Re: vitamins on Intro Diet

[Guest guest]

You shouldn't take any supplements when doing the intro diet. Everyone is

different, but it usually takes some time to be able to tolerate supplements

once you start the diet. It wasn't until after my 3-month regression that I

could tolerate the mulivitamin. Also, some people find it helpful to start with

half and work their way up to a whole one!

I am very impatient and it was hard for me to hold off on supplements. But

everyone here will tell you that it doesn't pay to rush them, because until your

gut is healed, you are not absorbing any of the good stuff in them anyway! I

still have to remind myself of that when I feel like I should be taking more of

them...

-Joanna

SCD 9/2009, Crohn's 1992, 30mg Prednisone

>

> Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD Mutli Vitamin

from Freeda's.

>

[Guest guest]

How do you tell when healing is happening?

I know everyone is different but I am hoping that we will see something

significantly different as a sign. These are my son’s current issues…how

will they look different when healing is occurring?

-

loose stools (not liquid anymore unless he eats something

that disagrees with him , but mushy)

-

has lost weight and not regained it

-

tired

-

he is not taking any of his meds which was Imuran and

Asacol; has been off of Prednisone for 2 months (none of these drugs ever

produced a formed stool)

Also, he started the Intro Diet today and

has intestinal gurgling. What does this mean, that something is NOT digesting

properly? This is what he ate so far:

Breakfast – scrambled eggs, roast

chicken and roast pork; about ¼ of scd yogurt

Lunch – homemade chicken soup, more

roast chicken, tuna salad made with scd mayo, scd cheesecake

Dinner (right around the corner but should

be tuna, turkey burger, more chicken soup and cheesecake)

He works on a farm and needs his energy so

he is concerned about getting through tomorrow (day #2) eating so little.

Any suggestions on the above?

Eileen

Mother of 18 yo son with UC

Diagnosed at age 5; remission until age 13

SCD about 3 weeks and hoping for a

positive sign of healing…

Eileen Cawood

email: parvus@...

From: BTVC-SCD [mailto:BTVC-SCD ] On Behalf Of Joanna

Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010

4:34 PM

To: BTVC-SCD

Subject: Re: vitamins

on Intro Diet

You shouldn't take any supplements when doing the

intro diet. Everyone is different, but it usually takes some time to be able to

tolerate supplements once you start the diet. It wasn't until after my 3-month

regression that I could tolerate the mulivitamin. Also, some people find it

helpful to start with half and work their way up to a whole one!

I am very impatient and it was hard for me to hold off on supplements. But

everyone here will tell you that it doesn't pay to rush them, because until

your gut is healed, you are not absorbing any of the good stuff in them anyway!

I still have to remind myself of that when I feel like I should be taking more

of them...

-Joanna

SCD 9/2009, Crohn's 1992, 30mg Prednisone

>

> Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD Mutli

Vitamin from Freeda's.

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Eileen- YES- it is very tough to predict since healing is different for

everyone. I defer to the experts/moderators on this one

However, I know the first thing they'll say is to make sure he is keeping a

journal! He should record what he is eating, if he has pain, how many stools a

day he having, how formed they are, etc. etc.

Healing is slow and non-linear with this diet- when I get frustrated, I just

flip back a few months and realize that I am taking steps... even if they are

baby steps. (and it will help him if he has any food reactions/intolerances to

see what is causing them).

-Joanna

SCD 9/2009, Crohn's 1992, 30mg Prednisone

> >

> > Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD Mutli

> Vitamin from Freeda's.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Kind of confused now…I thought that following the Intro Diet exactly was crucial so he has been avoiding fruits and veggies. Until yesterday he was eating cooked veggies (lots of asparagus, some squash, cooked carrots, greenbeans) and the fruit he had been eating was cantalope, strawberries, cooked apple (raw on occasion with skins pealed), watermelon, and ripe bananas. He just headed back to work after taking a nap but he is dragging. the veggies sound okay - but the melons and raw strawberry are definitely too advanced. You can try cooking berries at first. And no melon yet, which is very high in sugars. As I understand it, the yogurt has the healing properties via the mega good bacteria. Since he has been off of the bad food for so many weeks, why would eating the yogurt be a negative thing? It could intensify either a flare of die off, depending on what is going on.It's powerful stuff - so too much, during an unstable time, before he knows how much he can eat successfully,can be destabilizing. I would think that his body would be ready to welcome the good guys and that the bad guys are in fleeing mode. What exactly is the purpose of the Intro Diet? I know we have come at this kind of backwards…feeling pretty confused right now.To clear out the system, wean it off illegals and calm it down, and give the body only reallygentle foods to eat. I also am realizing that all of the wonderful testimonies about how quickly people saw change and felt better got our expectations pretty high.You can feel better, improve and have changes - but still be nowhere near completely healed.This is not a quick, magical, linear process, the way a dose of a drug can knock something out. It's a long, slow road to healing, has many ups and downs and takes time and patience, while thebody begins to do its thing and heal itself. As I have said previously, his symptoms have never been as severe as the many we have read about but he has been battling it a long time. Maybe the length of time in his case is more significant than the severity?Yep. Just give it time. Mara

[Guest guest]

We spend a lot of time here on the diet, trying things to see if they

work or not. No way around it.

I was wondering about that. I don't think his system is as sensitive

as many

we have read about so maybe I should have him try it today. I think

I'll

just have him take one and see.

Eileen Cawood

email:

parvus@...

From:

BTVC-SCD

[

mailto:BTVC-SCD ] On Behalf

Of My-Stitches

Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 12:51 AM

To:

BTVC-SCD

Subject: Re:vitamins on Intro Diet

In my case it was absolutely necessary for me to take my supplements

through

Intro, so I did, and I didn't have any trouble with them.

Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD

Mutli

Vitamin from Freeda's.

[Guest guest]

In the beginning, I could not tolerate yogurt at all. I had an immediate

reaction (die-off I'm sure). After a couple months, I was able to tolerate a

teaspoon at first and worked my way up from there. It took a very long time

before I was able to tolerate even a cup at a time without some reaction.

Misty Kimble

CD - no meds

SCD - 2 + years

>

> He only ¼ cup of the yogurt this morning. Should he have more than that?

>

> Eileen Cawood

[Guest guest]

>

> Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD Mutli Vitamin

from Freeda's.

>

What about Kirkman labs? I heard so many different thing..What vitamin should I

be taking.? Help I am new to this...Acidophiles capsules?

[Guest guest]

If you are on the Intro. diet for a few days, then you shouldn't take any

supplements. And if you are very symptomatic, you should probably not take too

many supplements for the first 6 months to a year -- just focus on foods and

healing.

Elaine advised taking a multivitamin and a B-complex supplement regularly (not

necessarily every day!) until signifcant healing has occurred. Of course making

yogurt or taking a legal Acidophilus or S. Boulardii supplement for the

probiotic benefit should be started as soon as you tolerate one or the other

after the intro. diet. Some folks have other health issues requiring them to

take other supplements, some (like me) can't tolerate B-complex regardless of

the brand. So we all have individual needs and tolerances.

Supplements often make things worse, instead of better, so the minimal approach

works the best for most people. Eventually when your gut ecology is restored,

you should be able to absorb enough nutrition from food sources to need fewer

supplements.

There are many types of legal multivitamins and B-complex vitamins available,

usually from online sources since local pharmacies often don't carry supplements

without the illegal additives and fillers. I happen to use Kirkman Labs for

both a L. Acidophilus supplement and a multivitamin. I've had no trouble with

Kirkman Labs products, but I have had trouble with Freeda SCD-compliant

supplements, and other probiotic supplements. Each of us has to try different

brands, dosages, and delivery systems to find which one works best for our own

body.

If you're just starting SCD, then get through the intro. diet and begin to add a

few foods. Try adding our 24-hour yogurt or a legal L. Acidophilus supplement.

Then start testing a good multivitamin, making sure there are no illegal

ingredients. There is a helpful list of legal/illegal supplement ingredients at

www.pecanbread.com. If you are dealing with an IBD, you could probably use a

B-complex as well.

Keep asking questions. There is a lot of information to absorb at first, and

you have to do some testing to learn what your body is ready for at this point.

Kim M.

SCD 6 years

> >

> > Is it ok to take vitamins while on the Intro Diet? It is the SCD Mutli

Vitamin from Freeda's.

> >

>

>

>

> What about Kirkman labs? I heard so many different thing..What vitamin should

I be taking.? Help I am new to this...Acidophiles capsules?

>

[Guest guest]

At 02:41 PM 6/24/2010, you wrote:

Kind of confused now…I thought that

following the Intro Diet exactly was crucial so he has been avoiding

fruits and veggies. Until yesterday he was eating cooked veggies (lots of

asparagus, some squash, cooked carrots, greenbeans) and the fruit he had

been eating was cantalope, strawberries, cooked apple (raw on occasion

with skins pealed), watermelon, and ripe bananas. He just headed back to

work after taking a nap but he is dragging.

OK, which intro diet are you following?

I could not tolerate the carrots in the chicken soup when I started.

Bright orange liquid poo is just not where it's at. After a discussion

with Elaine, she said that what I was doing, eating beef roast, pork

roast, steamed, peeled zucchini, and soft boiled eggs was fine, since it

agreed with me.

I was eating about every two hours the first couple of weeks I was on

SCD. Sliced roast, wait two hours, steamed zucchini, wait two hours, soft

boiled eggs and butter, wait two hours, steamed zucchini, wait two hours,

sliced roast, wait two hours....

All vegetables and fruits MUST be peeled, seeded, and cooked. If he wants

strawberries, make strawberry sauce out of it for his yogurt.

As I understand it, the yogurt has

the healing properties via the mega good bacteria. Since he has been off

of the bad food for so many weeks, why would eating the yogurt be a

negative thing? I would think that his body would be ready to

welcome the good guys and that the bad guys are in fleeing mode. What

exactly is the purpose of the Intro Diet? I know we have come at this

kind of backwards…feeling pretty confused right

now.

The yogurt IS healing, but it can accelerate the removal of the bad

bacteria. The bad bacteria don't want to go. They march around yelling

" H-ll, no, we won't go! " and while they're dying off, they

produce all kinds of stuff that can give a person the feeling like

they've been beaten with an ugly stick, or similar flu-type symptoms,

except it's not really flu.

I also am realizing that all of the

wonderful testimonies about how quickly people saw change and felt better

got our expectations pretty high. As I have said previously, his symptoms

have never been as severe as the many we have read about but he has been

battling it a long time. Maybe the length of time in his case is more

significant than the severity?

I was sick for over 25 years before I found SCD. I was repeatedly told

that I could " take a little lomotil if it bothers you, " or

alternatively, " It's all in your head. "

I didn't get well over night -- the healing takes time.

Watching him graduate from High

School several weeks ago was emotionally draining for me…I just want him

to be healthy and robust like his peers. His favorite quote cited in the

yearbook is from Mark Twain, “It isn’t the size of the dog in the fight

but the size of the fight in the dog.” I quietly wept when I read

it.

He was able to graduate -- and he has the will to heal himself. With a

quote like that one from Twain, he wants to be in control of his body,

not have his body in control of him. And he will, too.

So thankful for this

loop…

We'll be glad to help as well can. Is he keeping a food diary? It's a

nuisance, but it really can help you (or more properly, him) keep track

of progress. I kept one religiously my first couple of years -- and

when I have issues, I'll go back to keeping one for awhile to give me

something more reliable than my memory to work with. Sometimes,

having stuff written down makes it evident that you're making progress

when, emotionally, you don't think you are. We all want to be well,

like, yesterday, if we can.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle