How To Manage Crohn’s Disease Pain

Ever felt like your gut was trying to kill you? Yeah, same. For a long time, Crohn’s Disease pain ran my life. I’m talking burning, stabbing, unpredictable pain that made everyday things like eating, driving, or leaving the house feel like high-stakes risks.

Doctors gave me prescriptions for treatment. Some helped reduce inflammation, but the pain? It stuck around. And no one gave me a real plan for how to manage Crohn's pain. So I spent the better part of a decade figuring it out myself by experimenting with food, supplements, routines, and even cannabis. What I landed on didn’t just help me survive flare-ups, it helped me rebuild a life where I wasn’t constantly bracing for the next wave of pain.

This post breaks down what worked for me. Not a prescription, not advice, just a real-world account of how I got out of survival mode.

For me, Crohn’s pain wasn’t just cramps, it was this unpredictable storm of symptoms: burning guts, sharp stabs, bloating, urgency, and a constant sense that something was about to go very wrong.

Sometimes it was tied to food. Other times it flared up for no clear reason. What made it worse was how inconsistent it all felt, like my body was playing some sick version of Whac-A-Mole.

I was and still am on mesalamine medication for inflammation, and it helps, but pain was still a major issue. Biologics like Stelara were pushed hard, but I wasn’t comfortable with the risks. I wanted to try everything else first.

So I got curious. I started tracking what I ate, what I felt, and what seemed to help or hurt. Slowly, through (a lot of) trial and error, I started seeing patterns. Certain foods made things worse. Others actually soothed my gut. And when I added in cannabis oils and changed my routines, pain started to fade. Not overnight, but consistently enough that I noticed.

Stripping Food Back to the Basics

When things got bad, I went full reset: broth, meats, well-cooked veggies, olive oil, coconut oil, herbal tea, and not much else. That “safe food list” became my go-to. I ate what I knew wouldn’t poke the inflammation bear. No gluten. No dairy. No sugar. Definitely no processed anything. Just real food that gave my gut a chance to breathe.

Cannabis Oils (Full Spectrum & RSO)

This one’s big for me. I started using full-spectrum cannabis oil, sometimes Rick Simpson Oil (RSO), other times a tincture. It helped a lot with the deep, crampy pain and general inflammation. I used it at night to sleep, or during a flare when things felt out of control. It wasn’t just about pain relief either. It helped me chill out mentally. Less anxiety meant less tension in my gut. It took the edge off so I could actually rest and let my body heal.

Supplements That Didn’t Wreck Me

I’ve tried a lot of supplements. Most were a waste. But a few made a real difference during painful flares:

• Fresh ginger (grated, juiced, or tea) to calm cramping and bloating
• Fish oil (omega-3) to reduce inflammation
• Magnesium glycinate to relax my muscles (and help me sleep)
• Oregano oil when I felt like my gut was battling something
• Vitamin D3/K2 + zinc + vitamin C for immune and gut barrier support

I’m picky about what I use. No random blends, no junky capsules with fillers. Just clean, simple stuff. The full breakdown is in the GutMellow Supplement Guide if you're curious what I stick to now.

Fasting

If I felt like food was just making things worse, I’d pause. Not a full-on fast, but I’d skip a meal or delay eating until my gut settled. Bone broth in the morning, maybe water for a few hours, then a soft, simple meal later in the day. Less input = less pain (at least for me).

Eating Consistently (Even When It’s Boring)

Once I figured out what foods felt safe, I stopped messing around. No cheats, no “just a bite.” That discipline paid off. I stuck to my gut-friendly rotation: grass-fed meat, eggs, salmon, cooked veggies, olive oil, broth, and the occasional safe snack like nuts or a homemade almond flour treat. It wasn’t flashy, but it worked. My digestion got more stable. Pain came less often, and when it did, it didn’t stick around. If you want to see the exact routine I followed (and still follow), it’s all mapped out in the GutMellow Remission Roadmap. I put everything I wish someone had handed me back when I was lost.

Creating a “No-Stress-for-My-Gut” Routine

I started building routines that made life easier. I meal prepped on Sundays. I kept safe snacks in my car and backpack. I swapped out toxic personal care stuff for gentler, gut-safe options. I used natural toothpaste, switched to cast iron pans, and ditched anything with weird additives. Was that stuff the magic bullet? No. But it lowered my body’s stress load, and that mattered.

Stress & Sleep Were Huge

I didn’t expect stress to affect my gut as much as it did, but once I started sleeping better and managing stress, the pain dropped off too.

My go-tos:

• Walking every morning
• 8–9 hours of sleep (with blackout curtains + CBD if needed)
• Cannabis oil at night if I was feeling wired
• Nature breaks, breathing exercises, slow mornings

I don’t crush workouts anymore. I walk, stretch, lift light stuff, and rest when I need to.

These are the ones I’ve stuck with because I actually feel a difference:

• Cannabis RSO or full-spectrum oil (my ride-or-die during flares or stress)
• Fish oil
• Magnesium
• Fresh ginger or turmeric tea
• D3/K2 and zinc

I also keep a bottle of oregano oil around just in case something feels off.

I cycle things depending on how I feel. I don’t take everything every day. The full breakdown is in the GutMellow bundle if you want to see what helped me and what didn’t.

Here’s what didn’t work:

• Probiotics: Every brand of probiotics I tried made me feel worse. Gas, bloating, urgency.
• Multi-vitamins: Too many random ingredients.
• Turmeric pills: Tried them, felt nothing.
• Coffee and kombucha: Instant regret. Always triggered gut pain.

These days, pain is rare. And if it does show up, I know what to do. I don’t panic. I fall back on the basics: broth, soft meals, rest, cannabis oil, and time.

I can eat without flinching. I don’t live in fear of the bathroom. And I finally feel like I have a rhythm that works for my body.

Pain is probably the most exhausting part of Crohn’s. It’s invisible, unpredictable, and hard to talk about unless you’ve lived it. What helped me wasn’t one miracle product, it was learning what my body could and couldn’t handle, building routines around that, and staying consistent. If you’re still in the thick of it, I hope some of this helps you start noticing your own patterns.

After a decade of trial and error, I finally found a combination of strategies that actually worked. I went from constant flare-ups to long-term remission, without biologics or surgery. I created GutMellow to share my experience and help others navigate their own healing journey.

The GutMellow Remission Roadmap includes everything I wish I had when I was first diagnosed. It’s a comprehensive resource that outlines the exact steps I took to regain control of my gut health, including:

This blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While I am sharing my personal experience, every individual’s health journey is unique. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet, supplements, medications, or lifestyle. Healing is a personal journey, and what worked for me may not work for everyone.