Mustachian Digestive Health and Regularity (with Crohns)

[5pak]

I was originally too embarrassed to ask about this, but after seeing some other posters write about Crohn's and their digestive health, I decided I'd man up and take a shot.

I've got Crohns and take medication to keep it in remission. However, lately, I've been having pretty bad bouts of constipation (have had to take lax twice just to keep things doable). I'm not sure if this is my diet or something else. I'm changing my diet to cut out some of the excess that I think might have contributed (stated drinking a lot of milk after finding out I have osteopenia, for example, eating salads at lunch instead of sandwiches, cutting down on carbs).

But, I really don't want to have to take lax again while I try and suss this out or schedule with my doctor, so I'm looking for a more natural solution to keep thing regular. I've been told that prunes are good, but other than that, I don't really know. Any other Mustachians have similar problems and how did you address them?

[JDM]

My partner has Chrohns, and he cut out gluten and most grains. We mostly follow a paleo lifestyle, and he is doing really well!

marksdailyapple.com

robbwolf.com

Goodluck!

[YeahNo]

J-Poucher here! Had Ulcerative Colitis from age 20-24, turned real bad, had my entire colon removed in 2005. Still have little UC flare ups, but not too bad. Doing better now, just a lifestyle adjustment.

You wouldn't think that I could ever get constipated, but I do. Generally I eat a bunch of fruit, chocolate, and prune juice and that takes care of it for a period of time.

Two years ago I started following Rob Wolf and the paleo lifestyle. Obviously this was after surgery so no going back to fix things, but I could absolutely tell a huge difference almost immediately after I took out all dairy and wheat. I was honestly in shock as I am not usually one that thinks things like this can have a huge impact, but it did.

[Dulcimina]

1)  Paleo type diet with lots of vegs e.g., butternut squash soup or sausage and sauerkraut for breakfast; big salad for lunch; and baked salmon with roasted broccoli for dinner. 
2) Coconut oil
3) Various supplements chosen with help of a naturopath for my specific needs - probiotics, fish oil, vitamin d, magnesium, licorice root (DGL), l-glutamine
4) Squatty potty - haven't tried it myself, but the reviews on Amazon make it sound amazing.  I'm betting a Mustachian could get the same effect with a stool

[JDM]

Squatty potty. +1!

[shelivesthedream]

Oats, fish, water, white rice.

[malacca]

No wheat of any kind. The gluten free thing is really about wheat. The wheat we eat today is not the same as 100 years ago.

Low sugar / carbs. Of course no soda or other shit in a bottle. No fruit juice unless you squeeze is yourself.

No processed food. If it is a can or box, throw it out.

Very low caffeine - and tea only.

No pharma. No Tylenol, pills, or other pharma "health aids" of any kind.

No injections from the supposed "health professionals" - that means no vaccinations.

The medical industry doesn't care about your health. You are a revenue source - nothing more. And even if you have a good, honest physician, he / she has hands tied. You have to take control of your health.

Get plastic / chemicals out of your diet. No plastic storage containers. No plastic bottles. No non-stick pans.

Eat to live, not for pleasure.

Have two friends who went from non-functional to thriving with Crohns. Another one who had MS and now travels the world.

Crohn's is just another lifestyle / industrial food / money oriented medical system disease (actual just a set of symptoms that is called a disease so medical industry can make money off of it).

Everyones situation is different - so the set of symptoms are different - but all are similar. Most of these new ailments revolve around the gut and digestive tract. Essentially you have abused you body / gut and it needs time to heal (and may be permanently damaged).

Put clean stuff into your body and the symptoms generally go away.

Most people don't realize how unhealthy their lifestyles have become. Advertising / industry has changed what we think is healthy. We are flooded with chemical based solution - but the chemicals are what caused the problem in the first place.

Medical industry knows very little about these diseases as there is little money in them.

Follow the above and you will be amazed at how you feel (regardless if you have Crohn's or not).

[scrubbyfish]

Ditto most of the posts above, and adding the book Specific Carbohydrate Diet by Elaine Gottschall. Curing Crohns since the 1930s! Very strong parallels with paleo, etc, already mentioned, but some find the additional transition steps necessary for complete healing.

[Blonde Lawyer]

My mind is blown.  I have had undiagnosed crohns for 10 years.  I went another 5 or 6 in and out of flares and on various medications.  My problem was D not C.  I went 100% gluten free and dairy free and I have been mostly in remission ever since.  I am down to half my old dose of Pentasa and I still take acid blockers but other than that I am managed by diet only.  Healingwell.com is a great forum for people with Crohn's.  I got tons of advice there when I was first diagnosed.  They might have some tips for C.  I try not to drink much caffeine but when I'm backed up tea will usually get me going.  Coffee almost always makes me sick but I would drink a few sips of it if I was really stuck and had to go.  Good luck!

[frugaldrummer]

Magnesium citrate for the constipation.

Second what everybody else has said about gluten-free dairy-free ideally grain-free diet like Paleo or specific carbohydrate diet.

Also look into Low Dose Naltrexone (www.lowdosenaltrexone.org) Extremely cheap easy and safe to take, 2/3 remission rate in 12 weeks in one study (your doctor won't know about this because it's an old cheap off-patent medication so there's no marketing.)

[shelivesthedream]

The OP was nearly two years ago. I'd hope they've sorted it out by now...