My first Crohn’siversary

This weekend will mark the one year anniversary of my diagnosis. I think it’s only fitting to sit back and reflect on how amazing my life is and how great I’m doing.

The past year started out pretty rough, as it probably is for all newly diagnosed Crohn’sies (I keep making up name Crohn’s-related words). I was 20 lbs lighter than I wanted to be and scared. It’s amazing how radically different my life is today. The first month on SCD was hard. So hard that when I went back to my college dorm after my diagnosis and starting the diet, I cried when I gave my dad all of my snacks to take home. I used to have mini panic attacks in restaurants when I couldn’t find something on the menu. But with time and support for my family and friends, things have gotten exceptionally better.

This year I think I’ve learned that I can do anything. The reason I have been so successful with SCD is that I know how terribly I’ll feel if I don’t take care of myself. I love chocolate, for example, but every time I want it, I think of the time when I was sick and chocolate burned my esophagus going down. I never ever want to feel that way again.

I’ve discovered my willpower. I have become very disciplined, mostly for the reason stated above. It’s been tough and I think it’ll always be tough, but that’s okay. Life would be boring if there weren’t any challenges involved.

I am so grateful for the life I lead today. I love that I am strong, healthy and 10 pounds heavier than I was this time last year. I hope, readers, that you too are healthy and well. If you’re struggling right now, I hope you find the strength to carry on and find a treatment that fits you.

Quickstats
Day of diagnosis: March 6, 2009
First day on SCD: March 8, 2009
Meds-free for 11 months!
Average weight before Crohn’s: 120 lbs
Weight at time of diagnosis: 98 lbs
Current weight: 111 lbs

Here’s to a healthy 2010

Happy New Year!

I know it’s kind of belated, but it’s still January, so we can still celebrate the new year.

Back at my second home: Athens, Ohio

Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed in myself. I was hoping to continue updating through my winter break, but my season job took over my life. I was hoping my mom and I would cook up a storm and I could write all about it, but it never happen.

Have no fear, readers! I am back. I am going to try to update on a regular basis. It’ll be difficult this quarter with everything that’s going on. It was nice when I was being graded on how often I post.

This year, I am really focused on keeping myself healthy. After last year’s health struggles, I think that this year has to be my year. To help with this I’ve come up with goals for myself. I prefer goals to resolutions because I know resolutions are just made so they can be broken in February. So here are my goals for 2010:

• Drink my homemade yogurt shake every day! I have to admit that I was bad for awhile. I think I went a month without drinking my shake, which really is not good. Overall, I was still okay, but  I had my moments when I was afraid I was slipping back into my sick days. So this year I will drink my shake every day.
• Eat more of a variety. I should just be honest and say “eat more fruits and veggies!” but I think that I also just need more variety. Sometimes I feel like I stick to a few dishes and don’t branch out. This year, I will try to add my variety into my diet. More fruits, more veggies, different dishes.
• Stop wanting what I can’t have. I know the SCD is doing wonders for my health and the food is great. But I’m only human and sometimes I really just want those foods I know are bad for me. I am going to appreciate the delicious food I have and not give into my weakness for certain illegal foods.
• Less stress! I almost wrote “no stress,” but let’s be real. As a college student, there’s no such thing as “no stress.”  In general I’m a bit of a worrier and tend to get stressed out more easily than the average person, so this year, my goal is to chill out. I’m going to try to take things as the come and try not to sweat the small stuff.

This is my tenth month of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and  going strong. I’m not sure how I’m doing weight-wise (I’ll have to check when I’m in Cincinnati this weekend), but I feel great!

I hope you are all off to a great start this year. I’d love to hear your goals (or resolutions if you prefer) and hopes for 2010.

May you all be happy and stay healthy!

The Downside of SCD

I generally try to be a positive person, and I completely 100% believe that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is the proper treatment for me. I also realize it might not be the treatment for everyone. This diet is a challenge. Crohn’s is a challenge in itself, but I guess when you add on an unusually strict diet, you meet more challenges. I don’t think I’ve taken any time to really recognize the downside of SCD. Recently I felt like I was bombarded with some of these issues, so I think it’s time I mention them.

One challenge I’ve had in the now seven months on this diet is social gatherings. In the span of a year and a half  I’ve had or will have around four or five cousins getting married. In addition to that, there’s some family gatherings, friends-of-the-family weddings, and other big social events. One of my immediate fears is that I won’t be able to eat anything (yes, my first instinct is to think about food). It’s hard sometimes in situations where the food is catered or no one really knows about your dietary needs. Even in more every day social situations, I feel stuck. One a recent school organization’s trip to Columbus, the group I was with decided to go to Potbelly‘s for lunch. Now, I had no idea what that was, but I got the idea that it was a sandwich place. Trying not to draw too much attention to myself, I asked one of the officers if there were things other than sandwiches. There are salads there, but as far as SCD-approved salads, there is only one. It wasn’t a very good salad, either. After, maybe ten bites, I couldn’t bring myself to eat anymore and decided I would wait to eat until I got back to Athens. I guess to reason I went along with this is that I didn’t want to be a burden to the group. I didn’t want them to change they’ve dining decision based on my needs. I was stuck because I really couldn’t eat anything there, but I didn’t want to inconvenience the rest of the group.

In an off-shoot from social gatherings, I also get this paranoid feeling that people are silently judging my treatment decision. When I have to explain why I can’t eat bread or why processed meat will hurt me, it seems like people look at me oddly. I recognize that it’s not a conventional way (yet) for treating things, but I always try to explain why it’s so important to me. I feel like I have to make a case every time and defend my choice. There’s a little script that plays in my head, over and over again:

Me: Sorry, I can’t eat that.

Person: Why not?!

Me: Well, I have Crohn’s disease and I’m on this diet that supposed to keep me off medication. 

Person: Oh… okay….

Me: Yeah, it’s a little strict, but it’s keeping me so healthy. If I didn’t try this I’d be paying $200-500 a month on meds and would be taking 14-16 pills a day.

The dialogue varies, but that’s the gist of it. If I just said “I’m on a diet,” I think people would even be more critical of me. They might be thinking, “kid, you weight like 100 pounds, why the hell are you on a diet?” If I’m feeling lazy that day, I might just say I have food allergies and leave it at that. 

As I kind of mentioned before, there is a challenge when it comes to dining out. Sometimes my restaurant options are limited because there menus mostly contain illegal foods. Awhile ago, my mom, completely forgetting about my diet, asked me if I wanted to go to Benihana, which is a Japanese-style restaurant. Their food has soy sauce, rice, and starches written all over them, so naturally, there’s not likely to be anything for me there.  When I’m going out with friends, I had to give them a list of places I can go. Again, it’s like I’m burdening this friends of mine.

Delicious Mint Chocolate Chip from Graeter's

My last real issue with SCD, right now is the fact that I can’t go out for ice cream. This is sad and kind of juvenile, but definitely something I took for granted. I can’t count the number of times in my life when my parents have just taken me out for ice cream or stopped for ice cream on the way home. In my hometown, Graeter’s is the best ice cream you can get. It was always a treat to go to Graeter’s. Nowadays, if I want my ice cream, it’s got to be homemade (and, no, not the Homemade brand… real homemade ice cream). It’s hard having to say no to Cold Stone trips here in Athens, but if I did try to eat it, I’d be in a world of pain.

As I’ve been writing this post, I realized that this might seem a bit whiney or rambley. I apologize, but this has been on my mind, and I think it’s relevant to those trying to gain an understanding about SCD and, I hope, relatable to those who are on SCD. There are sometimes when I just want to give up. I want to go to my doctor and say, “okay, you win. I’ll go on meds.” but then I think about how much I hate meds, how much healthier I feel on this diet, and how it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks, I’ve got to do what’s right for me.

Managing your stress, with or without Crohn’s

Midterms = stress =flare-ups

I was going through my morning routine the other day when I realized that it was about this time last year that I got sick. Last year, I was in almost the same position I am this year: taking 19 hours of classes, two midterms coming up, and a group project, two other projects and a paper due this month. Plus, let’s add on 10 hours of work and a night at The Post every week. Needless to say, I was stressed last year and I’m stressed out now.

I think it’s common knowledge that there is a link between stress and illness. When you’re experiencing high times of stress, your body becomes worn out. Your immune system is suppressed, and you get sick. It’s not surprising that in these times of stress people with Crohn’s also suffer. Stress usually can lead to a flare-up, which is severe inflammation and a reoccurrence of symptoms.

Recently I stumbled across an interesting article about using hypnotherapy to help Crohn’s disease. This article, published by Naturalnews.com, says that researchers in England found that hypnotherapy and psychotherapy improve the treatment of Crohn’s. “Relaxation techniques used in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy were found to give patients greater control over their symptoms.” I found this fascinating but not really surprising. I already know that would I start to stress about something, my stomach starts to hurt, consuming food causes waves of pain through my body, and in general I feel crappy, so this managing stress and alleviating symptoms makes sense. I’m not quite sure I will jump right in to hypnotherapy, but I think it’s important to find means of relieving stress.

It’s not just important for people with Crohn’s to manage their stress levels. We all need to take care of ourselves and work to manage our stress. I found some helpful tips to keep your stress down and to keep you healthy:

• Try hypnotherapy. It’s not a likely treatment. I’m not even sure where to go for hypnotherapy, but it’s worth a shot!
• Take a yoga class. This is easier than finding hypnotherapy. Yoga and Pilates, if you choose to get a hardcore workout too, are pretty popular right now and almost any gym offers classes. At OU, Ping Recreation Center offers a variety of yoga and pilates classes.
• Turn off your phone, laptop, all communication devices. Just for a little while, disconnect from the outside world. Take time to up be alone. Relax, take a nice long, hot shower, or a soothing bubble tub. Taking a little bit of time out of your day to take care of you is important.
• Buy a planner and use it. Don’t try to rely on just your memory. Writing stuff down in a planner helps budget your time and makes sure that you don’t forget anything.
• Focus on living one day at a time. 

Have a great weekend everyone! My homework for you is to do something that you really enjoy. Don’t get overwhelmed by next week’s workload. Focus of yourself and have some fun! I know you deserve it!

SCD Restaurant Dining Tips

After eight hours of non-stop classes and work, I was starving, so I decided to pop into Wendy’s for a hamburger before my next class. Ordering fast food, or any food for that matter, gets kind of tricky, but this time I was sure I had it right. I asked for a double stack, no bread, and ONLY onions, lettuce and mustard. Well, they added the cheese on there too… it wouldn’t be a problem if Wendy’s actually used real cheese, but there are “illegals” in their cheese. I learned a lesson for next time: say NO CHEESE!

When you’re dining out while on the SCD, there are things that should be taken into consideration. If the idea of restaurant dining seems overwhelming to you, have no fear! I’m here to help! I have a few tips that I’ve learned since I’ve been on the diet.

First thing to remember is the Scouts motto: Be Prepared! This means a few things:

• Check out the menu: In the wonderful age of the internet, many restaurants have web sites, and on those sites are menus! If it’s somewhere you’ve never been before, looking at the menu beforehand will ease the anxiety of making a decision while you’re sitting there.
• Snacks: Think about packing your own snacks to bring along. When everyone else is munching on bread, you can whip out a homemade muffin.
• Salad Dressing: If you’re planning to get a salad, it’s a good idea to pack your own homemade salad dressing.

When you’re at the restaurant, remember to stay calm. The menu may look overwhelming, but you’ll find something. Talk to your waiter. Tell him or her that you have special dietary needs and explain your circumstances. To aid your waiter, there’s a restaurant card that easily explains the yeses and nos of SCD. I found the restaurant card on a SCD website for kids with Autism (which I can’t seem to find anymore. If I find it, I’ll post the link). I decided to take the simple card and design my own. Feel free to use this for all your dining adventures. Print it, cut it out, laminate it, and you’re ready to dine like a pro.

If you find something on the menu that sound SCD-approved, ask about it. Don’t be afraid to ask your waiter questions. It’s a waiter’s job to help you out. Most restaurants should have a food ingredients binder in hand for customers with food allergies. I’ve had to look at one at Panera to find something to eat. Surprisingly, there’s not much for SCDers to eat at Panera, but that’s besides the point.

So, my SCD friends, don’t worry if you’re first dining experiences are ordering disasters. You’ll get better at it. It takes patience and practice. You can do it! We all do!

Happy Dining!

The Restaurant Anxiety

If Jack Nicholson and I went to a restaurant together, we’d be set. He’d get the toast and I’d eat everything else!

When I went to Columbus to celebrate a friend’s birthday this weekend, I realized how far I’ve come in the past six months. I found myself sitting at the table at Buca di Beppo feeling calm, collected and ready to order. The restaurant anxiety lingered, but it was nothing compared to six months ago.

Flashback to March: I had just started the diet, and we (it doesn’t really matter who; it happened with everyone I ate out with) would go to a restaurant for dinner. I’d look at the menu and see all the delicious things I could NOT eat. All the wonderful pictures of dishes that were totally illegal seemed to be taunting me. I wouldn’t know what to eat, I’d get really anxious and then eventually, my eyes would fill up with tears. The waiter would look at me like I’m insane when I order a hamburger but ask them to hold the bread or when I say ask for celery sticks to go with my spinach dip instead of tortilla chips.  By the end of the meal, I would have apologized to my fellow diners and the waiter at least 20 times.

Have you ever experienced restaurant anxiety? If you’re on the diet and you know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. It gets better. With practice and going to the same places a few times, you’ll be a restaurant expert. Check back later this week and I’ll provide some restaurant tricks I’ve discovered.