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do you eat skins?

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Posted 2/11/2011 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,
Okay - I realize diet is very different for everyone and everyone has different triggers - but since being on remicade I have been more towards the side of constipation so I am trying to figure out what to eat to help the constipation while balancing it with what won't hurt me!
I have been successfully eating fiberous breads etc, and some fruit smoothies - but I am wondering about eating things with skins like apples, or refried beans, lettuce? Have others been able to go this far on remicade?
I ate a big caesar salad last week - and oops, paid for it a bit - went too far! But I'm not sure where my edges are...thoughts from others experience?
Posted 2/11/2011 9:02 PM (GMT 0)
I see you just started Remicade in January so it may be a little early to tell. I know when I have started a couple medications and they start to work right away, I would get constipated at first and then everything kind of evened out. I would make sure you are drinking plenty of water, are you taking a fiber supplement? I find Psylium seed really helps me.

When I was on Remicade after a few months when everything was healed and I was in a pretty solid remission I could eat anything. It was great, being on Remicade was probably the only time since my diagnosis that I could eat, salad, popcorn, raw fruits and veggies, without worrying about it.

Maybe try small amounts of things and see how it goes, a small portion of one thing and see how you feel that day and the next and go from there.
Posted 2/11/2011 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
It maybe a good idea to keep a food diary? So you can look back and see what you might have ate that would have triggered something. Sometimes I have a hard time with lettuce and raw fruit, but I don't seem to have a problem with the raw veggies or skins of potatoes.

When I was on Remicade I rarely had any problems, and with Humira I getting to that point.
Posted 2/11/2011 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
I eat very few skins right. Usually, only a few grapes—if I can tolerate them.
After surgery recovery, I'll try eating potato skins, apple skins, etc.
Posted 2/11/2011 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
Like you said it's different for certain people. I eat almost anything but I try to avoid take-away currys, prefer home made ones anyway, and pizza.
Posted 2/11/2011 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
I still absolutely cannot tolerate any of that roughage and quite simply am too scared to try.  My only "skins" come from the fruit in my yogurt.
Posted 2/12/2011 1:27 AM (GMT 0)

I think all skins are more nutricious for sure, if you can tolerate them, I couldn't have done ceasar, maybe a few bites, as long as my stomach is super empty. I won't order or make one, too tempting to eat to much. baked potatoe's with skins are really good for roughage, just watch all the stuff that you put on. I use butter and cottage cheese.

AG

Posted 2/12/2011 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
All the above is good advice. I don't think there are many complete no-no's but moderation is very key and keeping track of what sets you off. For example I can eat beans but NOT to my hearts content; a little goes a long way. Also execise can help with constipation. I always suggest walking.....
Posted 2/12/2011 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
I never eat alligator or cattle skins but fried pork skins are great.
Posted 2/12/2011 1:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there,
My daughter has been on Remicade for over a year now. After first few infusions she could eat just about all her favorites. Blueberries, lentil soup, apples with skins. But it didn't last long. Once in a while she'll need to increase the fiber and a few apple slices with the skins will set her straight, if you know what I mean. But like the others have said, it is so different for everyone. I cannot imagine her eating a salad! Wow, that's brave :) And one of her favorite "safe" foods is a baked potato. I am amazed how much she can get out of it and still leave the skin in tact! She doesn't dare eat the skin because it causes a lot of pain and then the diarrhea. I know there are so many minerals and vitamins in the skin but it's not worth the pain and she can't absorb it anyway. Hope the Remicade continues to work for you :)
Posted 2/12/2011 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
I do not take Remicade, but do suffer with constipation. While I do not eat the peels, I do use stool softners nightly in order to keep things softer and easier to pass. Hope that helps some.
Posted 2/12/2011 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
- a food diary is a good idea - believe it or not I have never done that before! I have had some pain this week but I think it is more due to stress and less due to diet. So hard to find the right balance of eating healthy / fiber in order to be healthy and not constipated and not eating things that harm my guts! I know we all struggle with finding the right balance and where our "edges" are.
Baked potatoes - good idea, might try that! And, yes, stool softeners when needed. I think I will stay away from lettuce for a couple more remi treatments!
Any opinions on cooked spinach?
@ sniper - fried pork skins might actually help the constipation -make things slide right through - ha, ha.
Posted 2/12/2011 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
I know for dd, spinach just about kills her. We tried that in a dip after first few infusions and it really made her sick. I categorize that with broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts...I don't know if that's Crohns in general or most people with Crohns. I vow to never make her eat any of those things! Almost had to go to the ER for the b. sprouts. Live and learn, lol...
Posted 2/12/2011 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
I discovered I had crohn's disease after eating some new red potatoes with the skins on for dinner. Next morning I was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Have been afraid to eat skins ever since. I do and can eat the gas producing veggies like brocolli and cauliflower if I cook them really really well. But I stay away from fruit and veggie skins. So sad...no fresh tomatoes.
Posted 2/12/2011 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
@olderthandirt (or OTD) better than ODB, lol.. My daughter really misses fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden. She used to eat a whole bowlful of them at once! Can you eat cooked tomatoes? I'm surprised you can do brocolli and cauliflower. That's great! We use the vitamix a lot. I can put the whole fruit in there and it grinds up everything. The whole strawberry, even a whole apple or orange. It's like it is predigested, but it tastes yummy :)
Posted 2/12/2011 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
In remission, I used to eat skins from everything!! Apples, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, hearts of Romaine (the real fibrous part of the lettuce), chickpeas, all sorts of bad stuff. But I dealt with some constipation issues while I was in remission so it helped a lot. I'd wait until I was really solid in remission before I started eating like that again because if you're sick then it can really mess you up.

Best advice I can give is try a little of one new thing and see what happens...

I'm amazed you're constipated from the Remicade. We started on the same day and I have the WORST d ever right now..
Posted 2/12/2011 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Haha...this thread is funny, skins...only us Crohnies would understand!

I'm like many of us here. I'm very careful about my skins even though my Dr. said I'm in a remission. Red baby potatoes are a no no for me..along with Grapes...if I have them it's only a couple bites. I crave salads sooo bad but my Dr. said in remission I can have about as much salad as the size of my fist. At times that's too much. Of course, I'd love to dive right down in a salad....aahhhaha dream of it! I think it's because we don't absorb vit like others we crave the veggies. Can NOT do cabbage, blueberry's, broccoli, califlower and red meat bothers me. Keeping a food diary is a great way to track. It's so hard to remember everything. Good Luck!

Sniper- I love those pork skins thingy's...the REally Hot ones:)

 

Posted 2/12/2011 11:43 PM (GMT 0)
Gator skin would make some nice purses. But no I do not eat any skins, ways too much bleeding from that.
Posted 2/13/2011 2:20 AM (GMT 0)
about a year into remission, I got confident and started eating salads and raw veggies everyday. After about 2 months, I started bleeding. I immediately stopped eating anything raw, and the bleeding stopped. I will never make that mistake again! I am so thankful that I didn't go into a full blown flare.
Posted 2/13/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Roughage just plain does not work for me! Raw skins and raw veggies I still don't tolerate well. I will make an occasional trip to the salad bar, make it count, and pay dearly for it later. I can handle fruit better than raw veggies!
Cindy
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