My partner has had CD since 8 years old. Twice in her life she has been described as "in remission". One being now, as she hasn't had any active disease for a few years.
> And I've also seen that diet and lifestyle choices can definitely affect the severity of a flare
I though the current understanding is there is no dietary intervention for CD. It certainly didn't work on my partner and none of her specialists said it would make any difference.
But I have noticed doctors in different countries have different opinions, so maybe that's the reason?
What ended up "beating" her CD was Stelara (ustekinumab) which is available through the Australian health system (our country of residence) but not in New Zealand (our home country) because their research showed it doesn't work.
I'm currently on Stelara but it seems like it might not be doing much for me :( I'm glad your partner's had better luck with it!
I'm sorry to hear it hasn't worked out for you so far. I hope you find some relief in the future, it's a hell of a disease.
Yes. We have. (Advil, Indocin, Sulfasalazine, Meloxicam, Diclofenac Sodium, Remicade, Humira, Enbrel, Curcumin, Vitamin D and also A-Z, Gluten Free, Vegan, Paleo, Whole30, Mediterranean, Yoga, Pilates, Acupuncture, Stem cell injections, Steroid injections, Physical Therapy, Glucosamine, Glutamine, BCAA's, Probiotics, Probiotic foods, electro stim therapy, heat, cold, stretching, Meditation, CBD, CBT, starch free, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting)
Which diets have you tried?
>But they cannot 'cure' Crohn's or put it in remission.
I'm certainly in remission.
>I've grown to accept that short of a very significant stroke of luck, there probably won't be a cure in my lifetime.
The cure exists, it's just not politically acceptable. Society would rather pump you up with crazy meds like remicade or chemotherapy like methotrexate than just do the cure. It took me years to find the cure because politics has poisoned the entire subject. The general advice given for crohns is literally not helping, and in fact probably making things worse.
Look into nicotinic acid, a form of niacin. The "flushing" one. If you supplement with it start slow, get used to the burning sensation. It goes away after a few times.
Avoid biologics unless you absolutely have to
Yes... we've tried everything, including stupid diets and even FMT. If you've read it on the internets we have likely also . We are mostly aware and thinking 24/7 about our disease. So yeah, whenever someone randomly tells us to try X or Y random thing, most likely we've already tried it, or have pondered it and decided not to. So most similar comments are usually annoying.
90% of people who tell me they've 'tried' dieting haven't really. Have you actually strictly followed an elimination diet for at least a year?
Most people say something like they stopped eating bread for three weeks and it didn't help. But that's not good data. One must eliminate every single source of gluten and dairy (or do something like SCD diet) by studying the ingredient labels on everything they consume, and do this for 1-2 years, with zero cheat days. Most people can't do this.
Which is why
> have pondered it and decided not to
It's interesting, I've been part of some research studies, I've been through a number of surgeries, and I've literally tried every medical treatment that's available (and a couple that may be someday...) with some very good IBD research docs. And I've also seen that diet and lifestyle choices can definitely affect the severity of a flare, especially the feelings and symptoms.
But they cannot 'cure' Crohn's or put it in remission. I currently have inflammation in my mouth, and unfortunately you can't just slice it out to take care of the problem like you can parts of the gut ;)
Anyways, all that to say these studies come and go, a few have a sliver of promise or offer some new route for a researcher to go, but in my few decades of Crohn's experience, I've grown to accept that short of a very significant stroke of luck, there probably won't be a cure in my lifetime.
And if there is, it'll probably crack the nut on a ton of other autoimmune diseases too. Hopefully!