rolling the dice......

today is a monumental day for me. it is my first day without meds. it felt odd in the morning not to take any pills. i hope i get used to it. i've been taking something for crohn's for the last 14 years.

i've been feeling great, the best ever really, by just changing my diet around - eating organic and basically eliminating sugars, processed foods and almost all grains. my last remicade infusion was in december and i feel i dont need it anymore.

yes, my GI does know about this. if things go bad on me the back up plan is humira for a quick fix and then we'll deal with long term solutions.

i am also curious to see if getting off the 6-mp (which i've been on since apirl 1995) is the reason why i am having this mysterious anemia that blood transfusions doesnt seem to be able to solve. this is what really prompted to me get off all my meds. i was also on colazal for years and i've always questioned its effectiveness (never thought pentasa, asacol, or azulfadine (sp?) did anything for me either).

anyhoo, the next few months will be very very interesting. maybe i am a blind optimist, but i truly believe i'll be fine, and perhaps feel even better than i do right now as my body purges itself of the residuals these meds have left in me

I hope it goes well for you. I once thought my Asacol wasn't doing anything for me and went off of it. Within a few days I started feeling really bad. Went back on it and started feeling better again.

Good luck! hope it works out for you.

thanks everyone!

i'll be doing a combo of the makers and scd. perhaps i should come out with my own diet???? i have found that a greatly reduced grain and sugar in take works very well for me. but i do have grains on occasion and when i do i try my best to make sure they are sprouted. if not i'll eat them sparingly and make sure to take an extra digestive enzyme or two. food tastes good and life is worth living so there is some cheating now and again. however i think the key is knowing how often you do it so to limit yourself and also know the quantity of what you are eating when you cheat and the quality of it too. self control is key otherwise your body will pay the price.

i have found that most of the foods allowed or disallowed by both diets are fairly similar but not always for the same reason. it was hard relearning how to eat (and shop) but now having done it i am glad i did cos of the benefits i am seeing from it. i strongly encourage everyone to try it. it may not be a panacea but some dietary changes could work wonders, if not for crohns then perhaps for other ailments you may not know you have and also for overall good health.

i'll definitely stay on with the forum. there is still a lot for me to learn. and of course i'll be keeping you all posted. not like i am "cured" or anything...

Good for you Harry,  I was told I had uc 8 years ago and had my colon removed and I now have a j-pouch.  I had a bad flare-up in March and I had a blood test done and now they tell me I have crohn's.. I am on my second treatment of Remicade and feeling better. All I take is lomotil as needed and the remicade.. I hope every works out for you.. I will be looking into those two diets.

best wishes and remember to keep us updated!

roni

i believe you mean sprouted grains. here is an excerpt from the notes of a class i am taking:

Two types of carbohydrates that we consume and if eaten in their natural state, can prove to be very beneficial to our health: monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides and disaccharides are comprised of one to two easily digestible sugars that, when ingested, pass into your bloodstream almost immediately. Glucose – the primary sugar in our blood and fructose (fruit sugar) are monosaccharides; lactose (milk sugar) and maltose (malt sugar) are disaccharides.
Foods containing disaccharides can be difficult to digest unless they are consumed in their “pre-digested” form (i.e. after they have been soaked, sprouted or fermented). All carbohydrates are sugar. When you eat naturally-occurring monosaccharides or disaccharides you get fiber, vitamins, minerals and water. Fruit and raw honey are good examples. For quick energy and a healthy snack, these are the way to go.

Our ancestors ate fruits and grains in their whole, unrefined state. Whole grains properly treated through soaking, sprouting or fermenting not only break down the indigestible sugars, but also phytates. Phytates are powerful enzyme inhibitors that grab minerals in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. The sprouting process effectively removes these phytates from the outer covering of the natural grain. Germination initiates a chemical transformation in the seed grains that neutralizes the phytates causing them to come alive, making all of the nutrition within the seed available for digestion and for optimal nutritional intake.
These germinated seeds of wheat and barley and the bread made from them were of great importance in history by supplying carbohydrates to both humanity and to the livestock. Historically, people didn’t consume carbohydrates as we do today. The sugars they consumed were fruits of high nutritional value and the grains were healthy sprouted or germinated grains without the phytates.
Preparation techniques of soaking, sprouting, or fermenting helped to maintain the many important minerals that are essential to life, such as vitamins E and B. However, they are discarded in the refining process. Fiber-indigestible cellulose, that plays an important role in digestion and elimination, is also removed. You will read that white flour is fortified, but this is of little value. Fortification adds synthetic vitamins and minerals to white flour and polished rice after a host of essential nutrients have been removed or destroyed. Studies have shown that these extruded whole grain preparations can have even more adverse effects on the blood sugar than refined sugar and white flour! Most grains and legumes in the supermarket have been treated many times with pesticides and other sprays that inhibit mold.
For the most health-giving carbohydrates, purchase organically grown nuts, seeds, beans and legumes (soaked first for optimal benefits) and sprouted grains.

I applaud your decision. I've been on meds ever since I was diagnosed. With the exception of my heartburn pill (Aciphex), I have taken absolutely no meds in the past 6 weeks. I'm convinced that these meds are causing as many problems as the Crohn's. I'm not currently on any sort of specialized diet; only using intuition to guide me as far as what to put into my body. Good luck...hope it works out.

Thank you for a great explanation, DirtyHarry
I actually got Elaine Gotschalls book, Breaking The Vicious Cycle, today from a library. The book is written in Danish, which is easy for me to understand so well that I am able to deal with those "sprout and grains"..;-).
I have been reading about the monosaccarides, the disaccarides and the polysaccarides. The book is easy to follow even if she writes in scientificial terms. And I need to understand things thoroughly to start a new way of consuming food.
I am so glad to read that you have made such good changes for your self, the outcome have to be good. I think the food you eat may do something to your immunesystem as well. Take care, and keep us informed.
From Ingrid