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Stuck

I am new to this forum and I am a 21 year old girl, diagnosed at 16 with Crohn's. I had a terminal ileum resection a few months after i was diagnosed and remicade and imuran weren't working. I am convinced that my flare ups are triggered by my sensitivity to antibiotics because i was given the same "z-pack" for sinus infections twice, and both times caused huge flare ups, the most recent time was about a year and 3 months ago and I'm still dealing with it.

I wanted to see if anyone else has constipation as a symptom instead of diarrhea and possibly a candida or other yeast infection as the cause? I'll just get so fed up because i have no idea what's really going on in there, so I'll just defiantly eat more than I know my belly can handle, on purpose, because i'm just so tired of following rules (like a normal-sized meal as opposed to a crohn's sized meal). Then I just get even more constipated and start all over the next day. I do go about once a day but very small amounts and it always feels incomplete. how do I get back to eating what I know is going to keep me in balance? Soft foods are so-ooo boring! I've been doing the low carb thing for nearly 3.5 months now, and i was doing really well, getting lots of energy back, but now I'm losing control and getting more fatigued and yucky again as I've added foods back in (maybe I added things back too fast). Either way, I'm really stuck down there.

Does anyone know any foods that would help soften things up? Fiber pill things just get me more clogged up. It seems like I'm constantly dehydrated even though I'm drinking a normal amount of water...I'm thinking I could try eating a lot of apple sauce or something? what other soft things are good?

Thanks for reading. I'm glad to be able to talk to other people because I don't know anyone who has crohn's disease except for me.
 
Hi Penny and welcome

I hear ya girl!! I have had D in the past but since I have 'flared' recently for the first time I was really quite constipated and, while I'd rather have that that the explosive stuff, it's not nice either. Seems that while constipation is not the most common thing for crohns there are some of us who have it that way.

I've got crohns only in my ileum so large bowel is ok except a bit sluggish. I am finding that I am eating fairly normally, but with low fibre due to stricture, and poo regularly but still feel a bit blocked some days, like i haven't finished going and everything feels quite full still.

The stuff that is helping me is called Lactulose here in NZ but may be something else where you are. It is like a sugary syrup that doesn;t have instant effects but what it does is it slows down absorption of water in your bowel so acts as a 'softener'. I find it works well for me as it is gentle. perhaps try and get hold of something like that?

As for candida, i am convinced that has been a major factor in my crohns. I am now taking a probiotic every day and cutting down on complex carbs too.

However, i am still on prednisone, so while everything is feeling pretty good, I am hoping it stays that way with the taper!

Shaz :Flower:

Good luck and let us know how it goes - or how you are going!!
 
Magnesium is a natural laxative and it will also help to keep your bones strong. Magnesium oxide is usually the form for softening stool.

Fish or Krill Oil does have a slight laxative effect in some people, and is a good Crohn's supplement anyway, being antibacterial and an anti-inflammatory.

Yes, yeast certainly is not going to help anyone with Crohn's. It weakens the intestinal wall and competes with good bacteria. I feel it is one of the main precursers to many Cancers, although that is at odds with modern medicine. Carbs are not always able to feed yeast. Colored vegetables are carbs that yeast cannot really use, or parasites for that matter. Grains are the enemy for the most part, so limiting them is always a good idea.

I think the idea that you have to be 100% with your diet is unrealistic, but you do have to eat well a majority of the time. If you use a sweetener, try to substitute Honey for sugar. There is no difference calorie wise, but Honey is antibacterial and sugar is not. There are many small steps that can get things going in the right direction.

I try to eat throughout the day, and have no huge meals. It helps keep my weight down and is easier on the guts. When I go to work, I pack my lunch with good food, as I will eat what I have. Mostly non carb food, carrots and any fruit or vegetables that I do not hate. I changed this over time, in small steps. I am not one that can change over night, but can over time.

Good Luck

Dan
 
One other idea I have been tossing around lately is poisoning carbs. What I mean by that is making high carb foods useless to yeast and bacteria.

It goes like this: If you are going to have mashed potatoes, mix in Garlic and maybe some Oregano. Garlic and Oregano are anti-yeast and antibacterial. Sure you had some carbs, but Garlic is water soluble and should, in theory, render the carbs poisonous to the bacteria and yeast in the gut. Oregano also, although i am not sure if that is water soluble.

I am not recommending eating potatoes as a staple, but if you are going to eat them anyway, make them poisonous to the things you are trying to reduce. You can also have Garlic Bread instead of regular bread.

I have not put this into practice yet, but is just my current line of thinking.

Dan
 
I don't think my constipation is because of my stricture as this is in the small bowel and the constipation is in the large bowel, surely? Anyway the syrup aimed at the large bowel definately helps :)

I found that when I started the steroids I was peeing ALL the time and feeling really thirsty. Now that I am typing this I forgot to check if you are on steroids, but thye could be contributing to your dehydration.

But a glucose check may be worthwhile.

Shaz
 
Thanks for the replies! I am not on steroids right now, but I do have low blood pressure and low blood sodium levels and i do pee all the time! It has been getting a little better lately, but I used to have to get up 3-5 times a night to go. And it would be so sudden during the day that I almost peed myself multiple times trying to find a place that would let me use the bathroom ha!

It sounds like I have a similar situation to Shaz--I do think i have a stricture, since too much fiber just gets stopped, and I can feel it really tense up after I eat, but I don't think it's in my colon. Probably around the scar tissue from the resection, like Shantel said. But.. i haven't had a colonoscopy in about 5 years. My doc hasn't suggested it so I'm avoiding it! Out of all of the procedures it was def the worst. It was like they purposely pumped me up with air while i was asleep or something, haha!

Shaz--I used to take miralax, which I think is similar to the lactulose, sounds like...and that worked well, but since I have been trying to limit carbs and sugar, I was afraid to take it since I saw that there is some sort of sugar in it? I didn't want that to create a surge of bacteria growth. Also, Dan said Honey is antibacterial--that's interesting. I was remembering that honey is supposed to "soothe the intestines/soften stool,'' according to the acupuncturist I went to a bit ago, but I wasn't doing it because of the low carb thing. Maybe i will try it, though.

Probiotics--I've definitely been obsessing over them lately, trying to figure out all the ways to get them in and keep them in, and i posted about this on another thread, but I am super interested in "prebiotics"--foods that supposedly encourage an environment for growth of probiotics. An article I read in a magazine said that even certain whole grains can be prebiotics, so I have this idea that whatever bacteria strains are the strongest in your system are the ones that get to feed off the most accessible carbs (sugars, grains, alcohol). in other words, grains can feed the good bacteria too, but with certain people, the candida are the ones that get to them first. The only experimenting i've done with this idea is that a few months ago when i was feeling much better, it happened to be my 21st birthday and I decided to drink quite a bit ...that night before I went to bed I took this "primadophilis intensive" by nature's way, it comes in a little packet. Anyway, the next day i woke up with a ton of energy, no hangover whatsoever, and a really healthy perfect poop. WEIRD. This hasn't really happened since (I tried it again, and i started getting constiptaed again..). I've stopped drinking all together for fear of accidentally giving the candida a huge all you can eat buffet, but I may try just a little bit again when I feel safe doing it (not prob gonna happen for a few months at least)
 
Oh yea, Dan, what form would I take magnesium oxide in? A pill? Is it the same thing as magnesium citrate? (I just googled it..seems good)
thanks!
 
Mag Oxide is in pill form and you can just get Epsom salt, and mix it with water. Same thing.

Mag Oxide has more of a laxative effect but is not absorbed as well. Other forms are easier absorbed, so it depends what you are after. I take Mag Citrate since I am trying to absorb it.

Dan
 
He again,
My understanding of the lactulose syrup is that it is a SYNTHETIC sugar, so may not necessarily feed the bacteria.

But anyway, I expect if a little sugar makes you go when you are constipated then it is doing more good than harm eh?

I'm trying to cut the carbs too for similar reasons to you. hard to do! I had a dietician appt today and it was a complete waste of time. they told me I HAD to eat carbs to put weight on. They didn't seem remotely interested in the car/sugar-candida connection with Crohns. Their whole concer was with weight and nothing else - sheesh!

When I told them about the SCD they had never heard of it and demanded 'proof' which of course I couldn't give them - these people are completely closed minded I found and will not be going again!

Ooh that turned into a little vent :ymad: - sorry!
 
Oh, man. ommgg..I feel you! I've gone to a few dietitians and plenty of closed minded docs with the same result! Soo frustrating when it's just you and them in the room, but they are the ones in control, telling you what to do even if you don't agree... One of them asked me "do you like cake, or candy?" HA!!! I just laughed at her. A nutritionist! She was only concerned with weight as well. For putting weight on with the low carb diet, though, I found coconut butter in a natural foods store, which has plenty of calories. It does have some sugar in it but it's from the fruit, no added sugar, and I read that coconut has an acid in it that fights candida. It tastes really good, too! :) Also coconut milk to put in smoothies, and avocado? Just a couple ideas..!
 

farm

Captain Insaneo
I have constipation as a major symptom. And I gain weight very easily. I have been told, according to my blood work that my body goes into a defensive mode when I have a flare and trys to store everything I eat as fat because even though I eat enough my body feels "starved" during severe flares.

Which is kind of opposite of most Crohns folks.
 
they have me on kristalose powder once a day but im not sure if u are there yet you just mix it with water. 3 tablespoons of mineral oil a day in a glass of juice is what they had me on b4. asl you gastro doc, i stay away from all fiber no whole wheat bread
 
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