Questions

I have been struggling with a flareup of my Crohns and IBS for a few months now. I have  a new GI who switched me to Lialda and that has helped a great deal with the pain and major D. My main problem now is that I have spasms whenever I eat and am on a very limited diet. I really am just living on protein shakes and instant breakfast mix. I am tired and cranky alot of the time due to the pain and hunger. I have tried Bentyl, Levsin and Pamine for the cramping and none of them have worked. I have seen one nutritionist and one dietician. The nutritionist basically told me that yes I had alot of food issues- (also allergic to soy, lactose intolerant, and have GERD). She thought i was doing a good a job as possible and i just needed to keep trying to find foods that didnt make me sick- pay her copay and have a nice day. So fast forward another month and am eating less foods so i decide to try a dietician this time hoping she can give me food plans and ideas. So I saw her yesterday and she wants me to go for LEAP food allergy testing. Now the testing is not allowed in NY so I would have go to another state for it- it is a blood test and then working with a dietician afterwards. The closest state is Ohio which is 5 hrs away- then it would be working with the dietician over the phone which my insurance wouldnt cover- they only cover face to face consultations. She pretty much said to me there wasnt much she could do for me and that i needed to do this testing instead as she feels my issues are primarily food related. I mentioned that I dont necessarily agree with that- I think it a combo and that i think sometimes it doesnt matter what i am eating- just that i am eating anything at all. I also said that i am surprised that i would have the fast reaction i do to an allergy- within a few bites my guts start churning. she admitted that was not typical for a food reaction. She then sighed and said she would work with me but it would be the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack to find foods that i can eat and that i can do that on my own. The irony is that is the exact phrase the nutritionist used. So I am frustrated, disheartened and confused. I really dont think i want to spend more money and time on her when she clearly doesnt feel she can help me. I also dont want to turn away a possible solution to my illness and maybe an explanation for all my symptoms. Maybe the LEAP program could give me that but i also dont want to spend money i dont have on snake oil cures.

So I guess to sum it up, I have two questions- has anyone had any experience with this LEAP program and any thoughts on diet? I am heartily sick of white bread, chicken, and protein shakes.. three months in it is getting old.

Thanks for listening.

Val