Hey guys, sorry it's been so long since my last update but there's lots to talk about so let's get to it. On April 10th, I had my monthly follow up visit with my Crohn's doctor. All of my levels were good and I put on another 5 lbs. After 3 months of Enteral Theraphy and continued improvement, my doctor finally gave me the OK to re-introduce food. Woo Hoo .... BRING ON THE CHICKEN SOUP!
After Dr. Leiby gave us the good news, we then meet with Diane who is a nutritionist. Diane basically told us that there were no real restrictions on what I could eat. You see, food is not what causes the problems in my digestive system, it's my immune system that's the problem. With the exception of some milk and cream based foods, (because I'm lactose intolerant) I should be able to eat what I want. Diane's best advice was to eat in moderation and listen to my body. My body will tell me if what I eat will be good or bad for me.
Then, we talked about a schedule. With the Enteral Nutrition, I take in 1750 calories a day through my feeding tube. Instead of doing 100% Enteral Nutrition, we would scale that back to 80% Enteral Nutrition and the other 20% of my calories would be made up in small meals throughout the day. I was both excited to be able to eat again and nervous at the same time. As much as I wanted to eat, I didn't want to be sick again. And, not knowing how I would react to food scared me a little.
Eating has been a little tough for me. When I first started to eat I had some belly pain. After 3 months of not eating any solid food, my stomach just wasn't used to it. It was hard to figure out what was causing the pain because I was trying so many different kinds of food at once. I was getting a little discouraged and swore that I was just not going to eat at all because it wasn't going like I thought it would. Then my parents suggested that instead of eating so many different things at once, I should just introduce one food at a time. This way, if something doesn't agree with me, it will be easier to figure out what it is. It's been sort of a challenge, but I know keep a food journal. In my journal, I write everything I eat, how much of it I eat and how it makes me feel. Now I know if what I'm eating is a good food or a bad food. Keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted on how it goes ... bye, bye!
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