50+ yrs with Crohns

Have you had your vitamin D levels checked? Low vitamin D is common among all American adults, moreso for Crohn's patients. Low vitamin D can make you feel depressed and fatigued.

What's up with the water where you live?

Sorry you've suffered with this DD for so long. There are others here who've also had CD for years and years. It's tough.
I'm curious about the LT side effects of the pred after so many years. What issues has it caused?

I find GF helpful when needed, although I generally don't have large amounts of gluten anyway.
There are some yummy gluten free products. I buy Nature's Path GF original waffles. I pour real maple syrup and organic blueberries on top.
I also buy GF english muffins, made with corn flour. They're really good with a little unsweetened strawberry jam.
The breads vary, but I like Kinnikinnick's GF white sandwich bread.
I also eat brown rice pasta, plain with butter and parmesan, or a little homemade low-acid tomato sauce.
Another bread I usually eat, is white sourdough, fresh from the bakery with no additives. It is so easy to digest.
Real sourdough bread has less gluten, if it's prepared right.

GF is definitely worth a try. Best wishes.

Hi Lemon Lips and welcome to Healingwell. I too am another longterm crohnie and life is much different now than it was when I was younger. I suffer with the bone damage that Pred did to me and now need 2 knee replacements. I know that this disease just really does get you down after awhile.

I would suggest talking with your doc and seeing about upping your Zoloft or trying another med. Hope you get feeling better soon. Hugs!

If you want to consider a gluten free diet you may be hit spot on, I have found that many Crohns patients benefits from that.

I have found out that writing a food journal during my change in diet have helped me a lot. Take small steps and write down every new change. Avoiding milk products could also help you, cause many of us are reacting to the milk sugar, lactose.You could also buy lactose free milk products.

Some of us also have to avoid sugar, all kind of sugars. Go slow and take your time to write a food journal.

There are a few diets that I 'm sure you've heard about. The SCD is one of them, The Foodmap diet is another, the latest is developed by some doctors and is helping many Crohns patients.

Low Dose Naltrexone is also a medicine you could consider. This medicine is not a standard and traditional Crohns treatment, it's actually used for other conditions, but is getting more known and used by an increasing group of people with any kind of IBD. The U.C. forum is discussing this treatment a lot.

It's a legal medicine and is compounded in low doses (3.0 mg capsules) to suit our medical needs. //Bee

Hang in there. Many of us go through long bouts with this depression that no one seems to understand, as it seems from the outside that nothing is "wrong." Diet shifts and moderate exercise make BIG differences in this area. Limiting my wheat really makes a difference in my energy level. I poked around several sites and found a combination of omega 3, bee propolis, and acidophilus that helped. Acupuncture helped me too, and I've heard of this helping with the "side" (HA!) effects that you mention.

You're not alone in this. Keep coming back here and other discussions and asking things, and the food journal is a great idea. You don't want to throw all your variables up in the air at once; you want to find some things that work.