At Last some results...

I have many symptoms of crohns, but my old GI could not find it and wasn't that concerned, I saw a new GP and he run blood, stool and urine tests, I have low B12, low folic acid, something that indicates cealiac disease was 4 (sz can't remember the name?
interestingly says my GP???) INR 4, thats ok, but he says the low B12 & Folic acid is why my hair is falling out, also it is the reason for my muscle pain, also sore tongue and mouth, I also have a UTI thats resistant to some antibs, so im on some new antibs again, also I am just getting my 6th outbreak of shingles in a year so im also on anti virals, I have been begging my old Gp & GI at the local hospital to please listen to me for some twenty years, as I have been so ill, with no treatment. I am now going to a international centre of excellence in gi dx in London its 200 miles away, the trip will be a lot to cope with but as Iv lost 70lb in a year, I am scared something serious may happen to me as I get obstructed sometimes for 3 weeks, then i'm rolling in agony, I have such a problem trying to regulate my bowel at present, I follow a low residue diet which had astonishing effects after only a couple of days, I had gone from running after a mouthful, I actually spent longer on the toilet than actually eating, 20+ times a day, to only once a day without the awful pain after eating, I also have a hiatus hernia, that is causing problems, i'm due to have a barium follow through on the 18th, I am very blocked up at the moment, does anyone have this experience with a low residue diet please? I hope my fellow tummy troubled out there are having a good day, thats what I call my well days, if its a bad day, i'm sorry, I'm with you as we are all in the same boat, big hugs my new web friends. tc

Hi Yes it is St Marks, I am going to see Dr Gabe hopefully, I have to ring later today, it has a very good reputation.

I basically stopped eating what healthy people would call a healthy diet.. I will type out the basics, also what really does make me ill, Iv had this problem since a child, suffering with severe diarrohea, I was completely housebound for 3 yrs and would never eat if I did go out when I was able. I have tried everything over the years!! The best yet in diet is what I eat now, I am not sure if you have the same but I really hope it makes the difference to you it has to me.x

DO EAT

MEAT
Tender meats; beef, lamb, veal, poultry, ham, grilled bacon.

FISH
White Fish, beware of small bones.

MILK

(I am milk intolerant, but for those that can take milk)

Milk and Milk Puddings, ice-cream, uncooked cheese
small amounts of cooked veg,mashed and sieved, including potatoes, oven baked chips of fries, (no fried food as oil makes me ill again) Jacket potato but no skin.
I am not a great lover of potato so I tend to have root veg mash instead, swede, turnip, parsnip, celeriac, sweet potato, carrots, I often mix a few together for a change.
Cauliflower and marrow well cooked, but not mashed.

FRUIT
Soft and stewed fruit, tinned pears & peaches, apple, apple pies, I can't eat pastry but it is on the sheet, I eat lots of seedless red grapes, green ones cause cramps for me.

CEREAL & PRODUCE
White bread biscuits and cakes made with white flour, no spices, fruit or nuts, I do have some spices in my food, its more trial and error if you like this type of food just use a tiny bit and build up if you can tolerate it.

White rice, pasta & spaghetti,

Most of the above is through trial and error and some really bad days after eating things, two or three times just to be sure it was the culprit for making me sick.

DO NOT EAT.
Meat.
Tough meat, re-heated meat, highly seasoned or spiced meat, pork, sausages or stews

FISH
Fish with fine bones eg, sardines, kippers or oily fish

MILK
Cooked Cheese.

VEGETABLES
Coarse stalks of green vegetables, eg, cabbage and spinach stalks. Raw vegetables and salad, skins, peels or pips peas, beans and baked beans.
Please note.
It is a bit trial and error with each person until you know what you can tolerate, I have tried out all kinds of salad as its my favourite food, I can eat, any salad leaves, Rocket, raddichio, lambs lettuce, chervil, mint, beetroot, cucumber no peel or pips. small amount of spring onions, radish. I have this with either salad dressing, or balsamic vinegar.

FRUIT
Skins and pips, Raw and dried fruits, Oranges, lemons, grapefruits, May have juice only.

CEREALS and PRODUCE
Wholemeal bread and biscuits eg, digestives, ryvitas, Kracka Wheat, Fruit or Spicy cakes, high fibre breakfast cereals, brown rice, wholemeal bread

I have listed the things I know to be ok and those that make me ill, mostly I read up about low res diets and then sort of made up my own, I also cant eat crisps, but can eat oven baked corn snacks, like snack o jacks, once you start, I hope you will feel the difference quickly as I did, as my bloating, cramps, all stopped to virtually a couple of twinges after meals, prior to this, I would be rolling around, sweating, then i'd have chills, pain, nausea, vomiting, within a couple of days I stopped feeling so dreadful each time I ate, so then if I had something that I wanted to test, I would only need a small amount to know if it was going to make me feel ill again, it really does not take long and I dont even notice my diet to be that different from the families, I just swap the bad for good :)

Thanks I have some lactolose I will start taking that again, it's one extreme or the other, I think I may get blockages, that are so painful when I do go, I may not go for weeks, with stool softener, then it gets to uncomfortable, last time I ended up taking 3 sachets of picolax, I felt so poorly, then it still never moved for two days, I have had 2 children naturally, I swear I thought I was giving birth! I do get this every few weeks, do you think it could be blockages or just the usual constipation, my stomach goes the funniest shape and it sort of flattens out although it looks ready to burst when it happens also.

Thanks I'll keep going with the softeners, I can't take senna. This is a friendly forum I have been on some and my post were never replied to, this seems a really friendly place to be, esp when you don't really know to much about all this, my GP seems to think it maybe coeliac disease, he also thinks I have DH, as I suffer awful with my skin.
My daughter has crohns and her GI has said she has 12cms of ulceration just outside the TI, because she is so sick and not responding to treatment he is thinking of a lap resection, is this safe? what does it entail if you know please, i'm so worried for her, which only makes me sicker. hugs.x

Honey, I know what a low residue diet is and have followed one for years at a stretch myself. What I'm wanting to know is what *you* are eating. I'm wondering if you're eating a balanced diet there, and eating anything that might help push some of the faecal matter out of your system.

Another thing to continue is that various vitamin & mineral deficiencies can affect the motility of the gut, causing things to back up and not expel as smoothly as they once did. It's possible that this is why you're experiencing problems, but I'd recommend continuing to discuss the problem with your doctor, and maybe a dietitian too, to see if they can come up with any solutions for you.

For me meats seem to be the best on my stomach also. You would think the toughness of having to digest it would make that meat would be out completely, but for me hamburger, chicken, steak things like this are good for me, along with rice, white and multigrain. But also things that bother others dont bother me, such as red sauces like with italian food dont bother me, UNLESS i'm already flaring then I stay away from it, same with dairy products, I can handle all of them unless I'm flaring, in which case I can only handle things like cheeses, and milk and ice cream are out, which I call them 'hard dairy products' but everything else is fine, actually cheese is really good on my stomach.

Although Ive never had blockages I think thats why these foods are good on my stomach, because I think someone with history of blockages would have issues with some of these foods.

Thats the thing when someone new comes on HW and asks does a certain diet work well for Crohns, well the answer is no, but 'does a certain diet work well for YOU?' the answer is yes. Everyone reacts differently to different foods, which is also just like we all have different types of crohns disease, some in the colon and rectum, some only in the terminal illiuem, some have it all the way up in the mouth and stomach.