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Whole30 with inflammatory bowel disease


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It sounds like you totally have a handle on which veggies agree with you and how you need to cook them (I CANNOT do raw broccoli, for example). I might suggest some starchy veg in there to help slow things down just a bit, and maybe leaning toward the lower end of the fat recommendations to see if that helps with your motility and absorption. I also have to completely avoid nuts as they'll keep everything else from processing properly - so that's a good exclusion for you.

Just a strange observation: How long have you been taking your greens supplement? When I got sick the year before my diagnosis, my MIL had me trying to drink something similar and it tore me up. Seriously. My body could not handle it. Something to think about, I suppose...

My suggestion is to play with your fat and fiber contents and see if that helps. It will take some time, especially if you're struggling with a serious flare.

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Glad to know I am in the company of people who actually believe food has something to do with Crohns Disease!! I have had it for 19 years...I have been on everything but luckly no surgeries. I am currently on Remicade (about 5 years) and doing great, my scopes have been clean and my colon looks "perfect". With that said I want to stop my Remicade, it just scares me. The doctors say if you stop then your body builds up immunities and it may not work again. Obviously that scares me to death because it works so well for me! I am scared I am not disciplined enough to remain so restrictive(just being honest). I am on day 20 and feel GREAT...I can tell what does effect my stomach now, no nuts for me! Anyway, is there anyone out there that has stopped Remicade and had long term success on this awesome eating plan??

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Hi kdz2- can you tolerate eggs? that was always good for me when i had a flare.. i mixed them with a banana and cinnamon and made a "pancake", it worked for me. I also can not handle broccoli and always avoided red meat while I had a flare up. Sweet potatoes seem to be a safe option too....

I think it is great that you are trying this plan! I know how hard it is when you feel so bad...Hang in there!!!

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Hi Blythe!

Yes, I recently added eggs back into my diet (was avoiding them during the 30 days because I was following AIP), and I am doing fine - no reaction, thank goodness! I never really had a problem with them, but I took them out just to be safe. I have a hard time with vegetables, but can tolerate as long as they are very well-cooked. Thank you for the tips, I will keep them in mind!

My doctor is urging me to go on Remicade and that is the reason I started this lifestyle change. I really would like to try to get better through diet rather than strong medications. I go back to the doctor in two weeks after about two months since my last appointment. I plan to use this appointment as a gauge if this is working for me - hopefully my exam and blood panels will show improvement!

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Hi Robin,

Thanks so much for getting back to me - your suggestions are super helpful! I have been taking the greens supplement since about half way through my whole30 (so for a few weeks). I have wondered if it is beneficial for me or not because I really can't handle greens otherwise... maybe I will see if I notice any improvement if I take it out of my regimen.

What kind of starchy veggie would you suggest? That may be something I could use and help slow things down, as I am flaring. Mashed sweet potatoes seem to be okay for me, but is there anything else you think would be good?

Thanks!

Kristin

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Some green supplements, like spirulina, are just one ingredient. It's easy to see if you respond well to it or not. Others contain a bunch of things and it is hard to figure out what, if anything, may be activating symptoms. I took one some years ago when I was very ill and it made me much worse. It was natural and a doctor has suggested it so it didn't occur to me for two weeks that it might be causing my worsening symptoms. Just something to think about.

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Since you're post W30, you might try adding in white potatoes without skins. Those have always been a comfort to my digestive system (and my emotions).

Here's a short list - I'd suggest experimenting with these individually (and of course, well cooked) to see if any of them meet your requirements or make things worse.

Winter Squash, Carrots, Beets, Parsnips, Rutabaga, Turnip, Celery Root, Yucca, Taro, Plantain and Jicama

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  • 4 months later...

Resurrecting the thread to say hello to my fellow IBD sisters and brothers here on the forum. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at age 13 (fortunately a pretty mild case). I generally have a few flares a year and I try to avoid being on meds unless it's bad (and taking Lialda when it is). I recently had a pretty bad flare, which is part of what prompted me to give Paleo/Whole30 a try. 

 

I'm hoping this helps make my guts happy. 

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Hi, I'm glad you revived this thread. I am a lifelong IBS sufferer, but have recently been told I have Chron's too or instead of IBS, who knows. Anyway, most of my life I just tried to deal with my issues. I went to a doctor early on, but they didn't know that much back then and it was assumed that it was 'all in my head'. Like most of you, I've been to the ER with problems only to be told 'you have gas, go home'. I was doing ok until a few years ago. Stress, menopause and other things took their toll. I went gluten free last year and that helped somewhat. I had a flare last October that put me in the hospital. They said I wasn't obstructed, but it sure felt like it. After that I decided that I needed to fix myself. As long as I had the right tests and follow up, I took matters into my own. First I did SCD, which is a very good healing diet. I stayed on that for months while I felt a lot of improvement. Through research I found out about FODMAPS and eliminating them has been a huge help. I decided to try W30 after seeing it on an IBD board. I was intrigued by the idea of 'resetting' my digestive system. All that I've learned this past year is that the food I eat is directly resulting what happens in my body. Yeah, I may have some genetic issues, but by changing my diet, I can get off the medical merry go round. I am also doing the AI with no FODMAPS.

 

It's not all rosy though. I was constipated the 2nd week. I think it was the amount of food (more than I am used to ) plus a lot of veggies. It did get better and I felt great. Today though, I had a flare. I think a reaction to some red leaf lettuce. Greens are still a big issue for me apparently. Right now I'm having trouble getting my lunch down.

 

But I know I will recover. This is the best thing for me. I have 5 days to go, then some reintroduction (never grains or legumes again). Looking forward to some cream in my coffee, a nice piece of chocolate and a glass of wine soon! I will come back to do another W30 after a brief break for a vacation.

 

Let's keep this thread active for all the IBS/IBD people out there. We need some special help!

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I think this is really important for those of us with digestive disorders! I spent 10 months living on oreos, milk and spaghetti-o's because they required little to no digestion. Then, we wonder why it's so hard for us to break that illness cycle! Everything we were eating when we were sick was making us sicker!

So glad to hear you're feeling better Gin!!

 

LOL!  I lived on marshmallow cream and rice krispies.... kept me alive (just barely)!

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The first 5 days I felt great.  I'm eating HUGE amounts of all kinds of salad greens with a really good portion of turkey meatballs,  sauteed chicken or ground beef to go with. I have lots of EVOO and some vinegar.

I thought the problem might be coffee, so I gave that up 3 days ago.

I have Crohns. I thought nice , big, organic salads would be just the thing to keep me regular. I take enzymes at every meal, drink tons of water, take probiotics and HCL, magnesium and Krill oil.

If I'm doing something wrong please tell me.

I so want this to work and not end up back in the ER.

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The first 5 days I felt great.  I'm eating HUGE amounts of all kinds of salad greens with a really good portion of turkey meatballs,  sauteed chicken or ground beef to go with. I have lots of EVOO and some vinegar.

I thought the problem might be coffee, so I gave that up 3 days ago.

I have Crohns. I thought nice , big, organic salads would be just the thing to keep me regular. I take enzymes at every meal, drink tons of water, take probiotics and HCL, magnesium and Krill oil.

If I'm doing something wrong please tell me.

I so want this to work and not end up back in the ER.

I'd try more cooked veggies for a bit and see if that helps out. Raw greens and raw veggies in general were problematic for me for years.

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  • 1 year later...

Ok so i know that i am a year late to this conversation, but id like to ask ask a question to any other whole30ers who have crohns/UC and are currently on remicaid or have tried stopping remicaid. I have a similar experience as Kristin. Im 26, been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis since the age of 20. Almost immediately went on remicaid since i was diagnosed with a severe form of the disease. I am actually doing very well on the remicaid, have had only a few slight bowel flares in the past 6 years and generally feel pretty well. I started whole30 with a goal to possibly control my symptoms without remicaid, (as those of you who are on it know that it is a very expensive treatment, and who knows what the long term side affects could be). Has anyone else had success with getting off the remicaid? I also am quite scared to try getting off of it because like Kristin said, once you go off of it, you may not be able to return to it if your other methods dont work.

I have to mention, im on day 34 of my whole30, energy has been great, but im a little discouraged to say that for the past 2 days ive been experiencing some UC related bowel issues. Not to overshare, but since we are all here for the same reason, ive been noticing mucous/blood in my stools, which is something that i havent had in a very long time. Its a little depressing since i have been very strict with my whole30 diet, and i dont know know what would make this flare come on now.... After a month of whole30 :-(

Anyone have a similar experience? Any help/suggestions/response would be greatly appreciated!

-April

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  • 1 month later...

Adding my two cents here! This will be total TMI for people who don't have digestive issues, FYI.

 

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (pancolitis) about 6 months ago. I had two really bad flare ups (weight loss, over a dozen bms a day, lots of blood, etc) which lead to the diagnosis. I was put on Lialda but soon was looking for other ways to control it once I was feeling better, which lead me to Whole30. After my first Whole30 in Sept/Oct. I was able to wean myself off of Lialda and had been totally symptom free. I stayed off of gluten, legumes, and most dairy.

 

My eating habits slipped a bit over the holidays and I could tell my guts were not happy about it. I think sugar might be one of the bigger triggers for me, next to stress. I hadn't had much pain, but for about two months I had blood in my stool everyday.

 

Long story short, I went back on Whole30 for January and after 6 days the blood stopped. It was a total reaffirmation of the diet correlating with symptoms of the disease for me. Managing my stress is much easier when sugar is taken out of the equation too, so it's truly been a win/win situation for me thus far.

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  • 2 months later...

Hello ! I'm a newbie to this forum, and am on day 21 of my first Whole30. I have Crohn's disease, diagnosed for over 20 years now - and had a resection in February of 2006 to remove an extremely strictured terminal ileum that was also a mess of fistulae.  Since that time I have maintained a good remission on immunosuppressants and ABX - some days are better than others, of course. You come to expect that with a chronic illness.

 

A year ago September I started eating low-carb, mostly to lose some weight. That worked, a little bit, although I never stopped eating dairy or legumes (stayed away from grains and pasta.)  It was my daughter, who is on her second Whole30, who encouraged me to try this and I agreed, not so much to manage my chronic illness or to lose more weight, but to finally break free of my sugar addiction, and yeah that bad cheese habit I was really into.

 

Because of my shortened bowel, I try to keep the raw veggies to just once daily. Even then, in the beginning, after my lunch salad all hell would break loose in the bathroom. However, here I am on day 21 and this week - no mad rush after lunch! For two days now! I no longer feel like I need a nap in the afternoons, and I sleep better at night. My clothes fit better. I no longer crave sugar physically, but admit sometimes after a stressful day, I miss the comfort that I thought candy afforded me. I have learned that coconut milk in my coffee is the best start to my days.

 

I'm looking forward to a strong finish to my first Whole30, am considering making it a Whole45 or Whole60 - and then learning to ride my own bike afterwards.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Aprilmay06, you still there? I had almost the exact same experience with my UC flaring in the last days of TWO Whole30s. I love the program and I'm thinking of starting my third, but I am concerned that I don't know what's caused these flares in the final days. I'd love to hear what you've learned and how you've moved forward since your post in December. Check in if you see this, and I hope you're feeling good!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have lived with UC/IBS for over 15 years. I'm now on Day 15 of my first Whole30. Before I spent most of my mornings in the bathroom, revisiting 5-10 times before noon. On this program I haven't done that once. Its great.

But I did expect my stools to firm up by now. Though the pain & urgercy is gone, my stools are still pretty soft/loose.

Any idea if this will eventually change?

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I have lived with UC/IBS for over 15 years. I'm now on Day 15 of my first Whole30. Before I spent most of my mornings in the bathroom, revisiting 5-10 times before noon. On this program I haven't done that once. Its great.

But I did expect my stools to firm up by now. Though the pain & urgercy is gone, my stools are still pretty soft/loose.

Any idea if this will eventually change?

Glad to hear that some of your symptoms have resolved! You can post a few days worth of typical food consumption (include portion sizes please), fluids and we can take a look and see if anything stands out.  Sometimes it's as simple as too many nuts/nut butters or too many raw veggies or too much of the cruciferous family.  Let's take a peek and see if we can help you!

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  • 1 year later...

While this topic is fairly old I'm going to continue the conversation anyway to see if anyone has any advice or is going thru the same.

 

I'm frustrated. Extremely frustrated. 

 

I started the Whole30 with the hope of getting my UC under control. I'm on day 20 and feel like nothing is happening and that maybe I'm feeling worse! I've had a couple of really bad flares (one I connect to brussel sprouts so I'm staying away from those). The second flare that I'm currently experiencing I think might be related to coffee and kombucha. So starting yesterday I have cut those out as well to see if it helps.

 

I have been eating more red meat then usual so maybe that is a problem for me? 

 

I guess I was just hoping to feel better.....and I think I will have to take the beyond the 30 days since reintroduction seems pointless if I'm having flare ups. 

Sorry to be a debbie downer. I'm not giving up but I needed to vent. Any thoughts are appreciated and welcomed. 

 

http://forum.whole30.com/topic/37700-leahs-first-whole-30-food-log/

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