January, 2012 marks the beginning of the eighth year since I began eating the SCD. I was strictly legal for the first four plus years then began to experiment with reintroducing illegals. I posted about it first here in April of 2009 and then here in May of 2010.
The May posting indicated that I was about 90% compliant with the diet. That helped me feel better and eventually I began to experiment a little more. I speculate that I’m closer to a 70% compliance now. I’ve found that sugars affect me much differently than grains. Eating sugars will likely increase my trips to the bathroom whereas grains are more likely to reduce my trips. I still do not get those Crohn’s cramps that I remember pre-SCD, but ironically, I will occasionally get discomfort from being a little too backed up.
I see my family doctor every year and have a SED rate test performed just to get a little objective measure of how I’m doing. I’m happy to say that I’m a five, well within the normal range of 0-15 for men.
Previous update, May of 2010, here.
Eating SCD 
That’s fantastic. It gives us SCD’ers hope.
Thanks Julie.
-Paul
Congratulations and thank you for sharing all of your hard work and ups and downs of Crohns. It is giving my family hope.
Beth in Central, IL
Thank you Anonymous.
-Paul
THanks Paul for keeping us updated on your health. You give a bunch of us hope, (my wife would say the same I’m sure!!)
One other little thing,
you might be a “5” with that medical test, but you’re a perfect “10” in my book!!
thanks so much, your site was one of if not the first site i found on this topic back during my dark days of UC symptoms, and so happy to have found it.
Adam,
You are too kind.
-Paul
Fantastic Paul, thanks a bunch for the update.
It’s good to hear that grains are working for you. Do you find better success with any particular grains? how often and how much at a time to you eat grains?
thanks,
Ryan
Ryan,
I can’t see a noticeable difference between types of grains. I probably eat somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 serving of grains a day – sometimes more, sometimes less.
-Paul
Perhaps certain grain preparations would improve digestibility. Like soaking rice, MILLET, or QUINOA 12-24 hrs in 1-2tbsp whey, lemon juice, vinegar, or yogurt, then rinsing to remove the sour taste, followed by cooking in water… Would be safest.
Patty,
Thanks for the info.
Cheers,
Paul
Thanks Paul for sharing this gives me hope for my 6 year old granddaughter. She has been on this diat since September 2010. She was born with Crohns and this is our last resort, meds are not helping , the diat has helped some.
Anne,
You’re welcome and I’m sorry to hear that she is dealing with Crohn’s .
If she needs more help than the diet is giving her, perhaps you want to investigate low dose naltrexone or LDN. It seems to help some people and I believe it doesn’t have as significant a risk for side effects as some of the other meds. I have to admit that I don’t know anything about it’s pediatric use though. I’ve written about it a couple of times:
https://eatingscd.com/2009/02/20/ldn-for-crohns/
https://eatingscd.com/2011/05/19/study-results-naltrexone-reduces-crohns-inflammation/
-Paul
This makes me so happy to hear! More recipes, please? 🙂
Rinne,
Workin’ on it!
-Paul
Bro,
You are helping so many people. This job of yours is so important.
Makes my job seem like just that – a job.
Keep up the great work you are doing – helping people to have a better quality of life.
Zebro 1
Researching SCD because my 9 year old has Crohns (diagnosed a little over a year ago). He is doing well on medication but from what I have heard, medications that do work, don’t always remain that way and the side effects can be very bad. It seems there has been much success with SCD, but I am curious if this is a diet you must follow for life, or do you actually “cure” your digestive system? I am learning that the things we eat can be much worse for us then I ever imagined, but I hope that some day my son can be able to enjoy the foods that other children do.
Anonymous,
Short answer is I don’t know. I felt cured after years on the diet so I tried going back to my old ways and that was not good. I’ve thought a lot about why I wasn’t cured and I think it has something to do with my altered anatomy. I’ve had two surgeries and no longer have an ileocecal valve or an appendix. I think the former is the most important as it keeps the colon’s contents from refluxing into the small bowel. That junction is where I have my Crohn’s. I speculate that the bacterial colony in the small intestine is supposed to be different than the large intestine.
I had hoped the SCD would cure me and I wouldn’t have to think about that stuff again. My reality is that I need to consider what I eat, but the upside is that I have control. I am no longer a victim of this disease and there are no side effects of the SCD. The worst care scenario for your son would be that the SCD doesn’t do anything for him, but hasn’t risked any side effects. The best case scenario is that it cures him. The more moderate outlook is that it treats his condition and he can live a normal life without medications, just eating a little differently than his peers. My understanding is that younger patients like your son have a better shot at a cure than an older person like me.
-Paul
Hi Paul,
I went through all your posts and I must say it has been quite an interesting journey for you. I’ve been suffering from low stomach acid and consequently SIBO since the last 1 year. I just started with SCD diet and found complete relief the very next day. My question is as of now what do you include in the rest 30% of your illegal diet. Do you tolerate rice, (gluten-free) wheat or soy? It’d be really helpful if you could give the details or what comprises of your 30% illegal diet.
Thanks,
Varun
Hi Varun,
The 30% illegals that I eat is all over the place. It’s not a careful consideration. I know that the more gains and sugars I eat the worse I will feel. If I can limit the amount of these things and space them out I do well, but that is a constant struggle. Everyone reacts differently so the best course is to introduce illegals slowly and record how you react and move from there.
-Paul
Thanks for the information Paul. Will keep this in mind.
-Varun
Hi Paul, Just looking for a current update on ya. I’m a few days into the SCD and felt like crap yesterday so I stopped and got ice cream, chocolate, and a large cola which surprisingly to me made me feel better. Any thoughts on that?
Matt,
I’m doing pretty well thanks. Still not SCD compliant, but a mix of legal and illegal, much the same as the 2012 update. I recently had a colonoscopy and upper GI. It’s much the same as years ago, but my stricture has closed from 1 cm to about 6mm. I’ll probably need a resection in the future, but I’ve known that for a long time.
I suspect that you will soon feel the negative effects of your sugar binge. It’s what I imagine it’s like for a junkie. You feel better right after you get your hit, but there’s a coming down to pay for. When anyone starts the SCD there is a period in the beginning that you feel worse than before the SCD. This is normal and expected due to the die off of bad bacteria. If you hang in there, and resist the demon call of the sweets, you should start feeling better. The SCD is a slow process and you have to learn a new kind of patience. I’m not saying it’s easy, just necessary. Actually, it just sucks any way you put it, but the pay offs can be liberating.
-Paul
Thanks for the response. I’ve never tried crack but I imagine the addiction to sugar is much the same.
I’ve read somewhere on the net that sugar is harder to give up than crack, but that seems hyperbolic.
-Paul
I drink clay and Citrucel…it has stopped the diarrhea…not losing my nutrients…is this ok, Paul
Harriet,
Short answer is that I don’t know if Citrucel is SCD legal. As with the clay, it’s all about the ingredients. Of course, stopping diarrhea is great.
Paul