SCD question

i guess it's safe to assume to didn't find anything worthwhile from the hundreds of past scd discussions using the search function -

juststud said...
i guess it's safe to assume to didn't find anything worthwhile from the hundreds of past scd discussions using the search function -

j

Very difficult to find topics with people following strict sad for a prolonged period of time like the OP is looking for.


I've been on scd strict for nearly a year, in that time my symptoms have gone from 30 bm per day to now between 3 and 5. Still not in remission. I will say this diet has eliminated my dandruff and psoriasis as a bonus though plus it's extremely healthy.


It goes without saying this diet is tough but I usually don't add that because I believe my long term health is more important than the food I eat.

Juststud I guess you haven't used the search much if you think that would help. The problem with finding information on here is that, for some reason, people like you feel the need to chime in with worthless posts. So I would rather ask the question myself and be specific about what answers I want to avoid the douchbagery. Unfortunately you and your douchbagery have felt the need to grace this post with your bullcrap.

Musicianfisherman said...
Juststud I guess you haven't used the search much if you think that would help. The problem with finding information on here is that, for some reason, people like you feel the need to chime in with worthless posts. So I would rather ask the question myself and be specific about what answers I want to avoid the douchbagery. Unfortunately you and your douchbagery have felt the need to grace this post with your bullcrap.

each to his own i guess - as you can see, i've been around here a bit and have used the search function too many times to count - and for me it has been more than useful -

hope you find the answers you're looking for -

oh, just curious - did you not have much success with your friends recommended plant based vegan diet ? any improvements ?

I'm sorry in advance for the long post...

I'm coming up on 9 months on SCD. I've followed it religiously except for one full cheat weekend on Thanksgiving. Other times, I'm sure I've eaten some "illegal" flavorings etc. when I've eaten at restaurants or other people's cooking but those times are few and far between. Even when eating out, I make the best attempt to avoid illegal foods. Its almost impossible to find information on SCD over the long term. You can use the search function till the cows come home and won't find it. Most people, like on any diet, will follow for a while and eventually give up...no matter how strong willed they are. I would ignore most of the people who say "I tried it and it didn't work" because most of them did not give it enough time for various reasons...either didn't follow through, or, like Pluot, were just too sick to eat a restricted diet. On the other hand, some people swear by it just because it so happened to coincide with a period of remission for them.

Stanford University is doing true clinical research on SCD for Crohn's and will release findings this year. I spoke with a researcher about it and although she wouldn't give exact percentages (they hadn't tallied all the info yet), it sounded to me like it is similar to many of the pharmaceutical options out there, which is good news since it is a very safe 'treatment'. Some people had amazing results, even without medication. Others achieved remission but either could not stick to the diet or, for some reason, still flared again. Then there's the unlucky 1/3 or so of people with IBD who are just screwed no matter what they try. Important to note that this trial is for Crohn's, not UC, and Crohn's seems to respond to dietary changes better than UC. Another interesting factoid is almost any treatment for UC has up to a 30% placebo effect so that's another thing to consider.

My personal opinion is SCD is a great and healthy way to eat. I would recommend for anyone to give it a good try for a couple months, as long as symptoms allow. It gave me an overall feeling of well-being that I'm sure helps with UC. I don't think it is a magic cure, and it should not replace medications, but I enjoy eating this way and have not had another true flare up of my disease while following it and taking Lialda. I want to try to give it a good two years with minimal cheating, then transition to 80% SCD. Obviously, you need to listen to your own body. Eating 1000 calories a day while on the toilet dozens of times a day is not a good idea, no matter what the book says. It may be better to start while flaring minimally, or not at all. That being said, you will find personal stories of SCD pulling people back from the brink of surgery so make your own call. Check out the Amazon reviews of "Breaking the Vicious Cycle."

Musicianfisherman said...

Pluot said...

Musicianfisherman said...
This question is for those who have tried the SCD diet. Please only answer this if you followed the diet religiously, and stuck with it long enough to see results. I'm curious to hear your stories. Please refrain from commenting if you did it half *** for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to your responses.

I stuck to SCD to the letter long enough to land in the hospital. Eating less than 1000 calories per day of pureed chicken soup and watered down grape juice was the kick in the pants I needed to really succumb to my disease!

Why were ou only eating a thousand calories a day?

It was literally all the food I could eat in a day... the intro diet chicken soup is extremely high volume and low calorie. Because I was still having "active diarrhea" and following the diet to the letter, I wasn't supposed to add eggs, nuts, other meats, yogurt, etc.

DD followed strict SCD for almost 2 yrs( 2011-2013). We sticked to it because her symptoms improved and gained weight.Though it was a healthy life style change, the time and effort to stick to it was tremendous. Luckily , she was able to tolerate all SCD legal foods.
Home made chicken soup was a must for her 2 times a day!!
When I say strict SCD , never once,in these 2 yrs she strayed from the diet.
To make it work,DD made so many adjustments- she chose near by public university over another far away interested university . She stayed at home throughout rather than staying in dorm.That way she sticked to the diet.Skipped eating out, parties and travels.

While on the diet , her skin was so glowy and flawless with out any pimples or marks.Now out from diet , whenever she had sugary stuffs - pimples for sure and it leaves black spots!!!
While on SCD , she followed some websites for recipes. Ordered from wellbees's for SCD legal snacks.

But she got C.diff after 6 months on SCD. So while sticking to SCD, we did home fecal transplant which brought her life to pre- UC days.She continued on SCD for 1 yr or more and later slowly added resistant starches to her diet.

Now she eats everything like a normal individual but avoids colored and commercial foods.
Wish I have the patience and energy to cook all those healthy foods and soups !!!!she too says she miss those turkey sausages and soups so that she can have her glowy skin back!!!

Best wishes..

I understand why you're looking for longer term info about SCD and detail as to how closely people followed it. It's hard to find when reporting is ad hoc. I agree with everything Uniform Charlie said too.

I've been on SCD for exactly a year now. Like Uniform Charlie, I've had a week here or there of less strict adherence during travel for work or when eating at someone else's house and just feeling like I couldn't reject what they were serving. That said, for the first 2 months I followed it to the letter and had immediate improvement--solid stools 1X a day for the first time in 8 years. When I deviate it from it, I return to watery stools, but haven't flared. And when I go back to adhering strictly, I am better again. I do have two glaring areas where I deviate from it in the ordinary course. I consume coconut kefir (technically kefir is not permitted on the diet) and tamari and miso (it says soy is a no no, but offers no explanation as to why and I figure fermented soy ought to be fine). It also has aspects that make no sense to me (why are black beans and lentils ok, but garbanzo isn't? why is butternut squash ok, but sweet potato not?) but I adhere to those aspects of it.

It seems to agree with me more generally as well. The very dark circles under my eyes have disappeared. My adult acne is gone. My weight is back to what it was in my late 20s (I lost about 15lbs and then my weight stabilised).

It is hard to follow, but not for the reasons I expected. I struggle with inconveniencing other people mostly and am frequently invited to dinner at friends'. I would also say that it's hard to follow if you don't like to cook. I do like to cook and have found it a useful prompt to be more creative in my cooking. It's easier these days as well when so many people follow a paleo diet.

I strongly would encourage you to give it a go and to see if it helps in the first month or not. If you see no change in that period, you're probably among those who it doesn't help.

Finally, and this is based on nothing other than my own speculation, I think SCD helps with the dysbiosis that is either a partial cause or result of IBD. I don't think it is a cure--just another branch in the arsenal of tools to help manage aspects of the disease.

Post Edited (FSLondon) : 3/16/2016 6:38:51 AM (GMT-6)