I can't believe I am saying this out loud but I have been feeling great for a solid month! In November I went off Uceris (budesonide) and I noticed no difference in how I was feeling. I suspected Uceris wasn't doing anything for me and the small improvements I was seeing as time went by were due to being strict with my diet. My situation was definitely better than at its worst when I was first diagnosed in April, but not optimal. My mornings were difficult, 2-3 urgent bm's that were very loose to D. I was eating chicken, turkey, rice, potatoes and olive oil at the time. I was increasingly frustrated that I just couldn't seem to get my mornings under control and decided to switch to eating vegetables again, something I had been afraid to do due to the fiber and reading on here how it aggravated symptoms for many. I missed eating veggies, I felt like my body wanted veggies so I decided to just do it. Within one week my mornings were better! I still ate chicken and turkey for meat, and then whatever vegetables I wanted, starting with small portions at first. I have since been able to add rice or potatoes and other foods in when I want to and still enjoy great digestion. I have been able to pinpoint certain foods (butternut squash, coconut) that give me terrible stomach aches, something I am so happy about because I have suffered from stomach aches for longer than I have suffered from the MC. I also figured out that lemon can still cause me morning D. All in all, I am a very happy camper and I actually feel silly in the morning for thanking the universe for a solid bm, but I know that many if not all of you can relate!
I have a question. I have read here that fiber/vegetables don't really cause MC but they aggravate the system once you have it (if I have that wrong let me know). I am just wondering if I am hurting myself or making it more likely I will get back into a flare by eating them. The veggies that I prefer are cruciferous ones... broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower. Is it okay to eat as much as I want but back off if I start to experience symptoms? Or should I always be cautious and only eat small amounts? Any advice is appreciated. :)
Feeling better and a question about veggies
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robinc2525
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:29 am
Hi Robin,
Good for you for tracking down your food sensitivities and resolving your symptoms. We're all different in how we respond to fiber, but it appears that you're able to handle it relatively well.
IMO, the key to successfully reintroducing such foods back into the diet (for most of us) is to do it gradually, allowing our digestive system to relearn how to accommodate them, and allowing time to gradually restore our ability to produce adequate amounts of the enzymes needed for good digestion. As long as you pay attention to what your body is telling you (and backing off if it balks), you should be OK.
There is some research that suggests that cruciferous vegetables might be problematic for some patients who have MC (they tend to cause increased lymphocytic infiltration, which is the diagnostic marker of LC), but the jury is still out on that research (the effects haven't been verified) so as long as you respond well to them, they may never be a problem. You should be able to work your way up to being able to tolerate virtually any quantity you want, as long as you don't see any negative responses.
Enjoy.
Tex
Good for you for tracking down your food sensitivities and resolving your symptoms. We're all different in how we respond to fiber, but it appears that you're able to handle it relatively well.
IMO, the key to successfully reintroducing such foods back into the diet (for most of us) is to do it gradually, allowing our digestive system to relearn how to accommodate them, and allowing time to gradually restore our ability to produce adequate amounts of the enzymes needed for good digestion. As long as you pay attention to what your body is telling you (and backing off if it balks), you should be OK.
There is some research that suggests that cruciferous vegetables might be problematic for some patients who have MC (they tend to cause increased lymphocytic infiltration, which is the diagnostic marker of LC), but the jury is still out on that research (the effects haven't been verified) so as long as you respond well to them, they may never be a problem. You should be able to work your way up to being able to tolerate virtually any quantity you want, as long as you don't see any negative responses.
Enjoy.
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.
Hi Robin. You should be just fine with the vegetables you are eating since your body seems to be happy on them. They are not a protein that one would produce antibodies to, so it is very unlikely that eating them can harm you. If you OD on something and your symptoms flare, then you will know that some veggies are about "quantity". I have always been able to eat cooked vegetables. It was the raw ones that we tend to have the most problems with. However now, I can even eat raw ones. Salad greens are definitely about quantity. It's fruit I have issues with still.
I am happy for you! Doesn't it feel great to have success?
Take Care
Leah
I am happy for you! Doesn't it feel great to have success?
Take Care
Leah
Hi Robin,
Glad to see you are doing well. I seem to be better and I keep whispering it as it has been a month now! I am eating all kinds of vegetables and meat. I have one fruit a day. I have added eggs back in as enterolabs said they were ok...but they didn't feel ok when I was sick. I have also added small amounts of raw vegs. I have that Protein shake in the morning for my breakfast with almond milk and that has made my morning so much better. A couple of hours later I have an hard boiled egg or almonds. I try to eat small amounts every few hours. I am still doing what the nutritionist recommended...enzymes, probiotics and kava-kava. Something is working so I am not changing a thing....oh and like Tex - I now have a love affair with coconut oil!!! I use it for everything! I have been off I give gratitude daily for my better days.
Jean
Glad to see you are doing well. I seem to be better and I keep whispering it as it has been a month now! I am eating all kinds of vegetables and meat. I have one fruit a day. I have added eggs back in as enterolabs said they were ok...but they didn't feel ok when I was sick. I have also added small amounts of raw vegs. I have that Protein shake in the morning for my breakfast with almond milk and that has made my morning so much better. A couple of hours later I have an hard boiled egg or almonds. I try to eat small amounts every few hours. I am still doing what the nutritionist recommended...enzymes, probiotics and kava-kava. Something is working so I am not changing a thing....oh and like Tex - I now have a love affair with coconut oil!!! I use it for everything! I have been off I give gratitude daily for my better days.
Jean
Everything will be ok in the end, if it's not ok, it's not the end.
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fatbuster205
- Gentoo Penguin
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 7:53 am
- Location: Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland
Re: Feeling better and a question about veggies
I have been GF free for over 12 months now and dairy free for 4 months. That said lately I have had to eat foods involving both (Corporate events etc) and a case of starve or eat!!!! Luckily I have been great until today when a Caesar chicken salad gave 6 hours of indigestion (ie pain). "off diet" eating! That said, most here are not so fortunate! So I would recommend listening to the advice here - and BTW I love the solid BMs which I currently have ( only 3 -4 times a day) - I would prefer one!!!!robinc2525 wrote:I felt like my body wanted veggies so I decided to just do it. Within one week my mornings were better! I still ate chicken and turkey for meat, and then whatever vegetables I wanted, starting with small portions at first. I have since been able to add rice or potatoes and other foods in when I want to and still enjoy great digestion. I have been able to pinpoint certain foods (butternut squash, coconut) that give me terrible stomach aches, something I am so happy about because I have suffered from stomach aches for longer than I have suffered from the MC. I also figured out that lemon can still cause me morning D. All in all, I am a very happy camper and I actually feel silly in the morning for thanking the universe for a solid bm, but I know that many if not all of you can relate!
I have a question. I have read here that fiber/vegetables don't really cause MC but they aggravate the system once you have it (if I have that wrong let me know). I am just wondering if I am hurting myself or making it more likely I will get back into a flare by eating them. The veggies that I prefer are cruciferous ones... broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower. Is it okay to eat as much as I want but back off if I start to experience symptoms? Or should I always be cautious and only eat small amounts? Any advice is appreciated. :)
Anne
If you ever feel too insignificant to be noticed, you have never been to bed with a mosquito!
Hi Robin,
Thanks for sharing your great news! My MC exploded last March. I worked on veggies in baby steps. I've been eating cooked onions for quite a while and I ate cooked cabbage for the first time two days ago with only a tiny change in BM consistency that I attribute to an increase in veggie quantity for the day. In the beginning, I could only eat a few kinds of veggies. I've worked my way up but I still tolerate only well-cooked fruits and veggies with a few exceptions. I eat bananas, avocado, small amounts of fresh tomatoes, ,a few bites of melon, and one piece of tender leaf lettuce at a time. Like you, increasing veggies has given me a greater sense of well-being. I have never heard that fiber causes MC. I'm looking forward to raw veggies and more fiber, I'm just not sure when.
For newbies reading this post: Adding veggies can take time for many of us. The first step is controlling D and finding a starting point of what you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race
DJ
Thanks for sharing your great news! My MC exploded last March. I worked on veggies in baby steps. I've been eating cooked onions for quite a while and I ate cooked cabbage for the first time two days ago with only a tiny change in BM consistency that I attribute to an increase in veggie quantity for the day. In the beginning, I could only eat a few kinds of veggies. I've worked my way up but I still tolerate only well-cooked fruits and veggies with a few exceptions. I eat bananas, avocado, small amounts of fresh tomatoes, ,a few bites of melon, and one piece of tender leaf lettuce at a time. Like you, increasing veggies has given me a greater sense of well-being. I have never heard that fiber causes MC. I'm looking forward to raw veggies and more fiber, I'm just not sure when.
For newbies reading this post: Adding veggies can take time for many of us. The first step is controlling D and finding a starting point of what you can eat. Slow and steady wins the race
DJ