Just My Opinion....

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:59 pm

I used to feel like a victim when I found out I had to change my way of eating for the rest of my life. It's been a long time since I viewed it as a curse. I now believe I am fortunate compared to all the people who continue to eat gluten, in addition to all the chemicals and preservatives in highly processed foods, etc. - all because they don't know what they're doing. IMO most (if not all of them) will suffer in some way at some point in their lives, but it won't necessarily be MC. None of us were meant to eat the "so called" foods that are flooding the stores.

I am so grateful for everyone here. All this knowledge has given me my life back.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 11:02 pm

I love that you posted this. I'm a little over a year out and I've come to the realization that my victim mentality is really getting in the way......of everything. I really expected cutting out all the major triggers and not eating anything out of the box would have me feeling better by now. I'm getting ready to embark on THE ELIMINATION diet

to wrangle this thing. But my mind is telling me there are four major parts to this, not just diet( which is hard as hell). 1. Diet 2. Parasites or gut infections 3. Hormones 4. Stress and environment. What if what if what if. Thanks for letting me know it's possible

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:48 am

Sheila
'Here Here'

Vanessa, i think there are a few other things inflammation damage, clearing toxins and excess metals (increased due to leaky gut), fixing nutritional deficiencies, there is the mental side and the emotional side to this journey....

Coming to peace with what is, is hard at the best of times, when it involves major changes that affect every aspect of our life its a tough gig!!
and when each of us can be soo different, figuring out our path through this messy maze is hard work...

there are some that see improvement in under 6 months, but for most people that I have seen in my 5.5 years here, for quite a few it takes over a year, and for just as many it can take 2 years... and there are small number that struggle for 3-5 years (or longer) depending on how many health issues they had, and how long they had chronic inflammation...

hang in there, its about progress not perfection...

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:51 am

Most people around me have health issues; we have reached that age.

By accident, MC became mine. In the beginning I used to feel like a victim, but as time has gone by, I experience that people around me get sick. Just recently my best friend got cancer and died after four months. My sister has just recovered from cancer. Another friend has fibromyalgia, and suffers a lot. (No, I have not tried to convince her to change diet. She witnesses what I do, and has to make her own conclusions).

With MC we can at least have some influence on our well being.

So, in some way I've been lucky. I choose to see it that way.

Lilia

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:43 am

I have come to consider food to be the foundation of health. So anything, even MC, that leads me to only eating foods that foster health and omit foods that don't is a gift. As Lilia said, there is no getting through this life unscathed, so what becomes important is how we react to adversity. We can choose to be victims or choose to approach every challenge as an opportunity to nourish our bodies and minds.

Jean

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:06 am

Great news, humbird, and well-said!

Vanessa,

Have you seen improvement over the past year? What, specifically? Have you tried the food journal? What are you eating now? I saw that you are going to try SCD. What modifications are you making? Nosy Polly again!

I agree that stress is one of the major factors. It promotes gut dysmotility, which results in D and for some, C. I think the connection between stress/emotions and the gut is hugely under-appreciated. My gut has always reacted immediately over my lifetime the minute I have heard/seen something stressful. (BTW, whenever I feel like having a pity party, I try to force myself think like Lilja - as inconvenient as MC is, at least it is not fatal). I wonder if we MCers, in general, do not handle stress as well as others. On the outside I appear to, but inside my gut is in turmoil. And it seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more my gut reacts to stress, the more I worry about the MC flaring/returning....thus causing even more gut dysmotility. I have always said that a flare seems to take on a life of its own - it lasts longer than we would expect. Maybe that is due, in part, to that stress/gut feedback loop. And we have very real fears to be stressed about - especially the fear of a public accident, of being caught somewhere without a bathroom, which has happened to most of us. I'm not sure that fear ever really leaves us, no matter how long our MC has been in remission. We know that a flare is always possible.

I can't remember....are you taking any supplements? I would not recommend it at this point (other than vitamin D). You are not yet sure of all of your sensitivities......so you might be reacting to an inert ingredient in a supplement - like corn or a coloring/preservative.

Hang in there......You WILL get there!!!

Polly

Post by **tex** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:59 am

Paula,

Excellent, excellent post. I agree with you 100 %.

Tex

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:08 am

Hey Gabes,
I had been going to a naturopath and we checked my nutritional deficiencies and I was only low in K and carnitine ( just like a celiac). We did not check for heavy metals. The stool test came back SIgA deficient and an overgrowth of candida. I quit seeing them recently, I could not tolerate what they wanted me to do and too expensive. Thanks for the words of encouragement. It is a tough gig, for the hubby too....dang. I'm always crying because I don't feel good and it changes daily so he never knows who he's gonna get!

Hey Polly,
I do keep a journal. 4 soft BMs on average. 6 BMs around hormone times(till it's watery). Big improvement from 15 plus movements of pure water! I eat chicken, beef , lamb, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower( cooked to mush), rice, sweet potatoe, apple, and avocado. Oh let's not forget pure dark cacao critters with honey poured on them....probably bad. With my methylation report, I suspect sulphur may be a problem so I have recently cut down on the broccoli and cauliflower.

The pooping's not terrible. Although it has seemed to change....very acidic. I take allegra daily, and have a burning stomach and now throat at night. I took Zantac with a bit of relief but didn't want to suppress acid that's already low? Cyclical extreme fatigue, feels like I can't breathe (under a warm blanket) hands and wrists swollen. Extreme thirst that comes and goes. It's these new satellite symptoms that I can't take. I do take an iron supplement, vit c, magnesium lotion and soaks, vit d with k. Here's the rub. I'm on Clonazepam for insomnia and anxiety one at night. I recently found out from someone else on the forum that it has lactose in the pill....so I switched to orally disintegrating tab...that has aspartame in it. They no longer make the brand name wafer that doesn't have any of those awful ingredients. So I'm working on getting it compounded. It's taken three weeks just to do my own research just for one medication. I have hopes that once the lactose is out of my medication I will feel a lot better, however it can't be that simple. I like the SCD, just because I need a guide and I need to go back to the beginning and do this properly....take out everything to see what it is. I need to take out more sugars and purée and cook everything. There probably is no point in starting it until I get that med changed....sorry for the book, but you've been doing this a lot longer than me and your input is invaluable. Oh my thyroid is fine, so are the antibodies. Rheumatoid? Hypochondriac?

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:36 am

Vanessa have you tried making your own bone broth? It can't be stressed enough how beneficial it is.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:41 am

I have made it a few times but didn't realize cooking it for 12 hours raised the histamine in it. Then I froze it in glass jars and they exploded because I didn't leave enough room at the top

must try again. A lot of work literally down the drain. One of my favorite sayings is " if your gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough" SCD people are big on plain gelatin as well.

Marcia K · Post by **Marcia K** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:28 pm

I so agree! There were foods that I missed at first but when I thought it they weren't good for me anyway. I have friends who have died from cancer so I am lucky that this is my cross to bear. I hate that people feel sorry for me. I don't feel sorry for me so they certainly don't have to. My mother is one of the worst ones. I think she feels guilty and there is no need for her to feel that way. I am grateful for each day that I wake up feeling good. For the most part the only issue I have is when I eat too much of something that I really shouldn't eat at all. And like Polly, I think I internalize a lot of stress without realizing it. That's something that I'm working on. I, too am grateful for everyone here. You have all played a major part of my healing with the advice & support.

Marcia

T · Post by T » Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:29 pm

Vanessa

I saved my earth balance butter containers to freeze my bone broth in.
I cook bones for 3 days in the slow cooker.

Terry

drdebc · Post by **drdebc** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 7:15 pm

I did the Entocort, June-November, 2014 with the gradual slow tapering down. I received my EnteroLab results in August, cried as I threw out so many things-especially condiments. In retirement, my fella and I cook without the offending gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts. I read ingredients before I purchase anything. Soy is the evil ingredient that seems to appear in just about everything. What I do not understand is why...Food products that are NOT made in the USA appear to NOT have soy! Tweaking recipes for the things we love without the offending sensitivities has become an adventure.

I have turned a page. I no longer need to chart bathrooms when we go anywhere. I pray that others will feel better. I couldn't have done this without my gastro MD, my fella and the support of this site.

A special thanks goes to Gabe and Tex. Gabe, the magnesium gel is next to my bed. I have leg cramps much much less than I used to. It might be a coincidence however my hair and skin look better than they have in years. Also, I had a painful seed corn on the bottom of my right foot for over 10 years. MD after MD zapped it to no avail. Guess what, it is suddenly so minor it is no longer painful. I suspect that skin, hair, corn may all be related to inflammation which appears to be gone or at least in joyful remission.

Deb

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:34 pm

Wow, Deb - great post. It's always good to hear success stories. I thought I'd never stop charting bathrooms, but so thankful that is no longer a part of my life.

Paula

drdebc · Post by **drdebc** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:23 pm

Thanks, Paula for the reply
Being well these months has given me confidence that if it re-occurs I will be better equipped to "nip it in the bud" from now on. The BRAT diet seems to work for me. That is my plan of action. In fact, I have frozen organic unripe bananas in my freezer. Constant MC used to really depress me. Now that I am feeling well, I am focusing on being optimistic in the hopes that will also keep me in remission.
My hope is that you will feel well also.
Deb

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Just My Opinion....

Just My Opinion....

This is a great post!