Hesitant to try SCD

So my friends and family are always encouraging me to change what I eat/try different diets. I am hesitant because with such a restrictive diet seems to come a lack of normalcy, need to explain in social settings, etc. But at this point I am SO tired of this I am willing to try anything.

My situation may be a little different, which is why I have been even more hesitant to try SCD/Paleo/etc.

My biggest complaint is and has always been my ENERGY. or lack thereof. I am literally EXHAUSTED all the time. I always tell my doctor that I can handle the stomach pain, D, etc. if I just had the energy to get up and live a normal day. I am mid flare at this point, so there is some stomach pain too, but lack of energy/ability to concentrate is a much bigger concern. It's seriously affecting my job. I'm dealing with the medical side--trying to get Iron levels up since obviously anemia is making me more tired as well, but want to help myself as much as possible. I'd love to hear other people who suffer with chronic fatigue and if dieting has been able to help that. It's not as black and white as eat bad food=lots of pain, eat good food=feel fine. I just feel like crap all the time, so it's hard to associate anything with food I eat, or whether adjusting what I eat would even help at all. I do have active Crohn's, so I guess feeding my body better would help, but it just doesn't seem as obvious since my pain is more all over rather than stomach central. I don't know if this even makes sense, I can't concentrate anymore.

Thank you for any advice on fatigue and dieting. I don't want to give up eating the foods I love if it won't result in less fatigue basically is what I'm trying to say.

Hi there. There are some people here that have done well with the SCD. KWalker is on this diet, you may want to chat with him. He know a great deal about the diet. Tag Kwalker. your it... ha ha ha

The best way to find out is to give one of the diets a trial for a month or two. I would guess that should be long enough to know if it is working to help improve your fatigue or not.

If wanting to try some easier first, I've read a few testimonials about simply avoiding wheat helping some with fatigue.

"Depression and chronic fatigue . . . gone!"

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/03/depression-and-chronic-fatigue-gone/

Can your doctor give you a B12 shot? I am going through a flare right now too. The B12 really helped, I also started taking a multivitamin and take and insane amount of vitamin D. I can't really say that I am on totally SCD since I also do Paleo. However, I do notice that I have more energy, sleep better, and feel better overall when I stick to these diets. Hope you feel better soon.

watch the video in the sticky at the top of the SCD/paleo forum.

Totally recommend Paleo/SCD/GAPS, but you have to try it for yourself to see if it works for you.

My son is on the SCD and he is having great success. He is 11 so he knows all about tough social situations. His energy is at least double what it was before SCD. The thing many people don't realize is that SCD is not supposed to be strictly followed for the rest of your life. You are supposed to follow it strictly for a time period (the author suggests 1-2 years, I believe). This lets your body heal and resets the bacterial balance. Then, you can see what your body can tolerate. Most people can add in some other foods like potatoes, white rice, etc. Many can go to a basic dairy and gluten free diet and be ok.

I'm exhausted all the time too. I prefer the exhaution to the diarrhoea though!

Trying restrictive diets did impact on my freedom to eat socially. I might have kept them up if they'd worked though. They didn't help any of my symptoms. I'm exhausted whatever I'm eating! I found it near impossible to maintain a healthy weight on these types of diet. If you're underweight that can contribute to tiredness, though I'm far too tired at a healthy weight as well.

I think the only way you'll know if it helps you is to try it for yourself, like Beach says. You can go back to your favourite foods and social eating at any time if the diet isn't working for you.

I have had Crohn's ileitis for coming up on 15 years, and have not yet had surgery. However, this year i had pretty much given up all hope of avoiding it. I was tired, in pain constantly, and kept getting blockages. I lost 30 pounds in about three months. Out of desperation i tried the Scd diet a couple months ago. i do have to admit it felt overwhelming to try the scd.

Well, I now feel INCREDIBLE! I have a ton of energy, and my lrq, which has been tender for 15 years, finally feels back to normal. My stricture seems like it has opened up completely. I am at the point right now, that I am not in the least bit struggling to stay on it. I WANT to stay on it, because i feel so good. My whole perception of the relationship between food and my life has changed.

During this time, ive made many mistakes, but havent knowingly cheated. I started feeling better 2-3 weeks after going on it.

I highly encourage you to try it. What do you have to lose?

I think it might be best to ease yourself in. I stopped eating gluten a few months ago and I found that my energy improved so much - I didn't even know I'd had brain fog until I stopped eating gluten. I also stopped having D! Docs told me that it wasn't due to an intolerance but rather due to a 'lessened carbohydrate load,' but then my question would be why even a cracker makes me feel flarey! The SCD used to look very unpleasant and difficult to me - now it really doesn't seem that bad. I think that cutting out gluten is the big first step - when you get more used to eating a diet higher in fats, protein, and fibre (careful!) due to the elimination of lazy filler foods like crackers and sandwiches, cutting out grains and other sugars feels much easier. There is also some wonderful baking to be done on SCD. If I recall, the blog Comfy Belly has some great SCD recipes. I made some very yummy blueberry muffins a few weeks ago - can hardly tell the difference .

The diets of vegetarians and vegans have always been restrictive and go against the "norm" of most social functions/settings, but they never seem to have much of a problem (if any) of explaining, and even insisting, on the fulfillment of their dietary needs/preferences.

Same with those who suffer from various allergies. Restaurants and banquet facilities have gotten used to patrons making specific dietary requests. It's become fairly commonplace.

Thanks everyone. I've decided to take it slowly and not make any big changes at first. Right now I've cut out dairy and started juicing (in addition, not in substitute to meals--just to get more vitamins). I just don't have the energy to focus on something as strict as SCD right now. Thanks for the advice!!

Yep. I've been vegan for 13.5 years and I either eat before I go out, take a dish, or just eat when I get home. It's not a big deal. A lot of food is vegan by accident, so I can almost always find something to eat and people are usually very nice about it.

mcate238 said:

Thanks everyone. I've decided to take it slowly and not make any big changes at first. Right now I've cut out dairy and started juicing (in addition, not in substitute to meals--just to get more vitamins). I just don't have the energy to focus on something as strict as SCD right now. Thanks for the advice!!

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I know exactly what you mean. I tried the scd out of desperation really when i was at the brink of needing a resection. No energy, sick all the time, blockages and pain regularly. It was tough, but worth it.

I'm not saying you should try it now (it took me 15 years with crohn's to be ready to try it), but i will say that if and when you are ready to try it, don't discount the diet until you have stayed strictly on it for a month or so.

Good luck!