SCD diet - does it work for you

I am new to the forum and to IBD (though I have suffered with IBS for the last ten years). As you know, this initial phase of learning you have a disease that you had not even heard about before is confusing and often terrifying. I am thrilled that we can count on one another here to share experience and insight. In this spirit, and having read so many good reviews in other sites about the Specific Carbohydrates Diet, I wonder who among you have tried and whether it has worked.
THANK YOU.
Be well everyone.
G
:blush:

We actually have a thread in the diets subforum about SCD that you may want to browse through. I think many of our posters have tried SCD and other diets like Paleo. They have some great recipes and advice you might want to check out!

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you for the feedback, Clash!

All the best.

I have just started the SCD diet. I was just diagnosed recently and it came as a shock. I am still learning about it and feel just like you sometimes, confused ad even terrified. My biggest hope is that it won't get as bad for me as I see some people have experienced. But I guess you never know. Once it is there, it is there. And I agree with Clash, go take a look at the SCD threads that are already there. I found it quite helpful. It's not the only diet you can do and there is no guarantee that it will work for you since with Crohn's everyone reacts different with foods. It sounds like everything with food is trial and error. I for myself have decided to give it a try because I was overwhelmed with the diagnosis and simply didn't know where else to start and needed some guidance. Hope that helps. Good luck to you

Mattanika,

Thank you! I feel I am in the exact same boat. I have read the SCD thread now and am aware it may not be a "solution" that works for all. But like you, facing this new challenge, I thought I must give it a try given such positive testimonials elsewhere in the web. I am in the middle of a flare so I am not sure I can assess its impact. But I will keep it up. I don't mind the restrictions as long as I can feel well again. I hope you do!! I will rooting for you.

Be well,
G.

What are you eating right now? Are you on liquids only? I was when I was in the middle of the flare and diagnosed. I slowly started with the Chicken and Chiecken Stock from the SCD books. Make sure you read the whole book of Breaking the vicious cylce before yous start! I'm still not totally over my flare but I thought it would be a good idea to get off the liquids only and start eating solid foods carefully.

Yes, I am having only the broth of the chicken soup in the book. I have even refrained from the puree carrots. I am finding it hard to tolerate anything at this point. But I am hopeful things will change after my colonoscopy and strategy for treatment next week.

Hang in there, M! I think we will get somewhere better soon.

G.

I had an initial improvement with SCD but then got sick again.....

Cutting out the yogurt led to an improvement

Going Paleo was the best thing i ever did

I started out on the SCD and I have gotten wonderful results!!! GI symptoms have resolved at this time, although I'm still having joint pain and fatigue. I'm 2 months into the diet. I did have to customize it quite a bit. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you, Katy. I am in the midst of a flare so eating very little: broth and lean broiled turkey patties (can hardly finish one a day). Yet I do have a couple of questions, please.
-After your intro diet, which foods did you add?
- How long before you tried the yogurt?
- can you handle honey? (new studies linked to the low FODMAP diet say it is not a good idea to take it. Some people suggest pure maple syrup instead).
- do you eat SCD legal cheeses?

Thank you! I wish you continued success and even better days ahead.:rosette2:

G.

want_to_be_well said:

Thank you, Katy. I am in the midst of a flare so eating very little: broth and lean broiled turkey patties (can hardly finish one a day). Yet I do have a couple of questions, please.
-After your intro diet, which foods did you add?
- How long before you tried the yogurt?
- can you handle honey? (new studies linked to the low FODMAP diet say it is not a good idea to take it. Some people suggest pure maple syrup instead).
- do you eat SCD legal cheeses?

Thank you! I wish you continued success and even better days ahead.:rosette2:

G.

Click to expand...

1.) My diet is still pretty basic at this point. After the intro, I first added cooked zucchini and baked apples. I started adding other baked meats- chicken, fish, etc. and trying to mix it up by preparing them in different ways (baking, broiling, etc.). I also added bananas as the first uncooked fruit. It was a very slow process. The diarrhea didn't stop until about 6 weeks on the diet, but it did decrease in frequency starting at about 4 weeks. At about 4 weeks, I started adding in some other raw fruits and experimented with some baking with nut and coconut flour. I still have to go easy on the baked goods though, as they definitely cause me problems if I eat too much.

2.) I tried the SCD yogurt right from the start and pretty quickly figured out that it wasn't going to work for me. I cut out the yogurt and I haven't been brave enough to add it in yet. I will probably be attempting this soon. If you are noticed increased symptoms with the yogurt, try stopping it.

3.) I seem to have no problem with honey. I use raw, unprocessed honey. As a general rule, I don't go overboard though because too much "sweet" doesn't appeal to me. Maple syrup is not SCD-legal.

4.) I don't eat any cheese at this time. Again, I was trying it after the intro diet, but it didn't seem to agree with me. I cut out all dairy, although I've recently been using ghee for cooking and I seem okay with that. You may want to look into the GAPS diet protocol for introducing dairy. It actually makes a lot of sense.

Hope that helps.