Diagnosed with Crohn's.

I totally feel you on the Hemmies they are a pain in the butt, I lived with them for years then asked my doc for some prescription cream and he gave me Proctosol and it has worked wonders!!! Ask your doc if you can take fiber like metamucil as that can really help with constipation but, some crohnies can't take it (I can). A good strict diet is what you are going to learn to have to live with . Everybody's diet seems to be a little different so there is not one diet that works for everyone so its kind of hit and miss to find out what works for you. Forget about smoking cigs if you do, I know it sucks. Alot of people seem to be ok with only eating if it swims or flies (like fish, turkey, chicken, etc.) raw veggies seem to be a no-no, potato bread seems to be better than grainy bread. Find out if you are lactose intolerant (shouldn't be that hard lol), try and stay low on gluten (like starches in bread etc.) and stay very low on sugar as these seem to be a constant in crohnies. Try and keep your stress level low (way harder said than done I know), and try to drink lots and lots of water. Basically you are a guinea pig for a little while till you find out some diet that works out for you, remember no red meat, no raw veggies, drink lots of water, take pro-biotics, vitamins, omega-3 religiously (these seems to be consistent). If you are depressed please go and get help! Crohn's disease is not something that is easy to deal with! Your mental health is almost as important as your physical health, most of us have been there. This is also a very supportive forum, most people on here will (especially Nanners, shes the greatest) keep you in their prayers and help you find places to find help at. I get my Hospital visits and most of my medication for basically no cost, you can probably find a place near your area that offers the same stuff just by doing a little research on the internet. Stay strong and remember that you can live a normal life with Crohn's and that usually after you are diagnosed is the worst time for most people (sure was for me, I lost the best job I ever had and my girlfriend of 3 years broke up with me ). Good luck and keep us updated.

Hi MC84,

And welcome to Healingwell. Sorry for the reason you have to be here though. I suffer with Crohns constipation myself and have to take stool softners every night in order to keep things soft and easier to pass. If I didn't take them one night, I would be in a world of hurt the next day.

As for diet, it really is individual to each of us. I personally eat a low residue diet all the time. That seems to work best for ME. Others have had success with the SCD or Makers Diets, but these diets must be adherred to strictly in order to get the full benefit of them. You can look in our resources thread above and read about the different diet ideas.

Hugs
Gail*Nanners*

Hi, I just wanted to post this link for you cuz with crohn's there is another anal condition called perianal crohn's skin tags which often get misDX as hemmies (it happend to me, long story) anyways the first set of pics is hemmies, the set of pics below are perianal crohn's skin tags, this will give you a good idea if you're dealing with hemmies for sure.

http://www.emedmag.com/html/pre/fea/features/011504.asp

:)

What color is the feces of other people with constipation? Anyone willing to share?