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Posted 8/5/2011 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I am a bit confused by malabsorbsion . I am over weight . Yes I am diabetic (insulin) and I understand how that works but I also have crohns in the TI . Isn't that where we absorb fat also ? Why then can't I get the vitamins and minerals I need but I can gain a pound from eating a cracker ? I also have crohns arthritis and bone spurs outside and inside of my vertebra which make exercise painful , but I walk a lot when I can . Bending and stretching are pretty much out of the question though. The crohns diet and the diabetes diet oppose , so I can either have high blood sugar or stay in the bathroom. I tend to lean toward keeping my feet and legs even if I cant feel my toes , so , I stay in the bathroom . I eat less starches and sugar but thats a killer for crohns sense potatoes and rice tend to agree with my guts, but not my glucose levels . I have seen two nutritionists and both are at a loss as to how to deal with this. I need to lose about 20 pounds and think this would really help me but alas all efforts fail . Even Atkins only helped for a few pounds before I hit a wall and no more weight was lost while I became very ill . So my friends I turn to you, hoping someone else has run this gauntlet with more success than I . If so , please share .
Posted 8/5/2011 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Sort of in the same boat here. I need to drop weight for the OA in my lumbar spine, but it seems my thyroid is very efficient in dealing with malabsorbtion. The only time I've ever lost weight is during a flare. Sorry I'm no help, but I feel for you.
Posted 8/5/2011 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
Sniper, I have to gain weight because I've dropped so much, and nutritionally very poor state,
that's why the talk of TPN. BUT, like you I have to be careful what i do try and eat, Anything with
fats in it causes my pancreas to have problems, and the LRD for my CD is doing nothing for my weight.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. It just seems to me we get knocked back, regardless
of what we want to do:(
Posted 8/5/2011 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
I, too, am diabetic (pred induced, but my doctor says it now might not go away after I taper off the pred). So I know your pain. I gained 30 pounds on the pred but have the same eating dilemma. There is a pasta on the market which is supposed to be diabetic friendly. Instead of 40 g of carb a serving, it is 5. The trick is that it is a multi-grain carb so it has more fiber. I don't know if I dare try it to see if I tolerate it, but am thinking if I could, it would be a great addition to the diabetic diet. Brand name is Dreamfields Healthy Carb Living and is in our major supermarkets up here. I also make a pasta sald with very little pasta and a lot of protein (chopped egg, diced chicen and shrimp) that reduces the carbs. My other savior is well cooked asparagus.
Posted 8/5/2011 7:41 PM (GMT 0)

Sniper....I really feel for you.  Before my current flare I weighed 240 lbs.  I had become pre-diabetic and put on Glucophage.  I was then faced with the dilema of what to treat.  I have tried a nutritionist once and she was no help.  I recently tried looking for another but no one seems to know how to balance the 2 diseases.  I am in the same boat as you....white sugars and starch are the best for me but the worst for the body.

With this current flare, now over a month, I have lost a lot of weight and as of Monday I am down to 217.  I have not taken the Glucophage since I started getting sick.  I think the diabetes was a weight induced thing so I am not worried about it, but I still am trying to figure out the nutrition to it all.

So, I really really feel for you and if you find a good solution, please let me know.  I have no clue how to handle diabetes, weight loss and Crohn's disease all at the same time.

Posted 8/5/2011 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
I just had two weeks eating pretty much nothing with the flu and didn't lose an ounce. Just couldn't beleive it as I should have been fading away haha.

I am the heaviest I have been in my life and like you could do with getting rid of some weight.

Raised it with my new GP and she said it is probably the drugs and it is better to be overweight and relatively healthy. I remain unconvinced as I go up yet another dress size and struggle to reach me tootsies ;P

feel rather envious of everyone who can't put on weight ;P
Posted 8/6/2011 11:28 AM (GMT 0)
Kiwi, I know what you mean. I get sick for weeks at a time and if I lose weight at all its just water and I gain it back soon after.
Posted 8/6/2011 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
tsitodawg - hit it right on the head with his statement! Our bodies do hoard! As much as I am aware of this it still drives me crazy because although I'm not extremely heavy I've gained almost 20 pounds from Prednisone recently and emotionally it's effecting me because of course I see it more than anyone else does. The only downfall for me is that my metabolism despite how many times I eat light meals per day, never seems to speed up. Only during a flare do I lose weight. My family and I have always had weight issues and a few of them are obese. I was incredibly overweight as a teenager and Crohn's I tend to call my perfect diet plan as it has kept me at a stable weight that is borderline healthy/overweight depending on my Prednisone dosages. I will keep you in my thoughts Sniper and all those with dual diagnoses that don't quite agree with each other. That definitely is a rough spot to be in!
Posted 8/6/2011 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
you know sniper for 18 yr's I was a horse jockey, and had to reduce the whole time, other than not eating anything,(did that many yr's) dawg is right , I would eat 5 times per day, but small amounts. walk when you can, any kind of calorie burning is good.

AG
Posted 8/7/2011 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Geee thanks guys. Never though about my body hoarding .I'll try the small meals. Now, where is that cat I collected ?
Posted 8/7/2011 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
It's good to know, and be reminded from time to time that I'm not the only overweight one here. I'm just a little under my heaviest (only because I had surgery last month) and wish I could lose some of it so I don't have to buy bigger clothes.

Flowery (heather) has CD and diabetes as well and I'll ask her in chat if she'll come and read your post and give you suggestions if she has any.

I'm going to try the mini meals again, I've done it before and slowly lost weight, but obstructed because I tried to eat too healthy. Maybe I'll do low residue but multiple small meals....we'll see.

Good luck Sniper!
Posted 8/7/2011 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Sniper, I was insulin dependent during both pregnancies. I found out that white sourdough bread is better for blood glucose levels then whole grains, and it is also excellent for my CD issues. White sourdough is so dependable for me, I eat it most days.

Also, I ate frequent small meals (someone mentioned above, I think), and if I couldn't tolerate veggies, I would cook them and mash them.
The other thing I did was eat pretty much the exact same things most days. I had a couple of choices for brekkie, lunch, dinner & snacks and stuck to them. Find the few healthy foods that do work for you and stick to them for a while. Maybe you can look for a liquid multi-vitamin, too? I've read that liquid vitamins are easier to absorb than pills.

A fat that sits well with me is organic peanut butter, (also good for diabetes) so I usually eat it on my sourdough toast everyday.

Also, green tea is good for diabetes, crohn's, and losing weight, if you haven't tried it already. You can get Tetley in decaf or regular. It's lovely with a bit of honey—which you probably don't need unless your hyperglycemic ;-).

I know it's hard. When I was preggie, I had to make sure I gained enough weight, keep my glucose levels down, and treat my CD.

Good luck!
Posted 8/8/2011 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Roni , I don't know why sourdough bread would be better for me but I like the idea. I also eat peanut butter . Unfortunately vegies like lettuce or not something I can eat so I miss the salad deal. But I can do green tea and will check into liquid vitamins . And Becky your not alone
Posted 8/8/2011 4:35 AM (GMT 0)
Sniper!!

Oh man, do I feel your pain!

Monkiray let me know of your thread and You always have had such encouraging words for me so.... I'm gonna tell ya what I know ....And I'll try to make it easy on the brain because having both of these is a Pain!

As you know I have/had Crohns of the TI (which they took) and now Diabetes as of Aug 10.

I've been through 6 nutritionists...it's a real bummer when they throw there hands up and say they don't know what to do. Eventually, I found one that was excited about helping me! God Bless her soul! I'm just gonna tell you what I do..it's simpler that way.

It's a doulbe edge sword about the carbs/surgars/Crohns thing....I abort all Diabetes practice if my Crohns gets reallllly bad. You have to stay hydrated. Sometimes, I just have to have Gatorade n' stuff! Then if I'm feeling better...I'll just jump back on the Diabetes train the next day...better than nothing right? I have also noticed that if I haven't "gone" for a few days my sugars are higher because...well I think it's because I'm full up? lol 

 

Scheduling is the MOST important.

                                        

Eat at:                               My Example:

8:00-breakfast             Chex cereal/milk/1 piece of cheese

10:00-snack                 medium apple skinned/a little peanut butter

12:00-lunch                  sandwhich (2 pieces of bread)

3:00-snack                   coffee/animal crackers

5:30-dinner                  meat/3 carbs/milk

9:00ish night snack (this one is important!!) 1 Carb..whatever you want or can stomach example ...1/2 cup of ice cream/3 cups of popcorn huskless.

 

I feel like I'm on a baby's schedule...but after awhile my husband has just followed since I'm doing the cooking and it is actually good for him too.

 

Getting on this schedule is REALLY important because it is consistancy that helps with Diabetes. Somedays I don't feel like eating anything...but I make myself. Stress has alot to do with sugars too... keep in mind we are looking for an average of good numbers not perfection!

For Meals at:  8,noon and 5:30 have 3 Carbs (approx. 45 grams of Carbs)

For Snacks: 1 Carbs (15 grams of Carbs)

 

How much is a 1 Carb...about a 1/3 cup (what you could hold in the palm of your hand)  of rice/potatoes...Fruits and Veggies are carbs too but since we can't really eat alot of fruits and vegges(Crohns)...I don't count them. It is VERY important that you have all your Carbs. Some people think that Carbs are terrible and avoid them all together...you NEED them to pull you through to the next meal/snack!! or you'll crash. Certain Carbs trigger D for me...pasta is one of them..you'll just have to take notice of what works for you.

 

I hope this makes sense...sometimes I get sweaty in the middle of the night and have to get up and eat something because my sugars crashed.  I usually just have a glass of milk ....milk absorbs really fast and your body reads it as a solid not a liquid.

 

Just curious if you are on any auto-immune resistant meds for Crohns and if you think they have made a dfference with your Diabetes?

Well if you have any questions just let me know....

Take Care and Good Luck!

Heather

 

 

Posted 8/8/2011 11:34 AM (GMT 0)

Hey Sniper....I have the TI absorption issue and I am a "fat crohnnie".  I can not seem to lose weight whether I am sick or very active.  I can't advise on the diabetes part other than I know my GP keeps testing me to make sure.....I think he can't believe my size and diet and no diabetes.

As someone mentioned above, I have switched to many smaller meals and it seems to have helped over the last month.  I am also trying to swim more to keep the impact on my bad back down while staying active.  Can you do the "core" exercises most PTs recommend?  I found those not only helped my back by strengthening the support system, but also were kinder to my joints as they were mostly floor exercises (do not even attempt to picture me getting up and down on the floor!).  On really bad joint days, I did them while laying on the bed - not as good a stretch, but better than not doing anything.

Oddly, I think having gone back on the cholestyramine to help bind the fats and liquids for my missing TI has helped in some weight control.  I used to eat, then sprint to the bathroom and then I was hungry all over again.

Hope you can find a balance for your tricky diet.

Posted 8/8/2011 12:11 PM (GMT 0)
I was 200lbs, and had low vitamen counts when diagnosed. I started SCD and a bunch of suppliments including fish oil, vit D, folic acid, and cinommin As part of SCD started eating only healthy foods (protien, veg, friut... no starches, sugar, bread...) This really did not work so then I went low carb. It was after going low carb and being fanitially compliant to SCD that I went into remission. I know SCD is not the cure all, but it put me in remission and as a by product I now weigh 150. Also all my blood work is where is should be including vitamens, cholesteral, inflamation....

I know that stopping the sugers and starches might make some feel sick, it did to me. In fact when stopping that stuff almost everyone gets "sick" at first, after 3, 6 and 12 months. SCDers believe it the bad bugs in our guts making one last stand to not get starved out.

A couple of books Breaking the Vicious Cycle and LIFE Without Bread, provided the motivation and direction for me. I 100% know that what works for me, might not work for you, in fact I was doing this diet stuff for about 6 months before I got it figured out and started to feel better. But with the weight off and healing I have not elt this good for many many years.

I hope you find what works for you

Dave
Posted 8/8/2011 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks again for all the great stuff. I know it will be trial and error for me but I am determined to go down in weight . It's a must with all the joint pain and not to mention diabetes.
Posted 8/9/2011 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
I'm at 159 now after Prednisone for a few months. I've been as low as 90 pounds and as high as 230 pounds. My average the last 5 years has been 145 and I'd like to get back to that point because all my clothes are too tight and of course that just ruins my self esteem.
Posted 8/9/2011 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
Well , DC , maybe I could lose some if my wife wasn't such a good cook . Looks like every time my elbow bends my mouth falls open . I am just like one of those waste cans where the lid opens when you step on the peddle . All she has to do is ask if I want the last of something before she throws it out and whoooop, there I is ....
Posted 8/9/2011 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
LOL Sniper. I think I have that problem myself, except I'm the cook and I have a family to cook for so it's not like I can starve them in order to lose weight myself. And if I slave over the hot stove why not enjoy the goodness that I worked so hard to make right? I do eat small portions through out the day. Then dinner I can't wait for LOL.
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