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Falling off the wagon! Arghh..

This is a bit like stopping smoking.
So, 10 months since first flaring, and 2 months since diagnosis I'm having a bit of a diet relapse.
I've been really busy and tired this week, so haven't felt a lot like cooking. But I think there is a bit of subconscious rebellion going on.
Since adding the Mesren to the Pred, I've been a whole lot better and it's probably due to drastic changes in my diet too.Have I been lulled into a false sense of security? Am I just feeling bolshie at not being able to eat things I loved?
I have caved this week and had cake and chocolate, things I haven't touched for weeks. I do not, not, not want to trigger another flare.
I think I'm in need of Crohnie rehab :-(
 
I don't think eating chocolate and cake will "trigger a flare" although it can trigger symptoms, especially if you are in a flare.

I'm glad you are feeling better. I think you will be ok if you indulge once in a while.
 
Ah, OK. This is all pretty new still. I had a piece of cake yesterday whe out with friends, and had some tummy pains and rumblings after. If you're in remission, even if medically induced, would that mean you can eat pretty much anything without side effects?
 
Have I been lulled into a false sense of security?
Yes. It happens to practically everyone I think.

I started a wheat-free vegan diet with supplements under naturopathic care, at the beginning of this year.

The improvements were unbelievingly amazing and pretty rapid.

By April, I felt so well that I almost forgot that I actually had UC.

So the improvements lulled me into a false sense of security about my condition, and I started to get slack diet wise and with the supplement regime.

I think during May, I undone all of the good work from the four months prior. :(

The naturopath told me that it takes roughly one month for each year you have been ill. I have been ill for over ten years now, so you do the maths.

Anyway, I just got carried away in my excitement. I felt so fantastic at the end of April that I thought... “oh maybe I can re-introduce this or that food”...OPPS, NO I CAN'T.

I am starting again from scratch, and I won’t make the same mistake next time.
 
Ah, OK. This is all pretty new still. I had a piece of cake yesterday whe out with friends, and had some tummy pains and rumblings after. If you're in remission, even if medically induced, would that mean you can eat pretty much anything without side effects?
I think it depends. A lot of people find even when they are in remission they still have certain foods that cause symptoms. But I think there are probably people who can eat whatever they want when they are in remission. I am really hoping that after my resection heals I will be able to eat raw carrots and salad and popcorn again, but I may be fooling myself! Hehe.

We have been told by the medical community that there is no evidence that diet affects the actual disease of Crohn's. In other words, it is generally believed that you can eat whatever you want as long as you can tolerate it, and it won't affect your disease process either way. However, there are many who disagree with this, and you can check out those schools of thought as well. One example is the specific carbohydrate diet, which I myself consider to be just someone selling snake oil (there's a lot of that w/r/t IBD since so many people are desperate for answers).

Anyway before I got off on all those tangents my point was try not to worry too much about what you eat. It may cause your tummy to rumble and you'll have to weigh the pros and cons of that, but I think it is highly unlikely that it will flare your disease itself.

Are you in remission, by the way? That's fantastic if you are, I hope you stay there.
 
Not sure if I'm in remission or not, but I'm so much better than I was. I have the CT scan on Tuesday ( if the plane manages to take off! ) so I guess I'll know more with the results of that. Still on the Pred cos I still had pain in the ileum area, but that seems to clearing since starting on the Mesren too.
Miss Spencer, it's great that your diet can help so much, so good luck getting back on that wagon. I think I'll try meal planning for the week ahead and am going to invest in a little chest freezer so I can cook in bulk a bit more and stock up on home made ready meals for days when the fatigue has set in - or there's not a lot of anything left in our tiny Co-op.
Diesandhur, good luck with the surgeon on Monday. Pre-Crohn's I'd have been amazed at someone looking forward to an operation, but I totally get it now.
 
I've been really busy and tired this week, so haven't felt a lot like cooking. (
I often feel like this.

If not done so already, I suggest you get yourself a blender.

A fruit or vegetable smoothie makes a good filling meal. I often have a pint of smoothie for dinner and nothing else.

And best of all, it literally takes less than five minutes to prepare. I timed myself last night and it took three minutes, and that included rinsing out the blender afterwards.

If you have a fairly powerful blender, you won’t even need to chop the produce first, just throw it in whole and buzz.

I normally use water as the base. But you could also use milk, or soy milk or almond milk or juice.

Even buzzing up a banana and some water could be a meal. Or buzz up an apple to make a sort of mushy apple sauce. Whatever fruit or vegetable you can tolerate really.
 

David

Co-Founder
Location
Naples, Florida
We should have a "Lulled into a false sense of security club". I'd certainly be a charter member. I still don't understand WHY we give into such cravings when we should know better. It's like a battle between what my mind wants and my body doesn't. And of course my mind usually figures out how to win since it knows all my weaknesses.
 
Sometimes you just have to push the boundaries. Sometimes you win a new food, and sometimes you dont.

I'd class myself well into remission. One meal with pork, no problem. Another meal with pork in a couple of day later and I know it wasn't a good idea. Settled back to normal by the next day so no harm, just can't add it back to my known good list. :(
On the other hand we found dairy free chocolate at not too a ridiculous cost that I can eat. :)
Thats how life goes on I think.
 
Ahh Grumbletum! I know this feeling....esp the "subconscious rebellion". I must say, when I'm not flaring, I can pretty much eat and drink whatever I want to (except coffee), which I am very thankful for. But then, sometimes I wonder if it makes a flare up all the more difficult, since I immediately have to go into "flare up" mode and cut out most of the foods I enjoy and love eating.

At times, I then convince myself that it doesn't really matter what I eat, I might as well eat all of those jelly beans, and that chocolate as well, and everything else that I'm craving.... then when I pay for it, I regret it, but for some reason quickly forget the pain again and go into the same cycle. I wonder if I'll ever learn?

There must be some happy medium, because it can't be healthy to constantly be focused on food, miserable because we can't indulge....but so hard if we have to pay for it....
 
One thing I just remembered - I have a friend who had a resection and she still experiences D and IIRC she still has "trigger" foods. Her last colonoscopy was completely clear of inflammation (YAY!). They think it might be because they took out her ileocecal valve, and thus the bacteria that should only be in the large intestine can access the small. But as long as the disease is under control she is pretty happy. So there's one example of symptoms in remission, although her circumstances are mildly unique.
 
That's interesting about your friend, Diesand. The last bit of pain to go was in my ileum area, so I'm guessing if there's been some sort of damage there, trigger foods might still cos problems. Great to hear she is doing well and wish you the same after the resection :)
McStew, I haven't gone back to coffee or decaffeinated tea either. It's like deep down my body knows what a train wreck that would be!And bread or anything yeasty.
But I have such a sweet tooth. I made a big batch of gluten/ sugar free biscuits yesterday and will do some more baking today for when I need my fixes. I use honey instead of sugar and play around with ingredients a bit.
I do enjoy cooking, but it's when I'm tired and it feels like a chore that the junk genie starts whispering in my ear! Finding/dreaming up trigger free meals means I'm very food focused too (that and Pred munchies) but hopefully cooking this way will become second nature after a while.
 
Yes, I agree Grumbletum I think preparation is a major key. A friend of mine has been going on a diet for other health reasons for the past 3 mos and she told me that preparation is the best way to stick. I know myself, when I don't have anything lined up, or don't have(argh...make), or am just too tired...i fall back to eating all those sweets or things that may make my flareup worse. Making nice treats is a really good idea, because, as a sweet tooth, I crave those sweets, so alternatives sound good. My problem is that if I'm in pain on any given day, I can't tell if it's because of my disease, or if it's because of the food I've eaten earlier (or if I'm making excuses for it being the disease). I have a food diary and hope this will help.

How are you feeling since you ate the chocolate cake? Hope the gluten/sugar free biscuits turned out well and do the trick on that sweet tooth!!!
 
I had few rumbles, but wasn't too bad. Not so good today, but I think I overdid it in the garden yesterday. First day of sunshine in month and you feel like you have to make the most of it. Ah well, good excuse to lie on the sofa today and watch Nidal v. Federer :)
Have you been over to the Diet and Fitness forum? There's some good recipes in the Cooking with Crohns section. My personal fave: David's Chocolate Brownies. So easy to make and so yum :)
 
Glad it wasn't too bad. I know what you mean, it's so hard not to take advantage of the sun when it hasn't been out for ages, I'm trying to relax myself too. I've had a look at the forum, and just saw that brownie recipe today. I have a strong feeling I will be making it in the very near future. Thanks. :) Enjoy the match!
 
If you can't trigger an actual flare by diving off the wagon, it sure makes a realistic facsimile of it!!

I've done the same thing, grumble. After being diagnosed, I went completely strict on my diet. No grains, sugars or lactose.
Between that and a run of steroids, by the time I had my colonscopy, my GI tract looked excellent. No signs of anything amiss, actually. In fact, it looked so good, I thought it must be all in my head.
I started eating anything I wanted and have paid for it!
The D came back, the pain in my side came back, the weight loss, etc, etc.

My husband pointed out I'm an idiot and I agreed. ;)
So, I'm back at it. Beyond the immediate pain, there's the potential for serious long-term damage. It's so not worth it.
 
Yea, Erin, I think I've been a bit of an idiot too :ybatty: Got myself into a vicious cycle of not cooking/shopping cos tired, so eating what is easy and to hand, then feeling bad so not feeling like cooking..................... and so on.
My plan now is to stock up the freezer with stuff I can take out on mornings of days that I know I am going to be busy/late home. Trouble is just now, I seem to eat things as fast as I make 'em!
Was bad yesterday, so ate lightly and carefully and feel so much better today. I'm not going to beat myself up if I give in to the odd bit of cake now and then, but mustn't let it send me careening down the slippery slope.
 
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