)  My e-mail is fishead4@sbcglobal.net  any recipes are greatly appreciated.  I have had crohn's since October and have been unable to get in remission yet.  At least I gained back 10 of the 20 pounds I lost so I don't look so sickly.  Stress is huge for me my husband got hurt and is disabled for two years and counting and the kids are home for the summer, need I say more?

 Reply posted for fishead4.

I was diagnosed in 2001...I was young and naturally my mom took over everything. I'm now 23 living on my own and experiencing my first major flare since then. I agree with another user-Low Residue is the way to go...and you still have plenty of options. Things to stay away from generally are things that are hard to digest-for me that's anything containing lactose. I have switched to Lactaid products in everything I prepare, even mashed potatoes. I eat a lot of chicken and salmon-both baked/broiled/or grilled. Try to stay away from frying anything. Lots of starches and carbs are in my diet. White rice, pasta, potatoes--in any form you can imagine. Red sauce bothers my stomach but I do well with quick oil and garlic pasta. Spices and seasoning can also be very hard. I would specifically state to stay away from red meat--in any form. Its hard to digest for people with normal DT's. I have completely switched to ground turkey and I couldn't be more pleased. It has a great taste and virtually no grease.

Nuts, berries, whole wheat, multigrain, raw veggies these are all common triggers.

I have tons of alternative recipes (cooking is kind of a hobby) Get me you're email address and I'll send you some!

And yes....stress is a huge factor. I would suggest finding something you love...for 60-90 minutes a day...and relax. I like Yoga, reading, and cooking. I also enjoy running but this flare is a little too much to keep my energy levels high.

 Reply posted for fishead4.

You asked if stress has an impact on symptoms.  I don't know for sure for everyone but this is what biology, basic knowledge, and common sense tell me.  I am always under stress so it is hard for me to test this.  When a person is under stress, especially bad stress, the stomach increases the production of acid.  Now, if the acid in sodas and coffee are affecting the symptoms, it stands to reason that increased stomach acid would also.

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Thanks so much for all of your advice!  I am trying to change my diet gradually but it is hard, I would love some recipes if you don't mind.  Thanks again I am feeling pretty good this week and hope it continues.  I hope all you crohnies are doing well too.

 Reply posted for fishead4.

I was diagnosed in 1970, so I have been through a lot. Early on, I discovered an intolerance to milk products, so I eliminated all cow's milk derivatives. Recently, my doctor recommended a new way of eating. I use unsweetened almond milk when baking, am now gluten-free and sugar-free and do not eat red meat. Instead of sugar, I use Zylitol. For me, there are no residual problems associated with the Zylitol and it is a 1-to-1 substitution for regular sugar. I lost 20 pounds, and am no longer having difficulties with gas, bloating or diarrhea. The only medication I take is Welchol, three 625 mg tabs 2X a day. I haven't felt this good in many years! If you need some websites to go to for recipes, let me know and I'd be happy to share them with you!

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Robb Wolf's autoimmune diet is a good place to start and read about scd and gaps diets and Jack Kruse's Leptin reset.  All these can make a real difference but require a different way of thinking about what food is healthy. There is lots of science to back them up.

 Reply posted for fishead4.

Definitely read up on a low residue diet. This should help you, keeping your fruits and vegetables very soft and cooked thoroughly. Some vegetables you should not eat at all like lettuce and celery. These are common things that mostly everyone has trouble digesting. I would also advise you to stay away form very rich foods, spicy foods, no coffee or soda. I find that white rice cooked thoroughly is easy for me to digest, even when I was in the worst part of my first flare it was tolerable and didn't give me much pain. I also have success with sweet potatoes/yams. You could also juice your fruits and vegetables. With time you will notice the things that bother you more than others. However, sometimes symptoms appear without being triggered by a particular food. So sometimes it is hard to tell. But definitely read about a low residue diet, because even though some doctors will tell you that diet has nothing to do with symptom prescence, it does! There are a lot of good books on this type of diet too. And to address your other question about stress. Stress does not cause IBD, but can indeed make the symptoms more prevelent or intense. So, managing stress in a way that works for you is also something that would be worth looking into. Walking, running, shopping, whatever relieves the tension. Hope this helped!