To the frustrated newer dieters

December 2, 2009

Becky, and Andy, and any others,

I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on the diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted, but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I could handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad, of course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of the first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And everyone is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the diet is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!

Good luck!!

Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

December 3, 2009

Ann-

Thanks for your encouragement. I think I have seen improvement with the Intro

diet -eggs +banana. It is adding new veggies that bothers me. I am learning to

be patient....

My doc changed my medicine from Pentasa to higher dose of Lialda to get the

bleeding under control. That should hopefully help.

-Andy.

>

> Becky, and Andy, and any others,

>

> I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on the

> diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,

> but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I could

> handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much

> experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first

> few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The

> bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad, of

> course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of the

> first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now

> occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still

> get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And everyone

> is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems

> to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever

> improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no

> apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the diet

> is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!

>

> Good luck!!

>

> Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

>

December 4, 2009

Andy,

In the beginning, I could not eat hardly any fruits or veggies. I cooked all of

them well and pureed them. I took a multivitamin and hoped for the best. If the

veggies were going right through me anyway, I would not benefit from them, so I

hardly ate them at first.

I could handle acorn squash and zucchini soup. I added them very slowly. As your

gut heals, you will tolerate things better. I can do several veggies now,

including carrots which until recently went through me. I still eat all my

veggies cooked, and the spinach is pureed. I've been on SCD 7 months. Hang in

there.

PJ

> >

> > Becky, and Andy, and any others,

> >

> > I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on the

> > diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,

> > but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I could

> > handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much

> > experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first

> > few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The

> > bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad, of

> > course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of the

> > first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now

> > occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still

> > get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And everyone

> > is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems

> > to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever

> > improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no

> > apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the diet

> > is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!

> >

> > Good luck!!

> >

> > Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

> >

>

December 4, 2009

Dear Becky, Andy and Other Frustrated Folks,I will offer just one thing in addition to the wonderful support that's been forthcoming.It is an invented formula for things getting better..... and perhaps helpful with perspective.If one has been living eating non-SCD for say twenty years, what is a reasonable amount of time to take to turn that around? How about a ratio of one month to one year? Doesn't sound unreasonable to me. If one spent twenty years eating not-so-healthily, then perhaps looking at twenty months to get better is reasonable. If it comes faster, great. Celebrate.If one is in a hurry, go ahead and play with it. How about one week:one year? Doesn't sound like much time. Still it would give an expectation that if one ate non-SCd for thirty years, one might expect improvement in thirty weeks. That translates to 7-8 months. It can help to stand back and see it from this perspective. Repeat, it is invented, not based on research. RuthTo the frustrated newer dietersPosted by: "Ann and Porras" naffierporras@... ann34oscarWed Dec 2, 2009 9:21 pm (PST)Becky, and Andy, and any others,I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on thediet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I couldhandle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so muchexperimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the firstfew months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. Thebleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad, ofcourse you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of thefirst year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even nowoccasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods stillget my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And everyoneis different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seemsto go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would everimprove more than I had already. And then, after long periods of noapparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the dietis working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!Good luck!!Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)Back to topReply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1)

December 4, 2009

Is stomach gurgling normal? sometimes I " ll get that...

> > >

> > > Becky, and Andy, and any others,

> > >

> > > I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on

the

> > > diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,

> > > but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I

could

> > > handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much

> > > experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first

> > > few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The

> > > bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad,

of

> > > course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of

the

> > > first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now

> > > occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still

> > > get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And

everyone

> > > is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems

> > > to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever

> > > improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no

> > > apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the

diet

> > > is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!

> > >

> > > Good luck!!

> > >

> > > Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

> > >

> >

>

December 4, 2009

Thank you for the words of encouragement, Ruth. It does help and I will try to

keep telling myself this!

I guess I'm still dealing with a new diagnoses and admitting to myself that I

have Crohns at all...I'm 34 and have never had a major bathroom issue or pain

till last summer.

Also, I work from my car and am often " on the go " and I don't find there are

many grab kind of foods on this diet. That is also making it harder on me.

>

> Dear Becky, Andy and Other Frustrated Folks,

>

> I will offer just one thing in addition to the wonderful support

> that's been forthcoming.

> It is an invented formula for things getting better..... and perhaps

> helpful with perspective.

>

> If one has been living eating non-SCD for say twenty years, what is a

> reasonable amount of time to take to turn that around? How about a

> ratio of one month to one year? Doesn't sound unreasonable to me. If

> one spent twenty years eating not-so-healthily, then perhaps looking

> at twenty months to get better is reasonable. If it comes faster,

> great. Celebrate.

>

> If one is in a hurry, go ahead and play with it. How about one

> week:one year? Doesn't sound like much time. Still it would give an

> expectation that if one ate non-SCd for thirty years, one might expect

> improvement in thirty weeks. That translates to 7-8 months.

> It can help to stand back and see it from this perspective.

>

> Repeat, it is invented, not based on research.

>

> Ruth

>

> To the frustrated newer dieters

> Posted by: " Ann and Porras " naffierporras@... ann34oscar

> Wed Dec 2, 2009 9:21 pm (PST)

>

> Becky, and Andy, and any others,

>

> I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on

> the

> diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super

> restricted,

> but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I

> could

> handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so

> much

> experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the

> first

> few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment.

> The

> bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really

> bad, of

> course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of

> the

> first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now

> occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods

> still

> get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And

> everyone

> is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems

> to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever

> improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no

> apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the

> diet

> is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get

> better!

>

> Good luck!!

>

> Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

> Back to topReply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post

> Messages in this topic (1)

>

December 4, 2009

I have been on SCD for 21 months. I have UC and get

stomach gurgling often which leads to passing gas. I have not discovered

what foods cause this because everything seems too. However I have

noticed that scrambled eggs make it worse.

Over the past 21 months I have had episodes 2-3 months at a

time that I feel very well and then with no change in diet, I will regress and

have a lot of urgency and D. I recently went back on prednisone for a

short time to clear up some D. Before SCD I ate SAD and had limited

success with prednisone. While following SCD and taking prednisone, I have

never felt so good. Does anyone have experience taking Remicade and following

SCD? I had no response from Remicade when I was on it pre SCD, but maybe

it could provide some relief with SCD. Any thoughts?

December 4, 2009

Thank you for the words of encouragement, Ruth. It does help and I

will try to keep telling myself this!

I guess I'm still dealing with a new diagnoses and admitting to

myself that I have Crohns at all...I'm 34 and have never had a major

bathroom issue or pain till last summer.

Also, I work from my car and am often " on the go " and I don't find

there are many grab kind of foods on this diet. That is also making

it harder on me.

It does get better, however slowly. You will figure out what foods

you can tolerate and get a better idea of how to test new ones. And

you learn that some just won't work now, so OK, try again later.

RE being on the go and no foods to grab. I suggest you figure out a

better solution to this one. I know I always take food with me, even

if I just ate lunch and am only dashing to the store for a couple of

things - might decide to go somewhere else or the grocery store might

only have green bananas. There just isn't much if anything I can

grab if I need to. I have a friend who is diabetic who found a rather

neat little cooler, maybe 12 X 16 inches across and wide, and 9

inches high. It has a handle. She found it sufficient for lunch and

snacks when she was working, and it wasn't hard to carry around. I

don't remember where she got it as I never got around to looking. I

just use a tote. If you can learn to get your food ready for

tomorrow after dinner, you'll be way ahead. It's never good to

starve so much you end up eating something that sets you back. Again,

a new habit to learn.

December 4, 2009

I had VERY little stomach gurgling for the first 2 weeks of the diet but now (on week 3) I have some w/almost every meal, and a little more gassy too. Don't know why?? Hoping it will go away but eventually it might be that I need to eliminate some of the foods I'm slowly introducing right now??

I was also wondering if digestive enzymes would help. I'm early on in the diet and wasn't going to ask the question online yet...but since you did...I’m curious too!

Marla

IBS-D 20 years

SCD 3 weeks

From: beckygd28

Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 12:13 PM

To: BTVC-SCD

Subject: Re: To the frustrated newer dieters

Is stomach gurgling normal? sometimes I"ll get that...> > >> > > Becky, and Andy, and any others,> > > > > > I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on the> > > diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,> > > but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I could> > > handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much> > > experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first> > > few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The> > > bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad, of> > > course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of the> > > first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now> > > occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still> > > get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And everyone> > > is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems> > > to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever> > > improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no> > > apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the diet> > > is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!> > > > > > Good luck!!> > > > > > Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)> > >> >>

December 4, 2009

Is stomach gurgling normal? sometimes I"ll get that...My stomach ALWAYS gurgles, and I don't know why. Not sure if it's 'normal' or not though. Peace =)Alyssa 15 yoUC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)No meds!

December 4, 2009

At 11:13 AM 12/4/2009, you wrote:

Is stomach gurgling normal?

sometimes I " ll get that...

If you're alive, it's normal. I'd worry about stomach gurgling if you

were dead.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

December 4, 2009

At 11:16 AM 12/4/2009, you wrote:

I guess I'm still dealing with a

new diagnoses and admitting to myself that I have Crohns at all...I'm 34

and have never had a major bathroom issue or pain till last

summer.

Heh. I'm 57. IBS was a result of doctor stupidity. I self-diagnosed the

IBS after 25 years of issues and being told it was all in my head. Then

SCD solved the issue -- with several years and plenty of effort.

2008 was my year of the diagnoses. Endometrial cancer, and then sleep

apnea. Truly entertaining. Then we added lymphedema issues as a result of

the surgery.

However, I stunned my surgeons. I was told, " It's not IF you have

infection, it's how much. It's not IF you have wound separation, it's how

much... and on and on, this whole list of " It's not IF you have

(fill in the blank), it's how much.... "

I had NONE. No infection. No wound separation. None of the dire

possibilities. One surgeon had a different group of interns with him

every time I saw him post-op so they could see how an incision OUGHT to

heal, not how it usually healed.

Trust me, I understand from wrapping my head around diagnoses!

Adjusting to a whole new lifestyle is not easy. But take heart: you're

relatively young. You may well be able to heal yourself, and then be able

to go back to some non-SCD foods -- my niece did.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

December 4, 2009

Just reposting:

Becky-

I don't know if this will make you better: I am 36, diagnosed with UC 3.5 years

ago, no surgery, Indian immigrant in the US, born and raised vegetarian eating

loads of rice and lentils and veggies. I bought and cooked my first ever meat 2

weeks ago when I started SCD. I made my first ever applesauce yesterday.

Further, I am single and so I have to do everything myself either calling up

friends or reading internet. So, imagine the change and frustration!!

Well, on the brighter side, in the past 24 h, I have bled very little which is

amazing -- had I continued my South Indian cooking, I am pretty sure I would've

been in the ER by now.

My stomach makes noise very often, I feel its gas. It happenend more after eggs.

And I had to go for a symposium yesterday and they had a 'lunch networking'

session. I couldn't obviously participate but I made sure to network before and

after. I had carried my fish and chicken soup, and ate in my car. I was sipping

grape juice all day in my new waterbottle.

Hang in there!

-Andy.

December 4, 2009

Did you use Freeda multivitmains? I am thinking of ordering it, any

suggestions??

> > >

> > > Becky, and Andy, and any others,

> > >

> > > I just wanted to send a word of encouragement! The first few months on

the

> > > diet are really the hardest ones! Not only is your diet super restricted,

> > > but your body is probably changing daily -- I found that some foods I

could

> > > handle one day would start to cause me problems the next. There's so much

> > > experimentation to be done at first, and I was still so sick for the first

> > > few months, it was hard to garner the energy to think and experiment. The

> > > bleeding can go on for a long time if you have UC. If it is really bad,

of

> > > course you should consult your doctor. But I kept bleeding for most of

the

> > > first year (I've been on the diet for 21 months now), and even now

> > > occasionally see a little blood (but not very often). And new foods still

> > > get my intestines upset, even if the food is perfectly legal. And

everyone

> > > is different. I still can't eat yogurt or DCCC. Sometimes progress seems

> > > to go SOOOO slowly. I remember so many months wondering if I would ever

> > > improve more than I had already. And then, after long periods of no

> > > apparent change, I would start to improve again. So, if you sense the

diet

> > > is working at all for you, have lots of patience -- things do get better!

> > >

> > > Good luck!!

> > >

> > > Ann (in Iowa, SCD since March 2008)

> > >

> >

>

December 4, 2009

Ann-

The doc changed my med from Pentasa to Lialda and Rowasa enema. He said that

should control any bleeding. I hope so, and hope to maintain with SCD.