When I first started working with my nutritionist, I was still suffering from the symptoms of my active moderate Crohn’s disease, meaning gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, and fatigue.

I had been wanting to start trying to have a baby, but my doctors encouraged me to wait until I was in remission and I had no idea when that would happen as my Crohn’s had been active for years.​

I wanted to learn how to eat so that my symptoms would be reduced, so that I could feel full and have energy throughout the day, and so that I would be eating more nutritious foods. I also wanted to start exercising and building muscle.​

I decided to work with a nutritionist at Romanwell because, although I have been on many different medications on the 12+ years I’ve had Crohn’s disease, I had never tried modifying my diet.

When I met one of their nutritionists at a meeting of my local Crohn’s Disease support group, I was impressed with her presentation on how dietary changes and stress reduction could help with the symptoms of Crohn’s disease.

I trusted her because she also has IBD so I know she understands what I’m going through. ​

Since working with her the past 6 months, I’ve noticed drastic positive changes in my symptoms:

• I have diarrhea much less frequently and rarely have urgency to go to the bathroom,
• Much less bloating and gas
• I rarely have abdominal pain
• I have a nutritious daily food plan I am very happy with that keeps me full throughout the day and gives me energy to get through my whole day without fatigue.
• We came up with some stress reduction plans that have really worked for me and have helped reduce my stress significantly.
• I have been able to go the gym several times a week and start a strength-building program.

While working with my nutritionist, in conjunction with medication, I have been able to achieve remission, and then was able to become pregnant! I am so thankful to her for helping guide me on this path towards a healthier lifestyle and allowing me to achieve my goals!​

Before working with my nutritionist, I would have diarrhea most mornings for several hours, and couldn’t leave the house before noon without fear of having to run to the bathroom.

I also experienced painful stomach cramps several times a day, usually around when I ate. I would skip meals, usually lunch, because I didn’t know what to eat and didn’t prepare anything, then would end up bingeing on unhealthy sugary foods by 4 or 5pm because I was starving. I was uncomfortably gassy and bloated every night by bedtime.

I couldn’t get myself to go to the gym because I didn’t have any energy and I was in pain. I was stressed out on a daily basis.

After working with her,

• I no longer have long periods of time in the bathroom each morning.
• I go to the bathroom about once per day and I usually have normal stool consistency.
• I rarely have gassiness or bloating, and almost never have abdominal pain.
• I eat a healthy breakfast and healthy lunch every day, and it keeps me full until dinnertime, so I haven’t needed to reach for sugary snacks.
• I go to the gym for 30 mins, 4 times a week.
• I have a stress reduction plan that allows me to relax in the evening and go to bed early so I can start each day fresh.​

My dietitian was wonderful and I am so glad I had the opportunity to work with her! She was reliable and responsive, and always answered messages quickly and gave lots of helpful information.

In our sessions she was warm and welcoming, making me feel at ease to discuss my symptoms, concerns, and fears about how to approach nutrition with my disease. She was excellent at finding creative solutions to problems, so I always felt like I could be honest with her about my problems and she would find a way to help me that truly fit my lifestyle.

I never felt like she was pushing me in one direction or another; she always let me lead the way and helped support me in whatever my goal was. She is a great nutritionist and really knows the science behind healthy eating and IBD, so I felt very confident taking her advice and following the plans we came up with.