The biggest trouble I'm still having symptom-wise with Crohn's is gas & bloating. I was hoping to get some suggestions (even if it's just to be patient and wait for further healing to take place) in case I'm missing something obvious (or not so obvious, for that matter).

I follow the guidelines in the Gas & Bloating Diet while eating the foods on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. That is, I do not eat any cruciferous veggies, do not eat any raw veggies, keep cheese to a minimum, rarely eat anything with tomato, nothing deep-fried, although I do saute some things, etc.

I started having Crohn's symptoms about a year ago, although I have no doubt that years of former frequent ibuprofen use and a really lousy diet (lots of sugary stuff and fast food) contributed for quite awile before my body finally said, "Enough!" and symptoms showed up.

I have been taking 1 tsp. of all three Natren probiotics three times a day since April or so, except while following Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol, when I only take 1 tsp./day. I just (a week ago) started Phase One of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol again, because I've been feeling like I'm teetering on the edge of a flare due to an unusual amount of stress recently. When I consulted my gut, the Wild Oregano Oil is what it asked for. I've been using EFT extensively to try to deal with this stress on an ongoing basis. I also use EFT for the gas/bloating itself...asking my body to gently and in a relaxed manner release it. It does work, but I find myself repeating it pretty much daily, because by bedtime, I'm often slightly to occasionally moderately uncomfortable from gas buildup.

Any ideas?

Thanks so much.

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

Could you post a listing of every single supplement you're taking (including brand name and ingredient list for any supplements that are not recommended by me in LTYG)?

Also, could you write down 2-3 days worth of food you eat?

Then we can do some detective work to rule out a physical cause.

Good idea to start the Wild Oregano again though.

You know, I just had a thought.....the SC Diet is designed to not have any undigested food pass into the colon. This is the mechanism by which it provides relief, because it starves out the bad bacteria. However, then the good bacteria don't have anything to eat either.

So this would then lead to a choice: either stop taking the Bifido Factor (and possibly Digesta-Lac) and see how that effects your colon. Or, begin eating a more normal diet (along with the Bifido Factor and Digesta-Lac) to establish healthy bacterial colonies in your gut.

Also, another thing to keep in mind: in the absence of bacteria in the colon, Candida albicans can thrive, although they too need sugars (carbohydrates) to eat, so don't know if that's a possibility with the SC Diet....

What do you think? Does any of the above produce a "click" with your intuition?

Jini

Jini,

Thank you so much for replying and sharing the benefit of your experience.

You'll recognize immediately from my list of supplements that while I do follow the guidelines for the SC Diet as far as food, I don't as far as supplements. That's what felt right to me.

Okay, so as far as supplements, this is everything I take:

Nature's Way Multi Vitamin Iron-Free Formula, 1 capsule 3x/day

Nature's Way Calcium Complex Bone Formula, 1 capsule 3x/day

Nature's Way Vitamin E Tocopherols, 1 capsule 1x/day

Nature's Way B-50 Complex, 1 capsule 1x/day

Source Naturals Ester-C calcium ascorbate crystals, 1/2 tsp 3x/day, dissolved in water

Thorne Research Ferrasorb, 1 capsule 1x/day

Antarctic Pure Krill Oil, 2 softgels 1x/day (This was from Dr. Mercola's website) - besides the krill oil itself, this contains gelatin, glycerin & water

Carlson's Cod Liver Oil, unflavored, 2-1/2 tsp daily, divided into 2 doses - contains Norwegian cod liver oil & Vitamin E

George's Roadrunner Aloe Vera Juice, 1/4 c. 1x/day (at bedtime)

MucosaHeal, currently taking six capsules daily, divided into four doses (one capsule 3x/day, three capsules at bedtime)

All three Natren probiotic powders, dairy-based, 1 tsp/of each powder, dissolved into spring water, taken at bedtime

Joy of the Mountains Wild Oregano Oil, 10 drops, 3x/day

Here's what I ate over the past two days; of course, there are variations, but this is similar to what I eat every day:

Wednesday:

Breakfast:
Hard boiled egg (1)

Snack:
About 1/2 c. yogurt, flavored w/ 1/4 tsp. vanilla & 1/4 tsp. honey (I make my yogurt with raw milk that I'm able to get from a local farmer)

Snack:
One slice almond-flour bread (almond flour, yogurt, eggs, butter, baking soda, salt & 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese/loaf), spread w/ liver pate (chicken liver & mayo)
Apple, peeled & cored, simmered till soft, sprinkled w/ cinnamon

Lunch:
1 oz. raw-milk cheddar
1 garlic-parmesan roll (almond flour, dry-curd cottage cheese, 3/4 c. Parmesan in entire recipe, butter, baking soda, salt, eggs, water & minced garlic) - Garlic is the one cruciferous veggie I can tolerate - tested after 6 weeks on the IBD Remission Diet
1 can tuna w/ mayo
1 zucchini, peeled, sauteed in olive oil
1 bowl chicken broth, strained

Supper:
1 c. pureed butternut squash, flavored w/ butter, vanilla & cinnamon
1 bowl chicken broth, strained
About 4 oz. chicken breast, baked, flavored w/ olive oil, salt & pepper


Friday:

Breakfast:
Green eggs (Peeled & grated zucchini, butter, two eggs, about 1 Tbsp. grated parmesan)

Lunch:
One apple, peeled, cored & simmered, sprinkled w/ cinnamon
One bowl chicken broth, strained
One fillet cod, poached, flavored w/ olive oil, salt & basil
Three stalks asparagus, steamed, flavored w/butter & lemon juice

Snack:
1/2 c. yogurt
Two pecan sandie cookies (almond flour, butter, pecan meal, honey)

Supper:
Ground beef, seasoned w/ minced garlic, salt, 3/4 tsp. fresh minced ginger (in entire recipe) & 1/4 tsp. ground cumin (in entire recipe)
1/2 c. green peas, steamed
1/2 c. green beans, steamed, w/2 tsp. butter (in entire recipe) & salt

Some days, when I ask my gut what it would like to eat, what I feel it's asking for is not so much something specific TO eat, but rather to AVOID cheese or the almond-flour products or eggs, so I do take breaks from these foods when I feel I need to.

Based on how I reacted to them following the IBD Remission Diet this summer, I think I'd rather stop taking the Bifido Factor, at least temporarily, versus adding starchy carbs into my diet. When I tried eating grain (white, basmati & jasmine rice, millet & quinoa), it showed up clearly undigested in my stool....mushy from being chewed, but no color change. I'm hoping to give these foods another try in the future, but don't feel quite ready to do that yet. In your opinion, how long would I need to go without the Bifido Factor to get a clear reading on how eliminating that affects things?

I think that between first the IBD Remission Diet, two stints on your Wild Oregano Protocol (currently on my second) and now the SC Diet, my yeast is actually much improved. I used to get vaginal yeast infections fairly often and have a fairly thick white coating on my tongue, but both of those seem to be well under control, so I take these as signs that there's a lot less Candida in my colon, as well.

I first began getting symptoms of Crohn's almost exactly a year ago and I've noticed that my "dips" tend to occur about three months apart. So while I've never actually been tested for it, I do strongly suspect MAP, especially since I read in Listen to Your Gut that it has a dormant/active cycle of two to three months. And I only learned about your Wild Oregano Protocol about six months ago, so while I do find it definitely helps me deal with those "dips" when they occur, I know I could have another year and a half or more to totally eradicate this from my system.

As I mentioned, I've been under an unusual amount of stress recently (we're in the midst of a fairly large home improvement project), but I've been trying faithfully to make time every day to use EFT to deal with the stress of that and any other difficult emotions that come up.

Even feeling like I'm a bit "on the edge" right now, I still feel that I've made a LOT of progress from the state I was in when I first purchased Listen to Your Gut. When you used to have diarrhea up to 12x/day and you get down to 2-4 semi-solid to solid bowel movements daily, can actually sleep through the night and have decent energy, you feel pretty good! Each dip seems to be less of a dip...I mean, at this point, my main problem is gas, which is a whole lot better than lots of diarrhea. But I want to make sure I'm not unwittingly doing something to impede further progress...

Hope I didn't provide TOO much detail and I thank you so very much for sharing your time and expertise with me and the others on the forum who have questions.

Nicole

Well, it's been a couple of days since I posted and I had an interesting experience this morning that I'm going to share in hopes that it may resonate and act as a springboard for someone else.

When I woke this morning, my abdomen was in some discomfort and in that kind of hazy, half-awake, half-asleep state, I started doing some EFT. I think the catalyst for how my "session" went was the post in one of Gary Craig's recent newsletters about dealing with small "t" traumas versus "T"raumas that are big, single events. I've had a hunch that stress has been a big part of my problem recently and that's what I started working on first....anyone who's been through a construction project knows the stress inherent in trying to stay both on budget and on schedule and how conflict and tension can build.

Well, anyway, for no particular reason, I went on to do a couple of rounds asking my tissues to release any traumas they'd been holding on to. And suddenly I had a memory of being about eight years old at a grocery market with my mother. It was summertime and she had all five kids with her, as I remember, so as a parent now, I know she was under stress of her own and what happened was quite certainly as much or more about her than it was about me. It seems so small, really, to tell the story. I ate a green grape, which my mother saw me do and she spoke REALLY sharply to me, that I'd just stolen, and angrily ordered me out to the car to wait there while she finished the shopping. You know, I could vividly remember her facial expression and tone of voice and the feeling in my body....my posture...as I walked out of the store. Shame personified.

What was so valuable in this is that I was able to remember it all both from my eight-year-old perspective and to see it from my adult perspective as I did EFT on the memory and its aspects. You see, I knew that for some reason I only felt loved when I "behaved", but I'd never before succeeded in pulling up any specific memories that explained WHY. The fact is, I needed a correction, but the way correction was administered made me feel like there was something wrong with ME, not just something wrong in what I'd DONE.

I'm sure there'll be more, but this still felt like a breakthrough. As my mind and body decide it's time, they'll offer more things up for healing. But for now, I'm really just feeling really refreshed and renewed and very much at peace. (And that includes my tummy!)

It backs up Jini's assertion that if you search, you'll find old "woundings" stored in your body that still need healing. I was puzzled, in a way, because nothing really bad has ever happened to me in my life, no capital "T" traumas at all. That's why the article on small "t" traumas....patterns that over time have as big an impact as one single, hugely traumatic event...opened a door for me.

On the physical side of things, I've had a feeling that's led me to decide to remove cheese from my diet entirely for two weeks to see if that makes a difference. I have a feeling that yogurt is not a problem at all and I have the same feeling about fruit in combination with my meals. Also, when I have a bowl of chicken or other broth, I'm going to have that apart from my meals.

Jini, thank you so much for writing your books. They've been a real source of inspiration and solid information for me. I found Listen to Your Gut on a random Internet search after I'd been sent to a GI doc who told me he suspected IBD, most likely Crohn's, based on my bloodwork and symptoms and wanted to do a colonoscopy to confirm it. If it hadn't been for finding Listen to Your Gut at that juncture, I would almost certainly be on meds, simply because I wouldn't have known what else to do, even though I would have absolutely hated it. And I have a conviction that's bone-deep that I wouldn't be doing nearly as well as I am now had that happened. So my very heartfelt thanks.

Yours truly,
Nicole

Hi Nicole,

Well you certainly seem to be coming along well in your Journey!

Well done with the EFT and thanks for sharing that. After reading your list of supplements and diet, there's nothing in your supplements that should be a problem.

And in your diet, the only thing I would suggest removing and testing is dairy. Raw dairy is usually well-tolerated, but no harm in testing just to see. Also, check whether your parmesan is raw, as that may be the culprit. You also may want to try Natren's yoghurt starter to make your yoghurt and see how you like that.

If removing dairy and/or EFT doesn't provide relief, then cut out the Bifido Factor and Digesta-Lac and see what that does. Then add the Digesta-Lac back in and see how it goes. If all's well, then add the Bifido Factor again and see if you get the same reaction.

It's all testing and experimenting. That's why the quickest way is what you've already learned: Listen to your gut! Then you shortcut most (if not all) of the testing and get straight to the triggers.

By the way, you're very welcome and thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom on this forum - I'll bet you're helping a lot of people through your writing and sharing.

take care,
Jini

Sounds like a plan. (You're right....neither the dry curd cottage cheese I sometimes eat nor the parmesan are from raw milk.) So I'll try cutting out all dairy and then adding back just one dairy product at a time to really test them separately. And I'll keep that in mind about testing the probiotics, too, if eliminating dairy doesn't bring consistent relief.

I'll post my results in a few weeks so that other people might possibly benefit. (Of course, everyone has to do their own testing, but you know what I mean.)

Thanks, as always, for your experience and advice.

Sincerely,
Nicole

Hi Nicole,

I just thought of one other thing - go through your supplements and add up how much magnesium you're taking per day. If it's more than 250mg, that could be relaxing the smooth muscle tissue of your bowel. So then try reducing it and see if that has an effect.

j

Well, I finished testing the removal and reintroduction of dairy from my diet and wanted to let people know how it went, in case some other people may have similar reactions.

Interestingly, I removed the baked almond flour goods from my diet along with the dairy, since all of the recipes I was using required some form of dairy, be it yogurt, cheese or butter or a combination of the above.

My gas problem actually disappeared quite shortly after I began the elimination phase. I was also on Phase One of the Wild Oregano Oil at the time, which no doubt hastened my relief.

When I tried reintroducing about a 1/4 cup of raw milk yogurt each day, I found I was fine with that amount. I found that I can have between one and two ounces of raw milk cheese (the two available to me from the farmer I buy my raw milk from are cheddar and homestead cheese) every other day without any ill effect. I was unable to find a source for raw parmesan, so I tested some pasteurized-milk parmesan on baked spaghetti squash and that I DID produce more gas than usual, although not a painful amount. I found butter to be no problem.

When reintroducing baked goods, I also found a tolerance threshold. I now have one serving of a sweet almond flour baked good per week and that seems perfectly acceptable, symptom-wise.

I suspect that the culprit in the baked goods may be the large amount of honey that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet uses in the recipes. It could be that my previous regular ingestion of honey on a daily basis was feeding candida that then produced excessive gas, even though I hadn't yet experienced the usual signs I associate with candida in my body (white tongue, vaginal yeast infection, etc.). Also, cheese and yogurt are both fermented foods, so that may be why I have thresholds as to how much I can ingest without any symptoms reappearing.

So for further testing, I plan to try making some cookies without any sweetener and then sweeten them with a bit of stevia powder after they have been baked to see if that same tolerance threshold holds.

On a whim, because it had been months since I had tested them, I also decided to test some cruciferous vegetables, as well as salad made with butter lettuce. I got a really pleasant surprise at finding that I can now have broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and scallions without gas. Can't have onions yet, though....oh, well. I'm also able to have salad a couple of times per week and I'm thrilled with that little bit of raw food and the new variety in my diet that my progress has allowed.

In my recent consultation with Dr. Dean, she recommended a magnesium gel or oil that I can apply topically. Based on some symptoms I described to her, she suspected that it's likely I may be deficient in magnesium, even though my supplements contain it. She said that applying it topically would also bypass the gut, so I shouldn't have any of the GI disturbances that high-dose oral magnesium supplementation can provoke.

The magnesium oil that I ordered hasn't arrived yet, but after I've used it for awhile, I'll share my experience with it.

Thank you, Jini, for getting me started on the testing process. I really value your advice and the wisdom and experience that you are so generously sharing with others.

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

It's always really great to hear your stories, because you are so self-motivated.

I remember the time I was able to start eating cruciferous veggies again - what a joy! And don't worry, onions (and large amounts of garlic) were the last foods I could add too, but the time will come!

A great site for stevia recipes is:

http://www.cookingwithstevia.com

I've found that if you bake exclusively with stevia, you can taste the difference. But if you use a mix of a 1/4 honey or 1/2 honey with stevia, then you can get the sweetness without the taste changing too much.

If you find some recipes you like, please post them in the new Recipe forum I set up, if you wish.

Keep up the great work!

Jini

Hi Nicole,

I haven't read this yet, and I don't know how helpful it will be, but here's an article by the world's foremost authority on, well, gas. (If you can believe there IS a foremost authority on the subject

http://archive.salon.com/health/feature ... print.html

Chris

Hi, Chris.

Thanks for the link. The article didn't have a lot of practical information in it, per se, but it was good reading just the same. The writer is quite humorous and my take is: laughter is good for your health!

So thank you.

Nicole

Thank you, Jini, for the website and tips on using stevia. That's great! As I experiment, if I come up with anything that seems to have wide appeal (meaning, passes my kids' taste buds!), I'll definitely share it.

Nicole