"D" again - How do I get back to where I was?

[carolm]

Barb, just FYI--I recently switched from Claritin to Claritin Reditabs. The reason is that regular Claritin, including Walgreens Wal-itin, has dairy in it (lactose monohydrate). The Reditabs don't. Plus they are very handy. You peel back the foil, pop one in and they dissolve immediately. You don't even have to break stride if you are headed somewhere.

Chicken broth, chicken, rice and carrots have been my 'baseline' foods. I buy Swanson and haven't had any problems. I have cooked bone broths just twice early on but it's just not always convenient. For the record I have had to eliminate the big 4 plus pork to get my symptoms to ease up.

thanks for letting me butt in. :) I know your questions are for Brandy but I just happen to be here. Brandy has solid advice and she's a great person to listen to.

C.

[Leah]

Claritan has lactose, but the redo tabs don't

I don't know if you are eating raw fruits and vegetables, but until your flare is gone, you should avoid them. Beans and legumes also.
You already got great advice about going back to a very simple diet for a while. Hope it works and you don't have to go back to Entocort.

Leah

[Gabes-Apg]

Barb
Histamine can be SOO Many things

I just google searched - histamine triggers - there are some good websites that will give you some lists.....

Foodwise - reheating chicken is high in histamine, some dried fruits are high in histamine
enviro - plants, trees, dust etc. Are you allergic to dustmites? is there a flowering scented tree hanging over the neighbours fence that gives you hayfever?
other - there are some that react to exercise and have a histamine reaction
chemicals - is there a cleanser or item in the house that makes your hands itchy?

similar to what carol and leah have said, if you are having D, you are inflamed. go back to a basic low inflammation eating plan for a few days. If the D continues try some anti-histamines. If the D gets a bit better than there is a very high chance you are having a histamine reaction to something.

and like foods with MC, yes the thing you are having a histamine reaction to may well be something you have had contact with your whole life.

[JFR]

Best list of histamine containing foods I have found:

http://www.histaminintoleranz.ch/en/dow ... st_HIT.pdf

Jean

[birdlover3]

use claritan ready tabs,

Brandy, Do you get the 12 hour or 24 hour Claritin? Also, does it keep you awake at all?

One other thing....do you eat your 4 safe foods for all 3 meals a day or are you talking about your main meal? If so, what else do you eat to stay safe?

So far I'm not getting any better. Claritin is my next thing to try. Thanks, Barb

[birdlover3]

Barb
Histamine can be SOO Many things

I just google searched - histamine triggers - there are some good websites that will give you some lists.....

Foodwise - reheating chicken is high in histamine, some dried fruits are high in histamine
enviro - plants, trees, dust etc. Are you allergic to dustmites? is there a flowering scented tree hanging over the neighbours fence that gives you hayfever?
other - there are some that react to exercise and have a histamine reaction
chemicals - is there a cleanser or item in the house that makes your hands itchy?

similar to what carol and leah have said, if you are having D, you are inflamed. go back to a basic low inflammation eating plan for a few days. If the D continues try some anti-histamines. If the D gets a bit better than there is a very high chance you are having a histamine reaction to something.

and like foods with MC, yes the thing you are having a histamine reaction to may well be something you have had contact with your whole life.

Yes, I am allergic to dust mites. The only thing I've noticed about this time of year is that I blow my nose more often in the mornings, which has been the case forever. Years ago I was tested on my arms for allergies and did show reaction to grass, tree, etc. but it's very been very bad (outwardly). This was YEARS ago. We just had a flowering crab apple tree bloom in our yard and lilacs, but have never bothered me before and we've been here 25 years. But I will definitely try the Claritin. Is that what you recommend for the antihistamine? Or Benadryl or ??

Reheating chicken is bad? Oh crap. There goes my chicken I just made in the crock pot and put in baggies for later use.....

Thanks, Barb

[birdlover3]

Claritan has lactose, but the redo tabs don't

I don't know if you are eating raw fruits and vegetables, but until your flare is gone, you should avoid them. Beans and legumes also.
You already got great advice about going back to a very simple diet for a while. Hope it works and you don't have to go back to Entocort.

Leah

Since the flare I'm eating canned veggies and fruits like applesauce and bananas. Are bananas bad? Thought they were a "binder". No other raw anything.

[birdlover3]

Claritan has lactose, but the redo tabs don't

Did you mean the redi tabs? Do you take the 12 or 24 hour ones? Does it affect your sleep? I noticed it says non-drowsy. I'm sensitive to things that can keep me awake.

[birdlover3]

Barb, just FYI--I recently switched from Claritin to Claritin Reditabs. The reason is that regular Claritin, including Walgreens Wal-itin, has dairy in it (lactose monohydrate). The Reditabs don't. Plus they are very handy. You peel back the foil, pop one in and they dissolve immediately. You don't even have to break stride if you are headed somewhere.

Chicken broth, chicken, rice and carrots have been my 'baseline' foods. I buy Swanson and haven't had any problems. I have cooked bone broths just twice early on but it's just not always convenient. For the record I have had to eliminate the big 4 plus pork to get my symptoms to ease up.

thanks for letting me butt in. :) I know your questions are for Brandy but I just happen to be here. Brandy has solid advice and she's a great person to listen to.

C.

Carol, I welcome any and all advice as I'm sooooooo frustrated and upset with my body right now. Thanks for clarifying the Claritin. I'm definitely getting it today. I've asked several others if you do the 12 or 24-hour ones. Do they affect your sleep? I'm starting today with those 4 foods you mentioned. Do you do that for all 3 meals? I noticed that the College brand of broth does have wheat but the Swanson doesn't which is good to know. I put a whole chicken in the crock pot the other day and made my own, but someone mentioned that re-heated chicken has histamines!!

When you said you had to eliminate the big 4, what did you eat????

Pipe in anytime please!!!! Thanks, Barb

[Leah]

Hi Barb. I know this disease is so frustrating! Did you ever do the Enterolab testing? because you are not getting any better, maybe you should switch from chicken to either beef or pok and see if that helps. Sometimes people who do get the test find out that chicken is a no no for them. You just won't know until you try.

I can't eat bananas :( Actually all fruit is pretty hard for me. I believe I have fructose malabsorption issues. Too much of any sugar does me in, but fruit is the worst.

Claritin should not get in the way of sleep.

There are lots of foods that are high histamine. Someone ( I think Jean) just posted a long list of them. It's not just chicken leftovers that are bad. Leftovers in general can cause issues. I know this is a big wrinkle. It is for me anyway. I find it too time consuming to cook everything fresh for every meal....especially lunch. I go by the three day rule. If it's more then three days old, I don't eat it. Can't say whether that would work for some though.

When I was at my worst, I ate meats. rice products ( rice cakes helped), almond butter, well cooked veggies, sweet potatoes, Chex cereal with almond milk, and broth soups with veggies. i also only used coconut oil and olive oil. After six months, I added a little GF toast. When I felt even better, I tested salad and then beans.

I hope you find some relief soon
Leah

[birdlover3]

Hi Barb. I know this disease is so frustrating! Did you ever do the Enterolab testing? because you are not getting any better, maybe you should switch from chicken to either beef or pok and see if that helps. Sometimes people who do get the test find out that chicken is a no no for them. You just won't know until you try.

I can't eat bananas :( Actually all fruit is pretty hard for me. I believe I have fructose malabsorption issues. Too much of any sugar does me in, but fruit is the worst.

Claritin should not get in the way of sleep.

There are lots of foods that are high histamine. Someone ( I think Jean) just posted a long list of them. It's not just chicken leftovers that are bad. Leftovers in general can cause issues. I know this is a big wrinkle. It is for me anyway. I find it too time consuming to cook everything fresh for every meal....especially lunch. I go by the three day rule. If it's more then three days old, I don't eat it. Can't say whether that would work for some though.

When I was at my worst, I ate meats. rice products ( rice cakes helped), almond butter, well cooked veggies, sweet potatoes, Chex cereal with almond milk, and broth soups with veggies. i also only used coconut oil and olive oil. After six months, I added a little GF toast. When I felt even better, I tested salad and then beans.

I hope you find some relief soon
Leah

Hi Leah,
Yes, I have had he Enterlab testing...Panel A and Panel C. No meats showed up. The only thing was gluten and oats. I only started the chicken so I'm sure it hasn't had time yet to really help. For lunch today, I ate a bowl of rice, chicken, chicken broth and canned carrots. That HAS to be ok (sigh). LAst night I ate a hamburger, rice and carrots.Banana for dessert.

For breakfast I eat Chex in almond milk with some cut-up banana. Supper was usually a meat, veggie (trying to be sure they are cooked well) and either canned fruit or applesauce, then I endulged in a small ice cream bar. Since this flare started, I eliminated the ice cream bar and ate a banana.

Before this flare started I was eating corn tortillas for lunch with Velveeta cheese grilled and a GF brownie. I did that for weeks and weeks. To see if that is an issue, I stopped that. I wouldn't think that would be an issue since I was doing just fine, in fact I had a couple times when I got a little "C". I did make some Paleo apple cinnamon muffins which I would love to eat, but I guess I'll cut those out too for awhile.

I started the 12-hour claritin today. So for awhile I'm going to do the claritin and the meat/rice/broth/veggies thing and see what happens. If nothing changes, I'm going back to the doc since as far as I can tell, I will have tried everything.

I'm with you on the left-overs. I give them a couple days then out they go. But the chicken I froze in small bags so I could heat up just enough for myself.

I feel lousy and disappointed. The Imodium and Claritin making me feel a little queezy I think. Questioning whether it's really the gluten after all. Sometimes wonder if something else is happening because of the twitching. But I guess I'll ride with the "plan" and see what happens after I give it some time.

You think you're doing everything right and then "WHAMMMMM". :(

How much time do you think I would need before I see improvement?

[carolm]

HI Barb,
I also cook chicken then freeze it, then re-heat it just like a frozen dinner. I know fresh is best but sometimes it's just not practical. I've also had to be aware of mast cell issues and have tried to stay low histamine in my diet.

I take the 24 hour Claritin but I've always had to take an antihistamine-- for years-- so I'm thinking I'm not that sensitive to them. They don't interfere with my sleep.

Re: corn tortillas. I found it was just too much fiber for me. I would become mucus-y and could see little grains in it. I didn't test highly sensitive to it but I wasn't ready for that kind of fiber either. Just a thought in case that's become an irritant for you. It's probably good that you dropped them for awhile.

Yes, I did eat those few foods every day. I ate chicken every day for one entire year. Six months after my dx I decided to test ground beef and it was okay. I spent months rotating chicken, ground beef, rice, potatoes, carrots and green beans. If I had ground beef, rice and green beans for lunch, then it was chicken, potatoes and carrots for supper. If it was chicken, rice and carrots then next meal then the following would be beef, potatoes and green beans. I even ate rice and ground beef for breakfast sometimes. It was whatever I could tolerate at the time. I was badly in need of calories at the time. Often my first meal of the day was lunch as I was too nauseated to eat in the morning. But those were my safe foods. I eventually added turkey, almond butter, Rice Chex, cauliflower, squashes, and broccoli. Like Leah I have to careful with fruit. Can't eat it every day. And no beans or salads for me. I don't expect to ever eat those again.

I think your plan of adding Claritin and staying with the broth/meats/veggies safe foods you mentioned is the best way to go. It's what I would do. Rest and do some relaxation breathing like Dr. Weil describes. I hope you get relief soon.

One last thought-- I had dizziness a lot with my MC and I wasn't taking Imodium (I am C prominent but knew I had a leaky gut and inflammation everywhere). My dizziness was from inflammation and lack of calories. Even now if my gut acts up I will get a little light headed. It might be another symptom of your flare, not necessarily from the Imodium or Claritin. Maybe. If its the Claritin hang in there with it a few more days and see if you acclimate to it.

take care and keep us posted.
Carol

[birdlover3]

I think your plan of adding Claritin and staying with the broth/meats/veggies safe foods you mentioned is the best way to go. It's what I would do. Rest and do some relaxation breathing like Dr. Weil describes. I hope you get relief soon.
Carol

Carol, Who is Dr. Weil? Thanks, Barb

[carolm]

Dr. Andrew Weil is a world renown physician that is a strong advocate of alternative forms of medicine. He is the founder of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Here are couple of links about him. He's authored many books but his books Spontaneous Healing and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health are both very popular.

http://www.drweil.com/

http://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/ ... ctors/weil

[ldubois7]

Thank you Jean, for the list!