Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Do you suffer from Crohn's/Colitis or IBS. If you are looking for info on how to deal with an anal fissure with these ailments, or just wanting to share your experiences, then this is the place.

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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby cherylk » 14 Sep 2011, 07:10

I much prefer the almond milk to soy. If you had Crohn's, I personally don't think you would be needing Miralax! People with Crohn's often have stomach pain and looser stools. (and diarhea) My gut feeling is that you don't have CD, but I am obviously no doctor. We need better tests for Crohn's and more research about the disease. That's obvious.
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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby seattlesounders » 13 Jan 2012, 03:08

Okay guys some updates -
first off thank you all so much for your prayers and support through this, it's really helped me.
I'm at about 7 months post-op now. In terms of healing it feels like I'm about 80% there. I'm still going to see a Crohns expert in Feb, but ref anal pain I still get a little pain when I sit down unless I use a cushion + sometimes when I walk/ run I get some irritation in the wound area that brings me back down to earth. Can anybody relate to these pains after such a long time? CRS examined me and told me what I thought was a fistula was actually just a skin tag. Could this be the cause of some discomfort sitting down or something else. Thoughts?
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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby seattlesounders » 21 Jul 2012, 00:56

Hi guys,
I wanted to reply back to this thread in case it is helpful to anyone in future. So in Feb i did indeed get a diagnosis of mild Crohns disease in the perianal area. I actually feel good to have some closure and have an explanation as to what was happening. What i have learned is that certain foods in particular increase inflammation in my anal area.
In all it took me 8 months to heal sufficiently that I could sit down without pain, and i wanted to share with others some of the things that helped me heal because i spent hours scouring the internet to find anything that could help. i want to reiterate that if you have slow healing wounds it absolutely does not mean you have Crohns - i'm in the minority. That said I think there are some things anyone can borrow to aid healing in this area. For me these included:
1. A diet that reduces inflammation along the gut and perianal area known as the specific carbohydrate diet. The basic theory is that you starve bacteria that cause an inflammatory response by removing starchy sugars typically found in grains. i have friends that are personal trainers that have also come across similar diets.
2. i took some food intolerance tests, which showed me i react to yeast negatively. Taking that out of my diet was a major healer. In it's place I supplemented diet with blended greens, pear, berries, hemp protein power and other goodness. It took a while to take cereal out of my diet but i immediately felt better.
3. Probiotics - Similar to 1, i found that my gut got better after i picked up a powder to encourage friendly gut bacteria called VSL3 and a fermented milk drink called kefir
4. i also did a vitamin test and found i had seriously low levels of Vit D. Supplementing with this and a high quality fish oil really helped.
5. Tumeric & Ginger - superb healers.
6. Finally Manuka honey really helped lift speed of healing when i was in a really bad way. Def worth looking into.
I want to thank you all for all of the prayers and great advice it def lifted me out of some very hard times, and i wish you all continued healing and strength and patience to get through these challenges!
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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby jr2 » 21 Jul 2012, 08:48

thank you for coming back to update this thread. For years I've benn going round and round with doctors and tests for Crohn's, which have alwys been mysterious and inconclusive. I've suspected all along I probably do have Crohn's. The things you mentioned in your list all mostly make a positive difference for me too, though I have to be careful of how much fruit I eat. I'm so glad to hear you are finally finding some answers and relief. These last 10 months have been particularly agonizing and devastating for me, and hearing these kinds of stories helps so much.
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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby seattlesounders » 21 Jul 2012, 10:50

Jr2 glad to help. Sounds like i was in the same boat as you on the inconclusive tests - what a nightmare eh? You feel relief that the results don't come back positive and yet part of you wishes you had a conclusive result even if it was positive. At my lowest points i was worried that my surgical wounds might not heal and i'd never be able to keep my job, teach my kids sports or even walk properly again. I'm so so sorry you've been going through similar pain. However once you have the condition under control you'll be on a good path.
Interesting that you have to watch the amount of fruit you eat. Are you noticing any types of fruit that make things worse? i notice for example that apple, peach and unripe bananas cause me issues, but pear, nectarine, frozen mango and ripe bananas are fine. I've also found that i need to rotate the greens in my smoothies e.g Arugala, Spinich, Collared greens etc. Any other good tips you've found along the way?
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Re: Crohns treatment effect on slow healing wounds?

Postby jr2 » 21 Jul 2012, 18:03

yeah, the problem with me is the tests themselves make me very sick for months afterward and with my weight being so low now i don't want to take the risk of going through them only to be told i have areas of inflammation and ulceration but these are not definitive for diagnosing Crohn's, which is what I've heard before. I've been on this hamster wheel of being a medical mystery for almost 30 years.
As far as foods, I think people are really different so you have to experiment. Also, for me it's a matter of making sure I don't pile too many high risk foods into any single day of eating if that makes sense?
Like you ripe bananas are okay but unripe are deadly. I rotate fruits through my diet and I just make sure to be careful about quantities. Strawberries, blueberries, mango, pear, nectarine, grapes, oranges or tangerines are the ones i mainly rotate through. Apples are weird. Sometimes I'm fine with them ,other times not. But generally I tolerate them better if they are peeled. Raw greens can be really rough for me, but cooking them makes a big difference. So I don't use them raw in my smoothies any more. I either steam them or saute them and I'm much better. In fact, raw vegetables in general are rough on me so I always cook them. I can't tolerate dairy at all, and it isn't just the lactose because lactose free dairy is still a problem for me. I generally avoid grains, and especially wheat but I do eat oatmeal without trouble. Fortunately, there is almond milk, which seems fairly safe for me.
I tried going vegetarian for awhile but can't really get enough calories in my diet without at least eating some chicken and fish, which i tolerate without any problem. I also can eat avocado, which I love :)
A lot of people say they have trouble with onions and bell peppers but as long as i cook them well i'm okay with those.
Generally I keep my diet very simple and plain. Nothing fancy or complicated. The closer foods are to their most basic form the better my body tolerates them.
I take vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, and i also love the probiotic called Culturelle. i also like one called Florastor. Probiotics are also a really individual thing and i went through a lot of different kinds and strains before finally finding two that don't make me sick, and also seem to help.
I've heard that coconut water is really good for people with Crohn's, so I'm going to try that. I can use small amounts of coconut oil for cooking without a problem so we'll see how that goes.
Good luck to you too, and if I can help in any other way just let me know.
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