Those who've kicked Chron's Naturally

[westondw]

I've read a lot online about people who've kicked this Chron's issue naturally. My daughter has been trying but we think there are also some other outlying issues that the docs haven't found. It's tough. It's tough on us, and it's truly tough for her. A teenager with this is not a good thing. The pain in her stomach becomes unbearable. She doesn't want to eat, she is losing sleep due to pain and running to the bathroom...it's non-stop.

She was placed on Amitriptyline today (10mg) dose. She'll start taking it tonight. I hope it helps the pain. In the meantime I'd like feedback from those who have nipped this issue once in for all...the natural way if possible. If you required meds to help you back to normalcy, what are they? Anything you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

I'd love to see my daughter acting like a normal kid again instead of running off in pain to the bathroom for the 5th time in the past couple of hours.

[jackdup]

This may sound too simplistic but eating Activia yogurt every night has been a huge help for me. Your daughter may be more severe than I was but it is easy to try. Give it at least two weeks. I am much older but have had several major flare ups where I lost beteeen 15 and 25 pounds and would gain most of it back once it went into remission. The last flare up I had did not seem to want to go into remission. The symptoms got some better but could not put weight back on and my bowel movements were always lose and very watery/runny. This went on for about a year when I saw an ad on TV for Activia saying try it for two weeks and if it doesn’t improve your digestive system, or something to that effect, we will refund what you spent on it. I can’t remember specifically what was said and I don’t think they used the word digestion but did mention that it should help the gastrointestinal system or something like that. I thought I would give it a try and expected I would be able to get my money back after two weeks but after about 10 days saw some definite improvement. I continued taking it and things continued to improve. I then stopped taking it to see if it was a coincidence and after a couple of weeks some of my symptoms started returning so again started taking it. I have about a quarter of one of the large containers every night before bedtime and I have not had a flare up for several years now. I heard a doctor on the radio a few months ago that specializes in Crohn’s disease and he mentioned probiotics, which is what is in Activia, and said it seems to help some people but not others and they are not sure why. A person really has nothing to lose by trying it for a couple of weeks and hopefully it will help her as much as it helped me.

Good luck and I hope it gives her some relief if you do decide to try it.

[willow24 Administrator]

It all depends on the severity of disease. Mild disease can mean no medication is required except for flares when a course of steroids can be enough. Severe disease means that by taking no medication you are at risk of severe ulceration, perforation and sepsis.

Crohns cannot be cured by a certain food, but certain diets etc can help relieve symptoms in some people

Try your daughter with a low residue diet - white bread, rice, boiled potatoes, white fish and chicken (without bread crumbs/batter) This diet is practically fibre free and really easily digested so means bowel doesn't have to work so hard. This diet cannot be used for longer than a week tho as its nutritionally poor, it might be enough to help rest the bowel tho and help reduce the pain

What other meds is she on. Amitriptyline is used for neuropathic pain so it wont actually help with pain from ulceration or the perstalsis of the inflammed bowel. It is used more for nerve damage caused by scar tissue.

When she is feeling stronger it might be worth trying intolerance diets, like dairy free or gluten free. Whilst the dont work for all, some people find it helps their symptoms. For me I find a low fat diet works, I only have to have a high fat meal or rich cream sauce etc and it effects me for 48 hours

[westondw in reply to willow24]

Thanks. She's currently on the diet to find out what she may be sensitive to. Her mom has a bunch of food allergies so I'm sure she's got some as well which will make it even tougher to find out what is going on overall. She's got constant pain and that is why they've put her on the Amitriptyline.

I would do the Activia thing that the gentlemen above mentioned but I think she may be lactose intolerant as well....Lord knows we're trying everything. I was really hoping that someone found that one thing that we haven't tried and it worked for her.

[willow24 Administrator in reply to westondw]

Bless her, can the GP not give her some steroids to help. I dont agree with them long term but a short course might help gt over the worse of it. Stress is also a major accelerant to a flare up, so trying to not be in stressful situations or worrying about things will help - although that is easier said than done

[Cdaisydoo in reply to westondw]

Have you tried the pre and pro approach? That’s what yoghurt is for the friendly bacteria.. so a probiotic may help?

Prebiotics like bananas and a ton of other fruits and veg, which can be hard for crohns but you are in the elimination process with the diet.

Ive not gone out of my way to read other success stories with a natural method but all you can do is try.

Your poor baby! Its a terrible thing to suffer and having to watch it is grim.

Luckily for her she has parents who are understanding and trying to do anything to help. That’s what matters and that’s what she’ll remember.

[ChelseaB]

When my son had his first big flare at 14/15 years old, he went on the Modulen IBD liquid diet for 8 weeks. It was tough going but it worked for him; he noticed the difference after a couple of weeks which motivated him to see it through. They tried him on Azathioprine after that which he reacted badly to so we gave up on the medication as he felt back to normal with a plan to revisit this when he next had a flare. Four years later, he is having his second big flare (calprotectin at 1365). Modulen has improved things again but it has not induced remission this time. He has been reluctant to go 'the heavy meds' route up until now but we are also mindful of the longer term issues that prolonged inflammation can cause so we are exploring those to completely clear the inflammation that is rumbling on. He is 19 and working full time so he needs to keep well and not slip back to how he was 8 weeks ago, in pain, unable to eat, anaemic and with no energy. I am reading as much as I can on how diet changes can help with auto-immune conditions as we have a variety of them in my family. I do have a sense that with the doctors help we are treating the symptoms, but with diet we may be able to tackle the cause more. If I have any great success, I'll post what, if anything, has helped.

I am sorry to hear your daughter and family are suffering with this as well. I do remember it being a strain at the start, feeling quite powerless to help other than rubbing his back, running warm baths and battling with GPs to get him seen by anyone that could help. It seemed relentless, not the like the short lived coughs and colds I was used to dealing with and school were kind but never really understood the full impact of it on his life.

Anyway I hope you get to the point where your daughter feels normal again soon; it will happen, it's just a case of when.

[westondw in reply to ChelseaB]

Thanks. She hasn't been placed on any liquid diet yet but she is on a very strict diet at this point. We try to make sure she's follows it to the T but you know how teens will be when not in sight of a parent. I'm sure she's not following it 100% when out of sight. Good luck with your 19 year old. I'm hoping that we can nix this asap before graduation college etc...