Adding foods to the elimination diet...?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Adding foods to the elimination diet...?
Hello everyone. I have a question about adding foods. I have been on the elimination diet for about 3 weeks. Eating only rice, bananas, turkey, chicken, applesauce and peppermint tea. I continue to have diarrhea but haven't had any pain, bloating, serious urgency in a few days. I don't feel I can continue too much longer on such a restricted diet due to weight loss and feeling so worn out and weak. I want to start adding foods back in but since I still have D is that ok? From some of the discussions it appears the D can last a REALLY long time. But will I just look for pain and urgency after adding in foods? I am a little scared to add anything! Please, any advice is appreciated!
HI Leann. I understand the weakness and that is mostly due to the D, not what you are eating. Are you trying to do this without drugs? Since you still have just as much D after 3 weeks and have lost a lot of weight, you might want to try the Pepto treatment while you hang in there with the diet.
Since you have no bloating and pain is a good sign, but you may be reacting to something you are eating. Some of us can not eat bananas ( like me). Some can't have chicken, some rice...etc. Before you start adding something in, i would try to eliminate one thing at a time and see if things change. if after three days, nothing changes, put that one back in and eliminate the next.
IF YOU DECIDE TO ADD SOMETHING, I would start with other proteins ( pork, beef, fish, turkey, lamb) After that, you could try very cooked carrots or squash. I did well with sweet potatoes. We are all different and three weeks really isn't that long in this journey.
Hang in there. you are on the right track
Leah
Since you have no bloating and pain is a good sign, but you may be reacting to something you are eating. Some of us can not eat bananas ( like me). Some can't have chicken, some rice...etc. Before you start adding something in, i would try to eliminate one thing at a time and see if things change. if after three days, nothing changes, put that one back in and eliminate the next.
IF YOU DECIDE TO ADD SOMETHING, I would start with other proteins ( pork, beef, fish, turkey, lamb) After that, you could try very cooked carrots or squash. I did well with sweet potatoes. We are all different and three weeks really isn't that long in this journey.
Hang in there. you are on the right track
Leah
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wmonique2
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adding foods to...
Leann,
Are you taking any meds? You need to take mesalamine or something similar to stop the D. Mesalamine stopped it immediately. Call your doc and start eating. You are depleting yourself entirely.
Monique
Are you taking any meds? You need to take mesalamine or something similar to stop the D. Mesalamine stopped it immediately. Call your doc and start eating. You are depleting yourself entirely.
Monique
Diagnosed 2011 with LC. Currently on Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
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Gabes-Apg
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Leann
the ideal would be that you are not having D - as D is the main symptom, and the main indicator of an issue.
I would suggest NOT adding other ingredients until the D has stopped (or reduced somewhat)
maybe you are reacting to the rice or one of the proteins or the banana?? maybe not what you want to hear, then again something you should consider.
Keep in mind, when you do add ingredients;
-try small amounts (ie eggcup serving) one new ingredient at a time
-eat it slow small amounts each mouthful
-you may have some symptoms the first time
-wait 24 hours and have another small serve
- wait another 24 hours and have another small serve. Only when you have had the third serving can you gauge if it is keeper or not.
the main identifier would be D after having it the third time. If you are currently having D, then it would be difficult to gauge that.
if you do react, wait a few days, a week let the gut settle down a bit and then try the next new ingredient.
the ideal would be that you are not having D - as D is the main symptom, and the main indicator of an issue.
I would suggest NOT adding other ingredients until the D has stopped (or reduced somewhat)
maybe you are reacting to the rice or one of the proteins or the banana?? maybe not what you want to hear, then again something you should consider.
Keep in mind, when you do add ingredients;
-try small amounts (ie eggcup serving) one new ingredient at a time
-eat it slow small amounts each mouthful
-you may have some symptoms the first time
-wait 24 hours and have another small serve
- wait another 24 hours and have another small serve. Only when you have had the third serving can you gauge if it is keeper or not.
the main identifier would be D after having it the third time. If you are currently having D, then it would be difficult to gauge that.
if you do react, wait a few days, a week let the gut settle down a bit and then try the next new ingredient.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Well I have been taking pepto (8 tabs per day). Before I tried the elimination diet I took Asacol for 5 weeks which seemed to make the D worse. Before THAT I had taken Budesonide for about 6 weeks and then was told by my Dr. to wean off. She was VERY adamant about not being on the steroid for more than that. Of course I read here that 6 weeks is barely enough time to start healing and I hadn't adjusted my diet either. I am just so discouraged and frustrated.
Hi Leann,
I'm sorry to hear that you haven't seen any improvement yet. The problem with treating this disease is that while some of us gradually improve, for others it is virtually impossible to notice any significant improvement, until one day we suddenly realize that the D is gone and we feel almost normal again. Until that happens, treating MC can be a frustrating, lonely experience, and it can make us feel hopeless, as we watch the days roll by, with no sign of any significant improvement. Please remember that each day brings you one day closer to remission.
You are correct that not all of us can tolerate mesalamine. For some of us it makes our symptoms worse, because it is a derivative of salicylic acid, similar to NSAIDs. If the budesonide helped, then it's a shame that your doctor is confused about budesonide (she apparently incorrectly equates it with prednisone).
I don't understand why you feel that your current diet is the cause of your fatigue and weakness. Those are side effects of the disease, and chronic diarrhea. Assuming that you are eating large enough portions, that diet should contain all the essential amino acids, and there is nothing unhealthy about it (unless you happen to be sensitive to one of those foods). Back when I was healing, I lived for a year and a half on a similar diet (except that pork was my only meat, I ate potatoes, I didn't eat applesauce, I drank water and plain unsweetened tea, and I eventually cut out bananas). I never felt as though my diet was inadequate, because my job involved hard, physical labor, and I was able to handle it (except for the bad days, which became fewer and farther between as time went on).
That said, if you are reacting to one of those foods, you might need to make a substitution, such as trying pork or lamb instead of poultry. Are you avoiding injected chicken? Some of those injected "moisturizing" solutions have been known to contain gluten, so to be on the safe side, most of us seek out non-injected chicken.
Tex
I'm sorry to hear that you haven't seen any improvement yet. The problem with treating this disease is that while some of us gradually improve, for others it is virtually impossible to notice any significant improvement, until one day we suddenly realize that the D is gone and we feel almost normal again. Until that happens, treating MC can be a frustrating, lonely experience, and it can make us feel hopeless, as we watch the days roll by, with no sign of any significant improvement. Please remember that each day brings you one day closer to remission.
You are correct that not all of us can tolerate mesalamine. For some of us it makes our symptoms worse, because it is a derivative of salicylic acid, similar to NSAIDs. If the budesonide helped, then it's a shame that your doctor is confused about budesonide (she apparently incorrectly equates it with prednisone).
I don't understand why you feel that your current diet is the cause of your fatigue and weakness. Those are side effects of the disease, and chronic diarrhea. Assuming that you are eating large enough portions, that diet should contain all the essential amino acids, and there is nothing unhealthy about it (unless you happen to be sensitive to one of those foods). Back when I was healing, I lived for a year and a half on a similar diet (except that pork was my only meat, I ate potatoes, I didn't eat applesauce, I drank water and plain unsweetened tea, and I eventually cut out bananas). I never felt as though my diet was inadequate, because my job involved hard, physical labor, and I was able to handle it (except for the bad days, which became fewer and farther between as time went on).
That said, if you are reacting to one of those foods, you might need to make a substitution, such as trying pork or lamb instead of poultry. Are you avoiding injected chicken? Some of those injected "moisturizing" solutions have been known to contain gluten, so to be on the safe side, most of us seek out non-injected chicken.
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.
Getting rid of the pain, bloating and serious urgency is real progress. The problem with testing foods while you're still having constant D is that you don't know which food is a problem. I agree with Leah that you should substitute one food in a category with another in that same category such as lamb for chicken, mango for banana. The standard elimination diet isn't foolproof. Some of us are intolerant to the presumed "safe" foods. For example, I can't eat rice, chicken, or applesauce, and I can't tolerate more than 1/4 to 1/2 banana, if that. When I tried an elimination diet using the standard foods, I got worse. I finally determined my own safe foods and went from there.Eating only rice, bananas, turkey, chicken, applesauce and peppermint tea. I continue to have diarrhea but haven't had any pain, bloating, serious urgency in a few days.
If you don't mind going over your doctor's head, you could order Entocort from this pharmacy: http://www.alldaychemist.com/ No prescription is needed. If my GI won't give me another prescription, I'll order my pills from here. My last GI visit consisted of spending an hour telling him why I didn't want another colonoscopy. The only reason I visit him is to get the Entocort.
Other members have used All Day Chemist to order budesonide and have found it is the same product that the Canadian pharmacies sell.
Or, you could find a GI who understands how Entocort works.
Good luck!
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Hi Leann, I don't have anything else to add to the good advice here, but wanted to tell you to hang in there! Just when you think the D will never stop and you can't feel any crummier, you'll wake up one morning feeling a bit better and things will turn around.
Jean
Jean
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." Mark Twain
HI Leann, I just wanted to reinforce what the others said about Entocort. I took it for 4 and 1/2 months and I think that's about average although some here have taken it much longer. Since Entocort opens in the intestine your body only absorbs about 10% of it in contrast to other steroids like prednisone. It's safe to take it much longer than a few weeks.
The combination of Entocort and diet changes are what got me back on my feet. If you didn't eliminate gluten and other sensitivities while on Entocort you probably relapsed as soon as you stopped taking it. You may want to consider getting back on Entocort to get rid of the inflammation and stick to your diet changes to give yourself a chance to stabilize. It's a slow process but well worth it.
Hang in there.
Carol
The combination of Entocort and diet changes are what got me back on my feet. If you didn't eliminate gluten and other sensitivities while on Entocort you probably relapsed as soon as you stopped taking it. You may want to consider getting back on Entocort to get rid of the inflammation and stick to your diet changes to give yourself a chance to stabilize. It's a slow process but well worth it.
Hang in there.
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
And peppermint is known to contribute to GERD issues, especially if ingested within a few hours before bedtime.
Tex
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.