My New Adventure with LC

[Summer S]

Hi All,

I hope I have put this in the right place.

There is so much information here I thought I would tell my story and see what information I get that way first and then go trawling through all the posts.

I guess my adventure may have started with my 3 trips to ERs in May to finally have a doctor see retained gallstones and get them removed via ERCP. My gallbladder was removed 5.5 years ago, even after removing the residual stones I still have a 'mysterious' pain where my original gallbladder pain was in my right mid back, that started within days of removal. Again, I don't know if that has anything to do with my latest diagnosis. I do know since have the retained gallstones removed that my bowel motions are looser, I used to have to take something everyday, settled on a Senakot tablet. After removal I do not not need any assistance.

Before that happened I had gotten on to The Gabriel Method (TGM), have had a weight battle for 4 decades, stabilized at a higher weight for 17 years, but needed to get weight off for my joints. Got a gastric band, which was a mistake. I've gained at least half of the weight lost back, started as soon as I stopped dieting. There had to be a better way, and right now I have faith in TGM. Tis a wholistic approach, a 'diet free way to totally transform your body' by 'turning your thin switch' back on. Fat people are starving for nutrients, so he has you add whole foods, make sure you get greens, animal protein and Omega 3 in every meal. Sections in book are:
Nonphysical stresses that activate FAT (famine and temperature) programs (such as emotional obesity)
Physical stresses that activate FAT programs (reasons your body wants to stay fat)
Positive Forces that make your body want to be thin
Making it happen for you

I embarked on TGM in mid June. When I do something I dive in head first. I got all the supplements through Puritans Pride (his website prices are ridiculous of course), continued my morning smoothie of least surgery berries, handful of baby spinach, a carrot, banana, whey protein and water, with a piece of GF raisin bread and a small bowl of home made granola (seeds and nuts with some coconut) with almond milk for breakfast (he supports a large breakfast), BBQd (mostly) pork loin, beef burger or chicken breast (organic if possible) in a large baby spinach salad, or with salad on the side for other meals. Snacks are raw nuts and fruit or some cheese very occasionally.

5-6 weeks in to it I started getting looser stools (they are rarely formed) and then full on watery diarrhea. A visit with my PCP for another reason had me trying to get in to a gastroenterologist quicker, poo tests showed no baddies. Breath test showed no lactose or fructose intolerance. I ended up having a colonoscopy, it was time, and an endoscopy. I met with the gastro that did those last week and he gave me the diagnosis of Lymphocytic Colitis and gave a 6 weeks course of Budesonide, 3mg capsules, 3 a day for 4 weeks, 2 a day for a week and 1 a day for a week. I disliked that man intensely, considering going to a different gastro in the same practice.

I have not released any weight through TGM yet, it can take months apparently, and did not lose any weight with the diarrhea either (darn) and this corticosteroid may make me put on more weight. NOOOOOO!

I certainly would prefer a natural remedy to anything, have read that coconut oil and flakes help soothe the colon. Am prepared to lessen the greens which goes against TGM, am gluten free.

Tis all confusing right now, it seems you guys have become fonts of knowledge so any input would be greatly appreciated. Of course we can all 'digest' the information and make our own choices.

Thank you for listening,

Summer

P.S. I don't know what all the 'registration' stuff means below, I hope I did this correctly.

P.P.S. Also wanted to mention head pain I get, I am sure is gut related, no pain pills affect it, get relief while eating and for an hour or so after. It went away for a few years but has come back. Usually comes on when I don't eat soon enough, usually before lunch.

[tex]

Hi Summer,

Welcome to our Internet family. We consider ourselves a family because no one truly understands this disease unless they have it.

We've found that despite our doctors' ability to effectively control the symptoms of this disease without the use of a corticosteroid (which of course has certain long-term risks), we are able to control our symptoms and get our life back by adjusting our diet to avoid the foods that are causing the inflammation in the first place. We also have to limit certain foods that irritate the gut while we are recovering, in order to allow/help the gut to heal. After we have been in remission for a while, most of us are able to add many of the foods that are simply "irritants" back into our diet. Irritants include fiber, sugar, and spicy foods. We have to minimize fiber, which means that we do best with limited amounts of certain easy-to-digest vegetables, and very little fruit, because fruit also has the problem of containing a lot of fructose and sorbitol. All veggies and fruits should be peeled (to minimize fiber) and overcooked (to make them easier to digest). Bananas are the only raw fruit that most of us can tolerate while we are healing.

The inflammation is caused by certain foods that cause our immune system to produce antibodies, and this causes an autoimmune-type reaction in our gut, resulting in chronic inflammation. The worst offender is gluten, but most of us are also sensitive to the primary protein in all dairy products (casein) and soy. Many of us are also sensitive to eggs, and some of us have to avoid many other foods.

The bottom line is that not only are we sensitive to gluten, but many of us are more sensitive to gluten than most celiacs, so we have to not just avoid it, but avoid it 100 %, even in trace amounts. That means that we recover faster and more reliably if we do all our own cooking, and start from scratch, using whole, safe foods, while avoiding processed foods, especially those with a long ingredient list. Salads (especially iceberg lettuce) are highly inflammatory, and raw veggies in general are not far behind.

With any luck at all, you should be able to incorporate this information into your current plan to not only control your LC, but to safely and effectively lose weight also. Many members here have found that when they eat the foods that are safe for their body, they not only get rid of their MC symptoms, but they end up at a weight that is correct for them. Most of them do it without even trying to lose weight, and without even thinking about their weight — some throw their scales away early on. And of course after they fine-tune their diet to eliminate all of the foods that cause them to react, they eventually become symptom free (from LC, CC, or MC), and they feel healthier than they have felt in decades.

It doesn't happen overnight, and it takes a lot of work and careful attention to detail, but it is definitely doable. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

[Leah]

HI Summer. Welcome.
Tex is our expert, so you got a pretty good intro from him, but it might be a good idea to buy his book. Just click on the picture of it on this page to get you to Amazon.

Being a personal trainer/nutritionist, I can say that I totally understand wanting to stick to your "health" eating plan, but right now what you most need to do is eat to heal your gut. We are all slightly different in our intolerances but the most common and in this order are gluten dairy, soy, and eggs. Then as Tex said, all the irritants can prevent you from healing….. salads, raw veggies , fruit, spicy, acidy ( like tomato and citrus), sugar…etc. It's best to eat a diet that is simple and fresh that consists of proteins, cooked easy to digest veggies ( like squash, carrots, and green beans, sweet potatoes) , and maybe white rice and/or white potatoes. Some of us have issues with nightshades though ( potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers).

Your doctor has the right drug that can help you relieve symptoms, but he's mistaken on how long you should be on it AND, IT CAN NOT CURE YOU. We have discovered here that one should be on Budesonide at least 4 months ( I was on it for a total of 6). if you stop too soon, recurrence is very likely. You also must slowly wean the dose down for success, but what will bring success is the change in diet.

If you want to know your main intolerances that are causing the inflammation and have the money to do so, take the Enterolab tests A and C. Google them. If not, the the elimination diet is the only way to go.

Read other posts. Read the posts that are for newbies. Ask questions. We are here to help you. There is light at the end of the tunnel if you put the work in now. Even though I remain gluten dairy, and soy free, I have been able to add many foods back into my diet.

Good luck
Leah

[JFR]

Here's a thread I started about a month ago about my weight loss:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ht=#159232

You might find it helpful.

Try to concentrate on figuring out what foods you can and cannot eat. No diet is healthy if it is making you sick.

Jean

[Summer S]

More questions...
As my symptoms just appeared 6-8 weeks ago, does it mean I am a newbie and easier to get back to 'normal' or does it mean that it has been building up and finally exploded?
This puts a whole new slant on TGM for me and whole foods in general. I am grateful for your knowledge and your sharing of it.
It sounds like a lot of work, I'll start with not having salads. Cooked fruit? Oh my.

Appreciate it all,

Summer

[Summer S]

Thank you for your continuation on of Tex's info.
I was debating whether to keep taking the corticosteroid, so the 6 weeks is kind of useless? I certainly can't afford to gain weight with it. Physically and financially.
About 15 years ago I did a 'sub-lingual immunotherapy avoidance program' that a ENT doc had devised in Australia. Through a blood test I found LOTS of irritants. After 6 months of chicken and potatoes and putting drops of his concoction he declared I could eat anything but wheat. I cut down my wheat but did not eliminate it. Is the entero lab test a blood test?
I really appreciate your expertise.

Summer

[Summer S]

'no diet is healthy if it is making you sick'.

TGM is not a diet per se, its a wholistic approach as I mentioned before, working on mind and getting nutrients in to your body and getting your body to want to be thin again. I am reading his book again and rethinking what I can eat that fits.

Thanks for the link to your 'accidental' weight loss blog. That is encouraging.

Appreciate it all,

Summer

[DebE13]

I've been on varied doses of entocort since February 2012 and haven't experienced any weight gain issues. Everyone is different so it may be worth a try if it helps control the D while tweaking your diet. I've done blood tests for sensitivities but found the Enterolab stool tests to be the most reliable.

[Summer S]

thank you.

I'll have to check out the Entero Lab tests.

Summer

[tex]

Summer,

By the term "newbie", Leah was probably just referring to the fact that you are a new member here. However, since you haven't been reacting nearly as long as some of us here were before we started treatment, you should have less accumulated intestinal damage, so it's certainly possibly that you might heal faster than many of us, provided that you can determine your food sensitivities and eliminate them from your diet before much more additional damage accrues. But recovery times are virtually impossible to predict, because we are all different in the ways that we respond to diet changes, and to meds, if we are taking any.

Is the entero lab test a blood test?

As Deb pointed out, the EnteroLab food sensitivity tests are stool tests, and they are the only tests in the world that do a reliable and accurate job of detecting the kind of food sensitivities that are inflaming our intestines. The antibodies are created in the intestines, so it just makes sense to look for them there. Virtually all of the blood tests show a lot of false positive results, but the worst part is that they also show a lot of false negative results, and as a result they typically miss the major food sensitivities, which makes them pretty much worthless for our purposes. The blood tests are useful for skin allergies, but not for digestive system issues caused by food sensitivities.

The EnteroLab A1 + C1 panels is the combination of tests that most members find to be the most helpful, and that combination offers the most beneficial tests for the money, but tests are also available on an individual basis, if the discounted combination of test panels is more expense than you can justify at the moment. Here's a link to the combo that I'm referring to:

https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/T ... #PanelA1C1

Tex

[Summer S]

Oh I referred to myself as a newbie, Tex, having my first symptoms in the last 2 months and a quick diagnosis. I think I will go to another GI in that practice to see what he has to say, to see if he is more open minded about LC or just wants me to continue the drugs.

Thanks for the further info on Enterolab. I should have looked at their website before I asked more questions. The cost is out of my budget at the moment unfortunately.

Should I continue the 6 weeks of Budesonide? I can continue gluten free. I should eliminate dairy, see how I feel and then maybe reintroduce dairy? That is one that is going to be hard to give up. Soy doesn't worry me. If I need to reduce fiber am I going to need help going again? What would be best?

Wow, so much to figure out. I really appreciate this forum.

Summer

[tex]

If your symptoms are so severe that you have trouble working and going about the other essential/important things in life, the Entocort can be used to mask your symptoms for a while, because it often takes a while for the diet changes to begin showing benefits. If your symptoms are not severe enough to justify the use of the drug, then you are probably better off without it. Just to put things into perspective, without insurance, one month of Entocort costs roughly 3 times as much as the EnteroLab tests.

Until your anti-gliadin antibody level declines to below the level at which it triggers a reaction, gluten will continue to dominate your reactions. Anti-gliadin antibodies have a 120 day half-life. The other food sensitivities have approximately a 6 day half-life. After the anti-gliadin antibodies have declined to where you are no longer reacting, then yes, you can test other foods to see if you can tolerate them.

We don't have to totally avoid fiber (that's impossible, anyway). We just have to minimize it while we are trying to heal our gut. That means eating white rice instead of brown rice, peeling any fruits or vegetables, and either avoiding or eating smaller portions of those that are high fiber sources. Whole grains are not our friends, because the hull (pericarp) contains most of the fiber.

Tex

[Summer S]

Brilliant, Tex, thank you so much. This has helped me make my mind up to give up the Entocort as I woke up with some side affects that I won't tolerate. I hate taking pharmaceuticals in general but specifically that I am highly susceptible to side affects.

[tex]

You're very welcome. I agree with you — all medications carry a risk of side effects, and some carry a risk of unforeseen consequences. We're almost always better off without them, but under certain conditions, they can be life-savers. The problem is that too many drugs are prescribed for trivial purposes, because doctors are trained to prescribe drugs as a primary line of treatment, and they rarely consider the known risks associated with those medications seriously enough. They always pretend to be surprised when a patient reports serious side effects.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Hi there,
Re the weight situation, I am one that has struggled with weight issues most my adult life.

I did lose some weight with the d episodes before Dx. (5 years ago). For the past 3 years or so I have struggled with weight gain. The good news.... Once you sort out root cause issues causing symptoms and issues, get the right eating plan and supplement plan, and yes, be in the right place mentally and emotionally, the weight will go.
I can understand the TGM principles and wanting to get the right nutrients, albeit, if your gut Is inflammed you won't be absorbing those nutrients. further, while the gut is inflammed, this also puts stress on the other digestion organs, and due to ongoing leaky gut issues, toxins and other gunk gets into our brains.
No amount of mental power thoughts will overcome those toxins.

MC is different to other IBd's, I have a close friend who is a naturopath, and have been seeing an acupuncturist for 13 years, we had to change and modify our approach for me when the MC reared its angry ugly head!! Other practitioners I have seen over the last 5 years also comment that MC is different to other IBD's.

Eliminate the inflammation, heal the gut, then approach the other health issues.
Have you had any testing of your Vit D3 level. If you are deficient in Vit D3, you won't absorb nutrients properly. Healthy Vit D3 is essential to minimise inflammation, help the brain/mood, for our cells to function etc.
The other fantastic all rounders that helps a multitude of issues is magnesium, zinc, Vit C.
None of these are expensive,

Hope this helps.