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Probiotics, Antibiotics, and Sugars

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/11/2009 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone,  I am taking antibiotics (see signature) for the next few weeks until surgery.  I was hospitalized with a perforation in the small bowel, which was the reason they put me on the antibiotics in the first place.  I am also on an all-liquids diet until the surgery (happy hollidays!!)  I was thinking about taking probiotics after the antibiotics are done so they don't work against each other -- do you think that makes sense?  I am also avoiding sugars and sweet stufff as much as possible because I was under the impression that sugars may contribute to yeast infections.  So for now it's 3 SCD-compliant protein shakes per day for me until surgery.  My weight is down from 180 to 155.  Thoughts?
Posted 12/11/2009 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
Good Luck with your surgery, keep us updated. wink
Posted 12/11/2009 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
I know you are trying to stay SCD, but have you lost all that weight just with this incident? Does your doctor know how much weight you have lost? If you aren't nutritionally sound healing will be that much harder and may put surgery in jeopardy. How many calories are in your shakes?

I had to live on a liquid diet for about 4 months prior to one of my surgeries but in order to not lose too much weight the only way I could do it was to "eat" puddings, custards, and milkshakes, otherwise the pounds just fell off and I got weaker by the day. You could ask about TPN which could help to boost you up some before the surgery.

As far as the probiotics, did your doctor tell you that you couldn't take them before the surgery? I take them everyday, but if I have to take an antibiotic (I started a Zpack yesterday for a sinus infection), I up my probiotic the same day to counter any adverse effect.
Posted 12/11/2009 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Take your probiotics 2 hours after your antibiotics. That way, they won't get killed off (at least until the next dose of antibiotics). You can also take s. boulardii. Since it's a good yeast, the antibiotics won't touch it and it will keep the bad yeast from getting a hold on you.
Posted 12/11/2009 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
The weight loss has been mostly off my middle and had started before I got sick. I was actually stronger and able to lift more at the gym when I weighed 159 (immediately before my hospitalization) than I could when I weighed 179. With that said, there is definitely such a thing as too much weight loss, and that is what I am trying to protect against. All of my shakes have a decent amount of protein and I am definitely not ready to cave in and start having ice cream and ensure yet. I suppose I can use that as a last resort if I start getting weaker and more frail.

Spooky -- Did you have your elective surgery yet? The MRI showed that I have numerous short strictures concentrated in a 2 ft segment of the jujunum, so strictureplasty is still a possibility ... but they will definitely resect the damaged area immediately ahead of the stricture, which is up to 25cm long. Do you know how they were able to tell with you whether or not they removed all of the strictures when they did your surgery? Obviously the pill cam is not an option, but I do have an MRI scheduled next week.
Posted 12/11/2009 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with Spooky on taking your probiotics 2 hrs after your antibiotics.
Posted 12/11/2009 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
I had my surgery in late September. They knew I only had one stricture based on my CT Enterography, and they ended up taking 16 cm out (5 from the large and 11 from the small). My surgeon said he also inspected the rest of my intestines and found nothing abnormal. I had a repeat CT Enterography a couple of weeks ago, and it showed that all was well!
Posted 12/11/2009 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Oh I thought you had scheduled another surgery, but must have confused you with someone else. That's great news -- congratulations!
Posted 12/12/2009 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you! And I hope to start LDN soon yeah.
Posted 12/12/2009 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
I hope to use LDN + Sulfasalazine + SCD after my surgery. Of course, I need to sell my GI on this idea, but I think if I agree to do Sulfasalazine my GI might cave in and agree to LDN. The all-liquids, high-protein, SCD that I am doing between now and my surgery is a bear. It makes the time I spent on regular SCD seem like absolutely nothing.
Posted 12/12/2009 1:07 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck Carnial with your upcoming surgery.
Posted 12/13/2009 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
CH, I agree with others that probiotics are desirable, two hours after taking the antibiotic. (When I took a Zpack for a sinus infection, my doc said take the probiotic a couple of hours after.) 

Coconut is good for killing off yeast. You could try making pina coladas with SCD-legal pineapple juice, the SCD-legal " light coconut milk" from Trader Joe's, and add a tablespoon or two of SCD-legal coconut butter (the kind I have is Artisana Organic Coconut Butter). Each tablespoon of coconut butter is 93 calories. 1/3 cup light coconut milk is 50 calories. More info about coconut below:

"One of the good things about lauric acid in virgin coconut oil is that it kills lipid-coated bacteria but does not appear to harm the friendly intestinal bacteria.  The MCFA (medium chain fatty acids) in coconut oil also have antifungal properties so not only will they kill disease-causing bacteria and leave good bacteria alone, they will also kill candida and other fungi in the intestinal tract, further supporting a healthy intestinal environment."

http://www.coconut-connections.com/candida.htm

Posted 12/14/2009 5:02 AM (GMT 0)
Funny you should mention coconut ... I am in the process of making coconut-almond milk right now.  I also didn't know that trader joe's had an SCD legal brand.  Tell me, with regards to LDN do you (or is it your son?) just use the 50mg pills dissolved in water or do you special order the 4.5mg pills?
Posted 12/14/2009 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter gets the 4.5 mg LDN pills from Irmat pharmacy in Manhattan, and it is compounded with Avicel as a filler. Other sources are in the link below:

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/#How_can_I_obtain_LDN

It is important to get the LDN compouned by a reputable source, like in the link above. 

The label on the Trader Joe's "light" coconut milk says it is just coconut milk and water. BUT the regular Trader Joe's coconut milk is not SCD legal, because it has other ingredients.

Btw, I emailed Stretch Island and they replied that the only ingredient in their apricot fruit leather is dried fruit.  

Post Edited (njmom) : 12/14/2009 10:55:41 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/14/2009 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
CH, I'm getting the 50mg and making my own LDN. It's significantly cheaper!
Posted 12/14/2009 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
Your weight loss could be due to a decrease in calories. Maybe your doctor could get you into see a registered dietician to insure better nutrition and adequate calorie intake. Then again, having this disease can cause weight loss too. Might be a good idea to check in with the doc about the weight loss. Good luck to you.
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