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Starvation as a means to control diahrrea

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 6/24/2011 1:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hello All:

I am new to this board but desperately trying to help my mother who has Crohn's and had her entire large bowel removed in the early 90's.  She was doing fine until about 2 years ago.  Crohn's is in remission, but some bouts with C-diff have complicated things. 

Mom stops drinking and eating when the diahrrea gets bad.  Do any of you have ideas about how to get one over this?  Her theory is "less in, less out", but she is 76 and has lost so much weight, she is frail.

Thanks.

Posted 6/24/2011 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Shellzey daughter and welcome to healingwell.

Sorry to hear your mom is not doing well.

Has she tried to skip breakfast and eat later in the day like noon, and try to eat only safe food.
By safe food I mean food that has not irritated her bowls.

Is she seeing a GI ? Its never healthy to starve yourself.

But my experiences is that I do much better if I skip breakfast.

Hope see feels better soon.
Posted 6/24/2011 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
i drink Ensure and take a multivitamin to help with my nutrition. It probably wouldn't totally stop her from losing weight, but it might keep her from becoming malnourished. The other choice is to get on TPN (IV nutrition), but that's not a solution for a short-term problem....

I used to go totally liquid every time my temporary stricture reared its ugly head. I would just make sure to eat very well as soon as it was done.

Don't know if that helps, but I sure hope she feels better soon!

Sudsmom
Posted 6/24/2011 1:18 PM (GMT 0)
Has she tried getting on a med to slow down the "d"? There's cholestyramine, imodium, and others. Maybe someone else knows more.

Also, if she's had c-diff a couple of times, maybe put her on a multi-blend probiotic.

Hope she feels better soon!
Posted 6/24/2011 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the suggestions.  Yes, mom is being treated by a GI.  She is on Pentasa 3 times a day and is back on Flagyl for the C-Diff.  One thing she liked was the "Boost" puddings in a can help put on weight.  I think I'll order more for her.

She is taking Imodium - 2 capsules 3 to 4 times a day.  It sometimes helps but not this time.  I was reading the board and maybe it's time to try lomotil or some other prescription drug to curb the diahrrea.  She is exhausted from fighting it.

Posted 6/25/2011 7:58 AM (GMT 0)
I have learned that Pentasa does nothing for Crohns.

Your mother could do very well by changing her diet and start using Low Dose Naltrexone. She could get all the advice she needs by searching the net on Gaps diet or Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The SCD starts out by suggesting to make chicken broth (home made) to let the guts rest and get rid of diarrhea. This is used for some days to a week. They have good info how to make this and there is a lot of SCD groups out there helping people out. At yahoo you could find groups supporting those with IBD (Crohns, u.c) that want to try LDN.

It's a lot of work,but this combination has helped a lot of Crohns patients when everything else have failed. She could also consider to get the doctor to prescribe Wellbutrin. Why not search Wellbutrin, LDN and SCD here at hw. We have got a few posts on the treatments. Bee
Posted 6/25/2011 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
Has her doctor not considered TPN for COMPLETE bowel rest AND weight gain?

On the other hand, if it IS recurring C. difficile ..... my brother-in-law is going thru this the last year or so. He's varied from 160 lbs to 90 lbs. And they've come close to losing him once. He's on a gluten free diet, good probiotics and this last bout the Maine doctors are at a loss and have referred him down to Mass General in Boston. It has been pure h*ll at times for him and for my sister-in-law. He's in his late 60s.

It is scarey as heck and you and your mom sure have my sympathy and prayers!
Posted 6/25/2011 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Starving ones self is never a good idea. If she likes Boost. Get her boost!
I also agree with the good probiotic, one with at least 10billion. I like others do not eat first thing in the morning. Although I sometimes think my meds are a meal in their-self!
I hope things get better for her soon.
~Toni
Posted 6/25/2011 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
well she would get bowel rest from liquid nutrition..but anything opaque like Boost is still gonna have her pooping. SHe could go with powerade and juices with vitamins for a bit. There is no need for dehydration and she would likely get more calories from powerade than from her regular diet.

My rectal stump has been driving me nuts with bleeding and urgency and I have a colostomy for goodness sake! I have been thinking of doing the Master Cleanse for a few weeks (but not the laxatives or salt water flush) to give things a break.
Posted 6/26/2011 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Welchol is a good medication with no side effects to slow everything down and bulk up the stool. It may also be time to change her crohns meds. Has she tried the 5 ASA's yet? Bee propolis is a natural supplement that helps me with diarrhea also. You can't use this if you are allergic to any Bee products though.
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