Crohn's and IBS

by Andrew
(GTA, ON, CA)

My girlfriend has been dehydrated and having a lot of stomach issues for a while now, and recently got a lot worse. We knew she hasd IBS and has now also been diagnosed with Crohns. I am looking at all these sites, and reading forums about each disease and both. I keep seeing some foods that people say are good for one and others say are bad for the other.

I am just looking for some help identifying some foods who others have had luck eating that have been diagnosed with both of these.
Any help is appreciated. thank you

Comments for Crohn's and IBS

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Diagnosis NEW
by: Annette

Hello,
I am sorry to hear that your girlfriend is having such a difficult time. It is incredibly difficult to give an accurate diagnosis in relation to Crohn's and any digestive disease. It is so important that your girlfriend seeks out a really competent doctor and one perhaps that has experience with crohn's disease and its relative symptoms. It is quite possible that she has always had IBD and not IBS and unfortunately, many times people have been misdiagnosed.

You mention that you have been researching different foods in connection with this and I would suggest that she gradually eliminates any intolerance to foods by keeping a food journal. This is easy to create and depends on how she works best. If she does a lot of online work, then it's very easy to set up a spreadsheet where she can quickly add in details.It doesn't have to take long but the more information she has, the better the diagnosis and treatment for symptoms.

Types of food to avoid:

Fatty foods
Alcohol
Spicy food
Dairy products
High-Fibre diet

Because there is no cure for crohn's disease, there is a lot that she can do to manage the disease herself -alongside prescribed medication. One very important aspect is to ensure that she does not get dehydrated as this can cause lots of other and serious problems.

Crohn's disease is quite rare but greater information regarding the disease can make more people aware that they may have the condition. It is a very painful and life-changing disease and although no-one really knows why it occurs there may be some contributory factors such as:

Immune system
Environmental factors
Smoking
Genetics
Former infections

Crohn's disease treatment can vary and not all medications will work, unfortunately, it can be a case of finding the medications that work on an individual basis. The most important thing is to ensure that the diagnosis is correct and that she starts on a course of medication so that there is the potential to start getting back to some sort of normality.

I hope that this helps and wish her the best of luck.

Best wishes,

Annette Young






Crohn's and IBS NEW
by: Lydia D.

I am very sceptical of doctors that give an IBS and IBD diagnosis. In my opinion, your girlfriend has had IBD all along, it just was not recognised as such. There is a long prodrome phase associated with Crohn's and a lot of ignorance in the medical fraternity. Even with a concrete diagnosis, one is not guaranteed competent therapy. So she must shop around for a good doctor.

In order to work out her individual food and medication tolerances, your girlfriend should keep a food, mood, symptoms and medication diary. She just needs to write bullet points in it. She could set up an electronic diary with tick boxes or scales in it. The information collected should cover everything in the CDAI, using the Bristol Stool Scale and the comparative pain scale.

A patient diary is invaluable for preparation for doctors' appointments and working out what food intolerances one has.

Dehydration is common in IBD, but extremely dangerous. It increases the risk of thrombosis manifold. Many Crohn's patients suffer strokes, ischaemic heart attack, thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, as a result of dehydration.

She could initially base her diet on the BRAT (banana, rice, apple mousse, toast/tea) diet when she has raging diarrhoea and then gradually incorporate other foods in to work out what exacerbates her condition.

I have written extensively on all of the above subject here: https://www.crohns-disease-and-stress.com/what-happens-after-you-take-medication-for-crohns-disease.html#comments

I hope that she finds the right support.

Lydia D.

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