Need eating tips for someone w/Crohn's & starvation mode met

weaklink109

I am trying to offer some advice to a co-worker who has issues with eating due to the problems Crohn's Disease is causing her. Because of her low calorie consumption, her body has been in starvation mode for years, and after pregnancy, she has been unable to lose any weight.

She exercises regularly, but dreads eating because of the after effects. I have my doubts about her doctor, as he just told her to eat something every two hours while awake to increase her calorie intake, but said nothing about WHAT that should be.

This morning, she went to breakfast with some others from work and forced herself to have a Burger King Croissant sandwich:noway: of some sort and was miserable and bloated all day.:grumble: I explained to her that her body was not used to digesting something with that much fat in it, so no wonder it rebelled.

I don't know much about Crohn's except that it can make life miserable if it is not controlled, and I would like to be able to offer her some good nutritional advice, as she has THREE problems.

1. Crohn's physical effects resulting from eating.
2. Sluggish metabolism due to ongoing shortage of calories consumed.
3. Anxiety associated with eating, which makes it even more difficult to eat anything, good or bad.

Thank you my fellow MFP'rs for any insight you can offer. I know we have some Crohn's sufferers on the site and there may even be a post somewhere on the subject, but I can't recall where I saw it.

Thanks for any information you can offer. Web resources would be good also.:flowerforyou:

BTW I won't be able to check back on this 'til Thursday afternoon, so I am not ignoring you if you post any questions to be answered.

blakgarnet

my aunt has chrone's disease and she's not allowed to eat a lot fo veggies due to the high fiber content. raw ones are worse than cooked. she is also on several medications to help her with the disease. If your friend isn't on medications to help her, then I would suggest talking to another doctor as this may be something which would help her feel better. Her doctor should also be giving her tons of advice on nutrition (my aunt's doctor does and is very strict with it).

PJilly

This might have some useful info:
http://www.crohnsandme.com/crohns-lifestyle-tips/nutrition.asp

usavlw

Personally if I was in her position I would find a specialist for her Crohn's, because if the Crohn's is not controlled serious complications could occur, see a dietitian or nutritionist and consider trying weight gainers shakes in the mean time. Weight Gainers shakes are made for body builders and are high calorie and loaded with nutrition.
She doesn't need to start with a full serving of the shake even half a serving can have as much as 500 calories and 2 grams of fat…
Example… http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/4ever/wheyiso.html

The weight gainers might help replace some of what she is not getting currently in her diet and she may feel better and help control some of her symptoms.

Check out… http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gainers.htm …as an example
http://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/crohns-disease/crohns-disease-complications

______________ I can sympathize with your friend______________

Back in 1994 I had my gallbladder removed and as soon as I could start eating solid foods I had similar symptoms as Crohn's and massive heartburn to boot. Within a few months my doctor diagnosed me with IBS and Acid Reflux. Then my Dr. started me on various medications till I found one that worked to help control my symptoms with IBS and Acid Reflux.

The medication that worked best for me is called Carafate. Carafate is an anti-ulcer medication.

If she had tried Carafate this rambling of mine probably won't help.

Some of the side effects of Acid Reflux are esophageal erosion, stomach erosion, nausea, and burning of my stomach. The medication Carafate is prescribed to help with stomach ulcerations and helps to repair the lining of the stomach and control the digestive juices minimizing the acids from eating away at my stomach lining. The medication helped to control the stomach acids which in turn domino effect occurred by reducing the irritation to my digestive system and considerably lessened many of the problems I was having with IBS and Acid Reflux.

Granted, it is not a complete cure but the medication allowed me to live a moderately normal life and find better ways to cope. It has taken years of trial and error to manage the symptoms of IBS and Acid Reflux to a comfortable level. I no longer take carafate except in extreme cases. Instead I use regular antacids to control symptoms.

But the medication is not the only way I control the symptoms. I eliminated problem foods and eat every 3 hours. I have little problems with symptoms unless I eat food on the NO-NO list or I go to long between meals and snacks.

Your friend needs to be more pro-active in her quest for relief. It sounds like her Dr. is either unknowledgeable or passive about her disease. And stop eating take take-out and high fat foods that exasperates her problems.

Good luck!- VW

weaklink109

Thanks for the responses. I will pass them on. I have encouraged my co worker to register on the site, so if she does, she may respond directly on this thread with more questions

Thanks, again!!:flowerforyou:

July24Lioness

I have a couple of family members with Crohn's Disease - my aunt being one of them. The burger king croissant she had, it wasn't the fat in the meat that made her bloated and miserable. It was the wheat in that croissant.

My aunt does so much better eating a very high fat and moderate protein plan and limited veggies and fruits, almost no grains............

I agree with the poster that stated that your co-worker needs to see a specialist.

I am trying to offer some advice to a co-worker who has issues with eating due to the problems Crohn's Disease is causing her. Because of her low calorie consumption, her body has been in starvation mode for years, and after pregnancy, she has been unable to lose any weight.

She exercises regularly, but dreads eating because of the after effects. I have my doubts about her doctor, as he just told her to eat something every two hours while awake to increase her calorie intake, but said nothing about WHAT that should be.

This morning, she went to breakfast with some others from work and forced herself to have a Burger King Croissant sandwich:noway: of some sort and was miserable and bloated all day.:grumble: I explained to her that her body was not used to digesting something with that much fat in it, so no wonder it rebelled.

I don't know much about Crohn's except that it can make life miserable if it is not controlled, and I would like to be able to offer her some good nutritional advice, as she has THREE problems.

1. Crohn's physical effects resulting from eating.
2. Sluggish metabolism due to ongoing shortage of calories consumed.
3. Anxiety associated with eating, which makes it even more difficult to eat anything, good or bad.

Thank you my fellow MFP'rs for any insight you can offer. I know we have some Crohn's sufferers on the site and there may even be a post somewhere on the subject, but I can't recall where I saw it.

Thanks for any information you can offer. Web resources would be good also.:flowerforyou:

BTW I won't be able to check back on this 'til Thursday afternoon, so I am not ignoring you if you post any questions to be answered.