Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
Yes, advising MC patients to avoid caffeine is standard protocol for most GI departments, presumably because caffeine is classified as a secretagogue, and the classic symptom of MC is secretory diarrhea. However, doctors have made an inappropriate assumption in order to arrive at that conclusion. The reality is — (based on the accumulated experiences of the members here), if coffee caused you to have diarrhea before your MC symptoms developed, then it will almost surely cause you to have diarrhea now.
On the other hand, if it didn't cause you to have to run to the bathroom soon after drinking it, before your MC symptoms began, then you should be able to drink it now, without any ill effects. Most of us here are able to continue to drink it. Just be careful about anything that you put in it, because most so-called dairy-free creamers are not — they contain casein, and they cause most of us to react. I add a few sugar cubes to mine, but I believe that some members here use one of the milk substitutes, such as coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk, or some other option.
Thanks, and I hope that your evening is enjoyable, too.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Too bad about the gasX. Does Tums work?... or does that have the same sugars in them? If you have problems with all the sugar alcohols, then you also may have problems with sugar and other carbs also. Sugars give me gas if I eat more then a little.
Yes, certain fats bother me. Obviously, soybean and peanut oil is bad, but i also discovered that I react to Canola oil. I realized that when I tried tortilla chips. When I found a brand that used Safflower/Sunflower oil, I was fine.
I stick to coconut and olive oil ay home.
I am one of us who CAN NOT drink coffee or black tea. I gave it up even before I was Dx with MC because it caused problems ( pain). I am down to herbal tea with a little honey :(
Back to pharmaceuticals....if you're taking a steroid or noninflammatory drug to ease symptoms, then how do you know what foods bother you? And, how can the colon heal if you aren't allowing it to heal by avoiding the foods that aggravate it?
Does that question make sense?
I have used a little Swerve sweetener (it is advertised as a sugar alcohol that doesn't cause digestive issues) in baking. Mostly I stick with honey and sometime aguave....but I know of the controversy there, too.
I never considered carbs or sugar as aggrevaters, because I eat such a small amount, but I will keep track.
I kept a food journal for a while, but the results were always the same (bloating/gas/pain/going frequently), so it didn't seem to give me usable information.
I think I will give Entrolab a try, as I feel I'm going two steps forward and one step back. I thought I could figure it out myself, but I think I need some help. I guess my 'thinker' is tired.
I'm obviously not Leah but, since she doesn't seem to have logged in yet today, I'll take a shot at answering your questions.
If you're taking an anti-inflammatory drug, and it works, then you can't detect any food sensitivities, because the drug will mask any reactions. For many of us though, the drugs do not provide complete control unless we also modify our diet. And under those conditions, we can detect some of the major food sensitivities, but not all of them. To do it right, of course, requires that we can't be taking a drug that can mask our symptoms. It is also true that the corticosteroids retard healing, because as they suppress inflammation, they also suppress healing (inflammation is the first step in the healing process). IOW, just as you suggest, the problem foods have to be removed from the diet before any true healing can take place, because as long as we eat inflammatory foods, we continue to generate new inflammation in our intestines.
Regarding healing: The corticosteroids and 5-ASA drugs do help to suppress the inflammation (for most patients), but when the drug is discontinued, just as you surmise, the inflammation will come roaring back, if we haven't eliminated the problem foods from our diet.
The EnteroLab tests can save a lot of time and second-guessing, because once we have those results in hand, we no longer have to wonder about the foods that were tested — we will have the results clearly spelled out for us, so that we can avoid the ones to which we react, and get on with our treatment and recovery.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Were you able to reintroduce foods after you were healed? How long did it take?
I'm paranoid about everything now....gluten, soy, dairy, yeast, eggs, fiber, carbs....everything! So, I will order the lab tests after I talk with my insurance co. on Monday. Then, it won't be so hit or miss and I can stop thinking about food constantly, and start to live again....I know....stress contributes, too!
Yes, I tried to reintroduce foods every couple of months or so after I reached remission, but it took almost 2 years before I had much success. After that it was easy. Apparently my gut needed to heal for a while.
Quite a few of us react to oats. That makes me wonder if the "expert" claims that most celiacs can safely eat pure oats is a figment of their imagination. I suspect the problem is that most followup studies only last for a couple of months or so, and that's not nearly long enough for some people to reach the threshold where they begin to react. And if they verify sensitivity by biopsy analysis, they are bound to get a false negative result, because it takes years of exposure for most people to develop enough intestinal damage to show up as villus atrophy severe enough to qualify as a Marsh 3 level of damage (which is the minimum level for a diagnosis of celiac disease).
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I gave up coffee for two months because for some of us it is bad. Simply stated, coffee makes me happy in the morning. It felt like a big punishment but I had to be sure. I noticed nothing different by elimating it so I am thankful it doesn't bother me. I have cut it to two cups a day because it did give me stomache jitters at times. I use chocolate almond milk as my creamer.
Hi 7.
Tex is right. The drugs mask a lot of the reactions you would get otherwise.
I did send a sample to Enterolab, but my results were inconclusive because I am IgA deficient, so I had to do an elimination diet. I just took out EVERYTHING I thought would give me problems WHILE I was taking the drug. I didn't try to figure out anything. The drugs took care of the symptoms and inflammation and my diet took care of the healing. I was able to slowly wean off the drugs within 6 months. When I was completely off of them, I tested foods back in. THAT'S how I figured out what I am intolerant to. I ate mostly meats, cooked veggies, rice and it's products,eggs, almond butter and almond milk, applesauce, canned peaches,sweet potatoes, and some corn products. That's it. It was very hard to do, but I kept telling myself that it was temporary. Heal, Heal, Heal - my mantra :)
Now it is about a year since this has all started and I have been able to add many things back in. I feel as if I am continuing to heal even now. I can now eat out and have much more to choose from. If I get a little soy here and there, it's no big deal. I can now eat raw veggies and salad and beans. I just tested tomato sauce and I was fine! I can even have a little dark chocolate. I still stay far away from dairy and will NEVER go back to gluten. Sugars are still a gas problem if I have too much, but where I am now is sooooo much better then I thought I ever could be.
Being tested will save you a lot of guessing, but remember that the raw fruits and veggies , fiber, and acid are still a bad idea until you get the inflammation down ( that's not part of the test).
Ok. Let us know if you take the test.
Best of luck
Leah
Note that the way that Leah went about it is exactly the way that the exclusion diet should be done — remove all potential problem foods from the diet until remission occurs, then allow some healing time before testing foods to see if they can be safely added back into the diet.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Just curious....with the elimination diet...is there a list of foods ranked highly sensitive to a lower degree of sensitivity?
If I do the EnteroLab testing, it can take up to 3 weeks for results.
I need to be more specific, today, to not eat foods that may continue to inflame.
Leah did eat sweet potatoes and I thought nightshades were higher on the list for reactions. Should I continue to cook bake my fruit in the morning or eliminate it completely?
Everyone is different, but the four main culprits are gluten, dairy, soy, and eggs. I personally chose to keep eggs in and see how it goes ( since I eat them a lot for breakfast)
White potatoes are a night shade, sweet are not. I did take out all nightshades for the first six months.
When it comes to fruits and veggies, cooking them is key because they are just too hard for an inflamed gut to breakdown, but they don't actually CAUSE inflammation.
I didn't eat fruit ( except for a little apple sauce and canned peaches) much because the sugars ( fructose) caused a lot of gas and uncomfortable bloat. Bananas always caused me problems.
I apologize for bringing this up, but it can get a lot more complicated that just straightforward food sensitivities. For example, dried or aged foods can introduce another issue, namely histamine — dried or aged foods typically contain high levels of histamines, and this can trigger mast cell degranulation that results in digestive system inflammation by another route. In fact, many of us find that if we are still reacting after meticulously controlling our diet, and allowing enough time for the diet to work, the problem can often be traced to mast cell issues.
In that situation, taking a daily antihistamine can be as effective as taking a corticosteroid, as far as suppressing/preventing symptoms are concerned — not just allergy symptoms, but GI systems also, because histamine is used by the digestive system to regulate certain digestive processes. This is a complex disease, and treating it can be a complex process.
If you notice any classic allergy symptoms during or soon after eating, (such as a rash, hives, itching, runny nose, watery eyes, throat congestion, increased heart rate, etc., that can be a pretty strong indication of a histamine/mast cell issue, associated with MC.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I don't have those symptoms after I eat, but my husband does! :(
Figuring all this out is like brain surgery of the gut! I'm glad that I have this forum to talk because my doctors simply don't know enough about this disease to help me to heal.
Leah wrote:Hi Tracy. I know , it's very hard to think of recipes. Whether you should go GF depends on how you feel. If you are still having symptoms, then I would say yes. it takes a while to see results with gluten, but it can make a huge difference. There are decent rice, corn, and quinoa pastas on the market. I make my own pesto with basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil. It's very yummy, but i don't know if you can deal with the raw ingredients yet.
No cooked veggies work for you? butternut squash and zuccinni , and carrots usually works well. I ate a lot of sweet potatoes when I was healing. The orange ones I just baked and ate with a little coconut oil and brown sugar or cinnamon. The white ones I just cut into cubes, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 425 until done. They are delicious. I ate apple sauce and a small amount of canned peaches also.
Can you eat all meat proteins? I rotate between beef, pork, chicken, and fish. Can you have corn tortillas? How about potatoes? I didn't eat them until about 6 months into my healing, but I seem to fine with them ( also roasted).
I also made big pots of soup. Chicken/rice, beef/vegetable, butternut squash.....
As for recipes, there are some on this forum. Take a look at them. I also just google recipes and them substitute ingredients.
Can you eat rice cakes? I had a lot of them at the beginning with almond butter and a little jam.
I also eat a lot of avocados. I make guacamole and dip corn chips in for a treat. I also use it instead of cheese for many things
How about Chex cereals with almond milk? ... good breakfast or snack. I sometimes eat them right out of the box.
Hope some of this helped.
Leah
Hi Leah,
Where and what brand of pastas are good for GF? I tried some GF angel hair pasta once and it was really horrible. Thanks, Barb
