New to the forum, new to Crohn's.

Hi everyone!

I'm new here, after having agonised about signing up for a few weeks after actually discovering the forum. I decided to come out of hiding eventually because I figure the more support I have, the easier coping with my Crohn's will be.

I was only diagnosed in July of this year, after having stopped eating completely and with severe abdominal pain, bleeding from where I shouldn't be bleeding and repeated vomiting. I was lucky in that I have private health insurance and within a week of the symptoms getting so severe that I was almost bedridden I was in hospital for a colonoscopy and endoscopy to figure out what was wrong with me.

Biopsy results came back as Crohn's and finally I breathed a sigh of relief - it wasn't cancer as I had feared, because we have a family history of bowel and gut cancer so I was freaking out a little.

I was put on Prednisolone immediately and am being weaned off it at the moment, having been put on Imuran as well which will eventually be the only drug I take, I hope. It's given me back my appetite and I've put weight on, which is good considering I dropped to almost seven stone at my worst and my normal weight is around nine stone.

I've had the usual steroid side effects - acne, hair loss, moon face (but I'm lucky, I have cheekbones so it doesn't look too bad, lol) - so can't wait to come off the steroids for purely vanity reasons. I am incredibly vain about myself so waking up the first morning of the steroids and finding my face looking like a join the dots puzzle was so depressing -.- Thank the various gods for the miracle of make up. I know the acne and the moon face will go away eventually and I'll be back to my old self but it really gave my self-esteem a huge hit to look so weird. But my friends say I'm almost back to normal because I'm fussing about silly things like smudged eyeshadow so I guess I'm ok with how I look now really

I'm a bit worried about what it's going to be like when I'm just on Imuran and have stopped the Pred. I'm scared my stomach pain is going to get worse and I'm worried that my appetite will go away again, so any reassurance from anyone is very welcome!

The other thing is that I'm having not much fun working out what foods I can eat now. Milk is a big no-no for me now and being as I was pretty much a milk addict before my diagnosis, it's hard having to switch from real milk to soy milk. Soy decaf lattes just aren't the same. Ditto for coffee, I can't have proper coffee, I've had to go decaf which isn't so bad. I still get the taste but not the fun caffeine hit. I'm slowly getting used to it. It's probably better for me anyway but I've had to find other ways of getting through my work day now I can't run off coffee. There's other foods as well that I'm finding my gut doesn't appreciate much, mushrooms being one of them and beans being another. It seems a lot of the foods I love are now on the big fat no list. I'll get over it eventually, but I walk round the supermarket these days complaining to anyone that's with me about stuff I can't buy anymore. It's just frustrating, going from being able to eat absolutely anything I wanted to having to restrict what I put in my mouth.

It's been hard as well because I'm a total gym bunny and I love running, swimming and working out, but I've been out of action for so long I feel amazingly slovenly and unfit. I'm worried to go swimming in case I have an 'accident' in the pool and also worried about starting running again in case I am caught out in the middle of the woods or something. Any tips from Crohn's sufferers who run (like do you carry a little emergency kit with you or something?) are welcome!

So that's me. Fairly newly diagnosed, still on steroids, still trying to navigate the minefield of food and drink that will keep my gut happy. It's nice to meet you all!

So glad you joined us and welcome to the crohns club, an elite society nobody wants to be part of If Imuran does its job the opposite of your fears should be realized and you will have less pain and increased appetite and absorption. Even if it doesn't work, don't worry there will be the right treatment for you.

As for food you may want to see a nutritionist who specializes in IBD (ask your GI for a recommendation). You can also keep a food log of what you ate and your symptoms. There is a lot of trial and error with food.

Since you enjoy physical activity like running check out our diet, fitness and supplements forum http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17 and our fitness and exercise support group http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47978 I am sure many veterans can speak to running and even how to cope with swimming and the risk of a possible accident. I wonder if they make a bathing suit waterproof diaper thing. No clue but sounds like a good idea.

Thank you for the welcome, definitely we are an elite club that nobody wants to join, lol.

I have a nutritionist but we're both a bit lost as she's never worked with someone with Crohn's before so she's gone to see an IBD expert and we're working together on my food. It's hard getting the balance of what won't upset my gut while still giving me the energy to run or work out. Sports nutrition meets Crohn's. The outcome could be interesting...

I'll go and check out the diet, fitness and supplements forum. I'm sure some of my fears are totally unfounded and that the answers I seek are really quite simple but being new to the condition is a little scary and it is a bit like flailing in thick mud at times.

Thanks again! I will go and have a proper look round now

Hope you find those forums helpful. Feel free to start a new thread or participate in any existing. You can also search keywords by forum to try to find the specific topics like swimming etc.

I'd urge you to try to at lest get a consult from a nutritionist who specializes in IBD. Your GI or local CCFA chapter may be able to assist or even someone on the forum.

Avoid salad,coleslaw,raw veggies,greasy and oily food bizarre that healthy options can be bad for crohns, bland your diet out for a while till things settle treat alcohol with caution lager is nightmarish for me.if your desperate for veggies,we all know there good,make soup(stock cubes only) cooking them well and blending them,any kind of fish is generally o.k .be a bit anal about taking your tablets and meds same times as possible try not to read the leaflets with them as you,ll be getting bloods regularly from your dr.try to avoid stress difficult I know,crohns reacts badly to it.when you feel better exercise helps don,t know why just does.good luck