Hi all you IBDers doing the Paleo Way.

I've seen several of you mention eating paleo to control
this disease from time to time when I skim through the
messages, so I thought I'd see how many of you are "out
there" and try drawing on some of your experiences.  I have
a few questions, but if I may bore you first with a brief
background...

Self-diagnosed over three years ago, (because conventional
medicine brushed me aside - I think they sensed I didn't
like "them" anyway) I intuitively began researching the
evolutionary human diet.  An individualized variation on the
type O diet ultimately lead me here, since paleo was more in
line with my allergies and intolerances (starchy stuff,
sugars).  Eating a modified IBD-style paleo diet has done
wonders in terms of gastrointestinal improvement.  So
wonderfully in fact that I recently, bravely increased some
raw roughage, despite having previously experienced small
bowel stricture, blockage and adhesion-removal surgery seven
years ago, and feeling those same symptoms again mildly from
time to time since then, and more so in the past year.  Well
- you guessed it - I ended up in the hospital with a partial
blockage a few weeks ago - I'm guessing from healing and
scarring.   But I was FINALLY validated and vindicated and
diagnosed with IBD/Crohn's.  ("Gee skinny honey, maybe
you're NOT a nervous anorexic...")  A blessing in disguise?
You tell me.  I'm due to follow up the the G.I next week
(the one I p*ssed off last year when I wouldn't take the
drugs he prescribed).  I expect him to want to put me on
something.  My symptoms returned mildly - some burning in
the small bowel, that's it - thanks to the gastrograph
iodine (now if that won't kill off the good bugs!) I had to
swallow for the CT scan, but my diet is keeping that to a
minimum.

So my questions to any of you who might have time to relate
their paleo experiences in relation to IBD are this:

Are any of you on prescription meds in addition to your
diet?  Has anyone gone off meds as a result of the diet?
Have any of you healed to the point of scarring strictures
giving you problems and, if so, how do you best deal with
it?  Any luck gaining weight back?  Any other of your
experiences with diet and IBD are welcome.  I agree with
much of the info regarding starches and sugars with SCD
diet, but disagree with the dairy and what seems excessive
fruit sugars aspect of that approach.  Which turns that diet
into - yepper - Paleo.

Unfortunately, I'm left with adrenal insufficiency as a
result, I believe, of the physical stress of a long-term
vegetarian diet and long-undiagnosed IBD (my appendix blew
into oblivion leaving me with life-threatening peritonitis,
no terminal ileum and a slightly shorter colon some nine
years ago).  So low-dose hydorcortisone is a permanent part
of my future.  Any of you Crohnies end up chronic fatigue
too?  Trouble gaining weight?

Sorry for the long post, but if you've gotten this far, I'm
guessing you have a similar story to tell.  I'm all ears (if
not butt and boobs anymore)!

Kaplah,
Lois