When to reintroduce foods after achieving remission?

[nsaidcolitis]

Hi guys. I have found what works for me in terms of my colitis.

I only consume zucchini,onions,avocado,salmon,fish oil, olive oil and flaxseed oil.

This has kept my symptoms down.

However I(most likely) have a prolapse in my rectum due to the chronic constipation and I need to add more fiber or else it will get worse and quality of life decrease.

So I really want to add more fiber and fruits but If I do add more then I feel the pain in my colon and bloating so it's hard to decide what to do.

I think it's more important to take care of my constipation and incomplete bowel movements due to the damaged rectum than the colitis otherwise the straining will just make it worse and worse. Fiber makes stools easier to pass for me unless theres something else I can try...


I remember when I achieved remission also I gain my weight back in a week that was months ago! I'm gaining weight again now. Unfortunately I was given nsaids again so the remission lasted a week or so, this is my second remission so I wonder how long does it take to heal (I've had MC for almost 5 months).


Any tips will be appreciated.

[tex]

I wonder how long does it take to heal (I've had MC for almost 5 months)

Mostly complete healing (IOW, a return to normal mucosal histology in the colon) typically takes 2 to 3 years for kids, and 3 to 5 years (or longer) for adults, depending on age, the extent of the damage, and the degree of avoidance of exposure to inflammatory antigens.

Tex

[wmonique2]

I echo Tex---it takes a very long time to see remission. I am nearly 3 years and just started eating a bit more fruits and vegetables.

Why don't you try safe vegetables like yams, any of the squashes, red potatoes, green beans and peeled apples or cooked, peaches, bananas. Have very well cooked vegetables. I also eat canned beets in water. You may introduce them one at the time and see how it goes.

Good luck.

Monique

[DebE13]

Here, here! Two years for me and still working at it. It's a slow, slow road but well worth it. I was expecting immediate results and even a couple of months seemed like an eternity. Ha, ha silly me!

I also has a lifetime of poor eating habits, shocking ibuprofen use, almost two decades of oral contraceptive use, and four years of untreated MC which made me deathly sick. So in retrospect, it isn't unreasonable to say it could take up to five years for healing to take place. Even at that, maybe too much damage has been done to attain remission without meds or at all. I don't have anything to loose so it's worth trying to get there.

Best wishes on your journey.

[Gabes-Apg]

remission in MC world has some quite blurred lines...

firstly, for most people it is hard to define. MC Management and getting your life back is quite different for all of us.

remission is also fairly fragile... it can be a stress factor such as death in the family, or a certain type of infection that can put someone into a serious flare, that can take months to overcome.

I hear you with the Constipation issues and trying to achieve the delicate balance of good motility, while not causing MC inflammation with too much fibre.
my learnings over the past year with this issue, it can be week by week, it depends on the weather, mast cell/histamine issues, was work stressful this week? am i getting good quality rest?

I like most here, I too wish there was a more defined answer to things like this
(or that every morning i could push a button and a report status of my gut would print out so I knew what was going on !!!!)

[carolm]

Since I am C prominent and have motility issues, my GI doc worked out a regimen for me in an effort to find out how much fiber would help me. Keep in mind this is after I had finished Entocort and made considerable diet changes and was about 18 months after my diagnosis.

Initially I started on 1 stool softener (I used ducosate sodium) and 1/2 teaspoon Citrucel for a week.
If the results not what we wanted I went up to 2 stool softener tablets and 1 teaspoon Citrucel for a week.
The next step was 2 stool softeners and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Citrucel
Then 3 stool softeners and 2 teaspoons Citrucel
Then 3 softeners with 2 1/2 teaspoons Citrucel, then up to 4 and ending with 4 teaspoons.

Note that these amounts are much less than the manufacturers recommend (for fiber).

I never made it past 2 softeners and 1 1/2 teaspoons Citrucel. Had to drop back to 1 teaspoon Citrucel. It wasn't long before I was able to drop the softeners and continue just the Citrucel (1 teaspoon) and now I don't need either. The nice thing about this regimen is that you can fine tune it and go with 1 1/4 teaspoons of Citrucel if that's what is best for you. Or if 1 teaspoon is too much you go with 3/4 teaspoons. You get the idea.

Good luck on your journey.
Carol

[nsaidcolitis]

Thanks so much for your help guys. I'm still dealing with chronic rectum pain, I am totally convinced I have an internal rectal prolapse, I would be the happiest guy in the world if it wasn't but I just know it is...so I have to take care of it to avoid surgery.

Today I had my first complete BM, felt evacuated although still had rectum discomfort which is chronic and rarely goes away (left side) and felt the trapped gasses today...

Still felt nice having evacuated...

I would strongly suggest anyone dealing with C should train their bowels to avoid permanent damage from C, I think C is more dangerous than diarrhea. I am still trying to learn how to have a bowel movement naturally without straining at all, today I almost didn't strain at all just put pressure on the abdomen and I try to go once a day at the same time.

My diet is the following and it gives me almost no symptoms in case it might help someone(I couldnt sit before because the right colon was so inflammed pressure would make it hurt) and i take no meds.

broccoli,zucchini,tuna or salmon (with water , no soy or anything), coconut oil(just added so not sure yet if it will have impact), olive oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil, onions, avocado..that's it.

I really want to get rid of the tuna/salmon I am strongly suspecting this is causing some inflammation not only in the colon but in other parts of my body and preventing me from achieving full remission(for example I feel like my pericarditis wants to come back with a vengeance) which I feel with other symptoms but I really need the protein to heal so I am not sure what to replace it with.



Also I am able to tolerate more fiber I know this because I would get bloated and more pain with fiber and my abdomen would look like a time bomb about to blow up when walking after eating. I have much less bloating and stays the same with walking.

Also is anyone on supplements like magnesium and if so which are the safest brands?