Has chrons disease drastically changed your diet?

Question

There is a small possibility I may have chrons based on some blood work and other tests. I don’t know anyone personally with chrons disease and from the information I’ve read the diet is pretty restrictive which is devastating to me as I absolutely love food/trying new places etc. I’m wondering for anyone that has chrons what the diet is like and do you still ever get to enjoy eating out at restaurants or having junk food occasionally? If not what do you eat instead?

Answer

I’ve had Crohn’s disease since I was 15, I’m now 43 & have been in remission for many years. I can basically eat whatever I want. There is no specific diet that you have to or even should follow as Crohn’s cannot be controlled or cured with just a diet change. Having said that however you may find that during a flare there are certain foods that make your symptoms worse. 
When I was 15/16 years old & I 1st got sick I did end up w/ a pretty limited diet of what I could eat that wouldn’t cause more pain but that only lasted until I got officially diagnosed & got on the right medication to treat it. There certainly are people who have treatment resistant disease who choose to try restrictive diets to help w/ symptoms (I’m guessing the one you saw was The Specific Carbohydrate diet) I had a period of time where I followed the FODMAP diet as I was having 12 bouts of diarrhea a day but my body wasn’t showing any signs of active inflammation (so no reason to change my medication). My GI doc thought trying the diet would be worth a try & it did end up helping, I followed it pretty strictly for about a year & then gradually started adding things back into my diet. I haven’t had to restrict anything in the last 5 years. 
If you want more information I highly recommend looking into the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. They have: info on all different kinds of treatments available, support groups, & opportunities for joining research studies (I most recently joined a study about how the Covid vaccine works in people with Crohn’s) among other things. I’m also happy to answer any other questions you have, I’ve had it a really long time so I know a lot! :)

Answer

My husband has chrons he hasn’t changed at all and he smokes cigarettes like a chimney.. But he always anytime he ever uses the bathroom takes a 30min-1hour.... every single time every single day... which is annoying but other than that completely fine.... 
and. I’d say once a month he can have bad pains....
I been w my husband since I was 16 ... and he did drugs back than he would be driving a car or walking and literally mid conversations (like if he was spitting u would never even notice) just throw up... like 10x a day he would open car door spit and literally throws up closed door and kept driving... his body would reject anything bad... 
Now that only happens if he goes out to drink... he will literally just puke anything he takes in...

Answer

My brother has Crohn’s disease and his diet hasn’t changed that much. He won’t eat corn now though, he completely avoids wheat breads and pasta. He also avoids nuts and foods with a lot of seeds in it. He gets take out pretty much everyday lol. And still eats spicy food. 
He has been in remission though for quite a few years, with the exception of one flare up after too much alcohol consumption. So he doesn’t drink alcohol anymore. 
Basically, you just have to find a diet that works for you. The diet he was initially told to follow completely wrecked his colon. I’d recommend a food journal to help you narrow down what your safe foods and foods to avoid are. 
Are you on any medication? He had luck with remicade and humira.

Has chrons disease drastically changed your diet?

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