Boyfriends & bathroom issues

[chellebelle]

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend is long distance; he is in Massachusetts & I am in upstate NY. We see each other as often as possible, and I have found myself fasting for days before he arrives to avoid issues, along with taking copious amounts of Benadryl, Immodium AD & painkiilers (for allergies, microscopic colitis, migraines) to have good visits with him.

We are set to move in together August of 2016 - I chose the date because I am having allergy shots to desensitize me to dogs; he has two and I am allergic.

I don't know how I will deal with my multiple food allergies when he has none, not to mention the pups.

I'm also quite worried because he is one of those old fashioned fellas... I sent him the Poo-pourri commercial because of the redhaired Scottish girl - he's Scottish - and he said something disparaging about "the topic" (I thought it was quite funny) and has asked me to stop discussing my one elderly cat's potty issues (I was venting because he was going everywhere but the box... it had just happened, right in front of me and my boyfriend, directly by the refrigerator door) even though I wasn't being graphic at all. He seems to be grossed out by bowel movements in general, but especially and extremely when women even mention them.

I have never told him I have microscopic colitis, only that I have "tummy issues". I've had symptoms around him, such as before I realized wine was a trigger (I never drink) and had some with him, lots and lots of sloshing and gurgling and going to the bathroom about 20 times while he was sleeping. He never really connected that it was a back door issue, not a front door issue, that had me in the loo all night.

I was in remission for a few months, but a couple mistakes last month has had me back in a vicious cycle of about 1/2 the week normal (or normal-ish) & half the week with the runs. I can't seem to fix it again, even though I have not had previously discover triggers in almost 6 weeks. I bought this PurePaleo beef protein powder & apparently that is a trigger; not sure if Heather's Tummy Fiber is a trigger cause I had some in the PurePaleo drinks & had horrible runs for days, but it could have just been the 1-2 punch of soluble fiber + trigger. I'm not sure if kombucha is a problem or not, so I vowed today was my last day for that. Cherries are my favorite fruit, and I am worried they might cause issues for me, but it's so hard to tell right now because I am back to any high-water content food causing issues again.

How am I going to live with this guy if he can't handle me being a real person that poops?! I'm desperate to fix myself before next summer!

Ok, that aside, the HydroBeef protein powder appears to be a gigantic no-no. It takes about 24 hours to hit me.

I seem to be having more pain in my small intestine - I had barely any before - and have realized I can no longer have pepperoni (I was eating a few slices of the Applegate Farms once a week for years with no issues until recently - it causes horrible pain now).

I asked my doctor for a referral to a GI doctor just to make sure nothing else is going on; I don't expect doctors to be much help for anything besides diagnoses, to be quite honest.

I'm going to be eating only whiting (cause it's wild caught, frozen and cheap), plantains (cheap & safe) and, once my intestines stop dancing like no one's watching, frozen cauliflower/broccoli (cheap, safe) with some evoo for about 2 months due to needing to save money to pay for a housekeeper (I need help), so I hope this will simultaneously bring me back into remission.

Is it possible the allergy shots are making it worse? Anyone had experience with that? I'm so tired of this. :(

Ok, whiny rant over. Thanks for letting me talk!

Best wishes to everyone for happy tummies!

Chelle

[Gabes-Apg]

Chelle
one of the motivators for me to stick to my 'bland eating plan' is that it means next to no gut symptoms....

One thing I have found, if I am happy, at peace with my eating plan, then others will accept it too... so dont feel you have to explain or justify.

the other aspect with the allergies, read this discussion..
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21280

Since removing major inflammation triggers and fixing key nutritional deficiencies I no longer react to animals (after 30 years of reactions to animals etc)

in simple terms;
get onto the right eating plan for you (low inflammation, well cooked, gut healing eating plan)
stick to it! as much as possible
get onto the right supplements and fix key deficiencies (high doses of Vit D3 and magnesium is a must)

and in time, things will greatly improve. The sucky part, it takes time, ie months... improvements can be slow and it will test your tenacity and diligence. But I will encourage you to do it, as your life long wellness, and happiness is worth it!!!

While you are flaring, i would avoid fruit. the fibre and the sugar can be a big issue for an inflammed gut. As you heal, you will be able to have small amounts
Get into some good servings of safe animal proteins, we need protein to heal!
home made bone broth is awesome, packed with essential nutrients and gut healing collagen

If you spend some time reading other posts you will see meal ideas that fit 'MC safe' that both of you can have.

one thing i have done during my MC journey is be transparent - I am not ashamed. It is, what it is. and it with me for life!
in both work and social situations if people know why, I eat like I do, and be strict about it, they tend to be supportive.
when at work, if I was having a bad day, I would say, i may have to leave this meeting at short notice. and if needed to i did, guilt free.

[chellebelle]

Thank you for the response!

I get a lot of flack from family members regarding my diet. Part of that is we only eat organic, humanely raised animal products and almost 100% organic plant foods, which comes off as judgmental snobbery when I, for example, offer to purchase the Thanksgiving turkey, even if I don't say why. The other part is that we are apparently a huge PITA to have over for dinner. I try to insist we don't need food for get-togethers, that we can spend time together without eating, but I'm Cuban/Italian LOL. It doesn't fly.

My boyfriend is actually really cool with it, but I don't know how it will be when he can't boil rice in the house because it gives me hives. Visiting & living together are two different things. He is planning on some elaborate venting system. Sigh.

I've been changing my diet for years, first for ethical reasons at age 14 (went vegetarian), then for health reasons since age 19 in 1999 (went raw vegan, then transitioned to eating cooked food again, realized my food allergies & began cutting things out). I've been sick my whole life - asthma, eczema, ENT infections, pneumonia, bladder/kidney infections, chronic bronchitis... I managed to get rid of all of that, along with managing hypothyroidism & diabetes (5.5 A1c yay!)& weight issues & chronic migraines. I've reversed cat & dog allergies in the past, only to have the dog allergies to return years later, along with migraines, which were gone the same length of time.

I can't seem to get away from hurdles. I know you've all felt it. I'm tired of cutting things out of my diet. I will say, more than anything else, the colitis symptoms make it easy to say no to foods, so once I have figured out a trigger, I let it go with no sadness. For someone of my ethnic background to be unable to eat beans & rice, tomatoes, peppers... that's pretty much all the ethnic foods I grew up on, gone. But I gave up on legumes & grains years ago when I grew tired of the bronchitis & other issues they caused, so tomatoes & peppers...good-bye.

Thank you for the encouragement! Months... I can do months. I wish I could do bone broth, but it makes me sick. I have this water retention problem... long story, so no soup for me, and also bone broth makes me congested. But I can do gelatin! I try to get some in as much as possible. I will focus on the animal proteins - they are a safe food for me, which has been a cruel irony for someone who wanted to be vegetarian from age 2-3. Letting go of fruits is very difficult for me, but I will try! Thank you for the advice & information!

I feel really happy for your healing of animal allergies! Horses are beautiful.

[Gabes-Apg]

Gelatin alone wont do super healing, there are many other ingredients to the bone broth that are essential, Amino acids, minerals etc

Fluid retention is another indicator of deficiencies with b group vitamins, namely B1 and B5

based on your reply
get into the animal protein, put the fruit on hold for a bit
get into the Vit D3 and magnesium.

Quite a few here use magnesium cream/spray as it removes any risk of having D issues

[Erica P-G]

HI Chelle,
What type of bones did you or would you have used? Bone broth is the most bland staple food ever, with only two ingredients water and bones plus sea salt for taste. I use Cornish hen bones at the moment, I react to beef so I do not use those.

I only ask this out of curiosity since I have not come across anyone that hasn't been able to get along with a broth of some sort. I hope you find your safe foods soon.

Cheers
Erica

[chellebelle]

Hello all,

That is interesting about B1 & B5 - I wonder if the watery losses have to do with that, due to them being water soluble. I definitely take in more than adequate amounts (I track my nutrient intake diligently), so it would be due to malabsorption. Maybe when I see the new GI doctor, I can ask about some kind of testing for that. I've had the water retention issue since my late teens; it is connected to a mild mitral/tricuspid regurgitation & mild kidney damage (the doctor says, "some people just swell" - sigh) - I use a leg wedge a few times a day, which helps, but I'm usually either 3-14lb heavier or wake up to pee every hour at night.

Broth, when it's simmering, makes both my son and myself congested (he sneezes, nose gets swollen, itchy) & drinking it makes me congested and bloated. I have tried chicken mostly, but I did beef once or twice. I am not sure if I got the temperature low enough on the beef broth, but it definitely bothered me less than chicken. I'm not sure what it is with the broth, though I've read recently it can contain high amounts of histamine? I'm fine with gelatin & fine with animal proteins (aside from shellfish).

I seem to be fine with turkey, fish, beef... green plantains are great, so are sweet potatoes. Butter & olive oil are fine (but I don't fry anything, so just a tbs or two total). Hard cheese is fine, so is homemade labneh (made w/24hr SCD style yogurt). That's pretty much it during an attack. I can't have liquid with meals during an attack, the foods need to be pretty dry, and no plain water - I must have water + sea salt + potassium gluconate, or wacky cramps ensue. Exercise stops the spasming & allows me to absorb about 3-4 cups of electrolyte water per hour...I've worked out up to 5 hours on my arc trainer at a light-moderate pace & then been fine the rest of the night, with problems not returning til late the next day. Weird, I know.

Right now, I keep thinking I am ok, and then I eat fruit or vegetables & realize, nope. Not ok. I guess I need to just eat the safe foods for a few weeks... right in the middle of organic cherry season... :-( Ah well. First world problems, right? LOL

Oh - and I do take Vitamin D3, but I haven't been tested for levels. I taper it off in the summer. I take adequate magnesium also. Thank you for those recommendations, though - they have been very helpful!

I think I may do an AIP for a while after the few weeks of safe foods. I wish my body could just tell me exactly what it needs without all the guess work. It really shouldn't be this difficult.

Best wishes everyone!

[Gabes-Apg]

How much D3 and magnesium do you take?
are they gluten and soy free?

At my worst time a few years ago, I had medium to high level renal impairment (unknown cause) high blood pressure, tackycardia awful fluid issues in my feet, legs, arms, hands etc - (plus other AI issues in chronic flare) it was due to inflammation and nutritional deficiencies.

Once I healed the leaky gut, balanced inflammation, fixed nutritional deficiencies - it has ALL gone.
I am now reducing the blood pressure medication


the bone broth is only high histamine if it is left to sit too long
I freeze mine in portion size containers. and mostly use it for cooking/stews. so it is always reheated to high temp which removes histamine issues.
in the scheme of things, for its nutritional value, the histamine risk is worth it
Lamb shanks make good bone broth, and if you are ok with turkey, maybe try a small batch with turkey bones.
I boil my bones for about 4 hours, on a steady boil (not a simmer) take off the heat, and as soon as it is cool enough to put into the containers it is dished out and frozen. I cook vegetables in it, make stews from it.

Understand if you dont want to have it, I would investigate doing amino acid supplementation
http://www.aminoacid-studies.com/amino- ... acids.html

The amino acid pool has to be right

Jones believes that almost every disease caused by civilisation is a result of imbalances in our metabolism. The amino-acid pool is jointly responsible for achieving a balanced metabolism.

The amino acid pool describes the entire amount of available free amino acids in the human body. The size of the pool amounts to around 120 to 130 grams in an adult male. If we consume protein in the diet, the protein in the gastro-intestinal tract is broken down into the individual amino acids and then put back together again as new protein. This complex biological process is called protein biosynthesis. The entire amino acid pool is transformed, or ‘exchanged’ three to four times a day. This means that the body has to be supplied with more amino acids, partly by protein biosynthesis, partly by the diet or through consumption of suitable dietary supplements.

I get 80% of the amino acids i need from bone broth and a rice protein that i drink...
and supplement the ones that are not coming from those sources

[chellebelle]

Interesting... I've read a little about the amino acid pool, but mostly in regards to complementary proteins/vegetarianism back in the day.

I will try doing the bones for 4 hours, straining & freezing - I always did them for 18-24 based on instructions from WAP/other folks. I may try with turkey bones a wee batch from a turkey breast. I seem to be fine with other "high histamine" foods, so it might be something else entirely - this is a good way to see! Thanks for the encouragement!

I thought I'd healed my leaky gut a while back, but then all this crept up on me. I had over 100 round of antibiotics before I was 20. I don't know what it will take to heal my internal landscape completely.

I think it's wonderful you've healed yourself so well! My son's name is Gabe (Gabriel), on a side note. :-)

[Gabes-Apg]

you have an angel by your side !!

you did heal the leaky gut, that is why you got well again, albeit the gluten etc damaged it again.

the other aspects that would be impacting things, - the travel would be a stress on your body, the stress as you approach the big change and transition, water supply changes, routine changes (eating at different times etc)

take it a step at a time,
I encourage bone broth because it is cheap for the benefits it provides! cheaper than gluten free supplements!!
bone broth has both gelatin and collagen both needed to heal leaky gut.

come up with a safe, bland eating plan that works for you now.. get things stabilised
it all takes time...

I had to heal myself, the medical system struggled to help/support me. I had some doctors call me 'too complex' and were not even willing to take me on as a patient. I am 1.5 years into a 5 year process.

[chellebelle]

Yup, he's my angel :).

That is ridiculous, being told you are "too complex" - you'd think a doctor would be excited at the challenge! Or at the very least want to help, being in a healing profession. Sigh. At least we have other methods to help ourselves!

I am very nervous about talking to my new primary care doctor about this. I am worried she may think I am a hypochondriac/psychosomatic because she asked me last time if the water retention fluctuates with my "moods" - ??? I was like, "No, my moods are even and fine. The water retention gets worse in times of stress." So, I don't really trust her ability to listen anymore. I can't deal with someone blaming things on "moods and emotions" - I don't have time for that nonsense. I certainly don't expect that from a female osteopath!

But I digress, LOL. I am going to try the bone broth this week. I have some beef bones in the freezer I can try. My burners are too high on low to simmer; they have killed the gelling of bone broth when I tried before. I might try to rig up some kind of double boiler. I missed if you do beef bones - if you do, could you please tell me what ratio of water: bones you use & cooking times? Thank you!

I've had to heal myself from everything. I can't think of a single thing a doctor helped me with except for the walking cast I was given by a podiatrist & the nice lady doctor who said I would have to do "like two hours of exercise a day" to manage my diabetes without medication (she was right; I need a lot of exercise) - but if you think about it, that's still me doing all the work.

[jlbattin]

Chelle,

I just have to add my two cents to your post (for whatever it's worth). I had food allergies as a baby but outgrew them; however, I have had allergies to dust, pollen, mold, trees, etc. (you name it, I was allergic to it) and took 2 allergy shots a week for pretty much my entire life (I don't take them anymore now. They are not as severe as they used to be and I can maintain with Allegra if and when I need it). I was also severely allergic to cats and dogs. Those allergy shots don't desensitize you to being around them. I still can't be around them for any length of time and could never have one living in the house with me. In fact, when we got married, my husband gave up his two cats because of my allergies. So, be careful of that. I would think severe allergies could really cause havoc with our MC. Anyway, just my two cents.

[chellebelle]

Thank you for the two cents... I am worried about that. His house has the ability to become a two family house with the addition of a door, so we've talked about restricting the dogs to one floor of the house (with him) and living as if in two apartments, which seems weird, but it's more practical than me trying to find a place of my own in a different state with my horrendous credit & still way better than being a 5 hours' drive apart. I think that would work if we were careful about it & would minimize allergens for me. I am hoping the shots work enough... if not, I could be in danger living there at all. The one time I went to visit him - it was a surprise, so he didn't get to clean first - I ended up with hives all over my legs and by the time the Benadryl wore off in the morning, my feet and legs were burning and itching terribly. As a child, I was hospitalized after spending the night at a friend's house who had a dog - I ended up getting multiple breathing treatments... it was pretty severe. As bad as colitis is, anaphylaxis & not being able to breathe is much worse. For daily living, yes flare ups of this, not to mention the severe eczema I get when constantly exposed to allergens... let's just say extremely unsexy, not to mention miserable. My boyfriend is all optimistic about it, but he's not the one with allergies. One of his dogs, the little cute big-eared floppy one, actually has severe allergies & gets eczema all over his little furry body, poor thing.

I appreciate your personal experience. I've heard positive stories from people, but none of them had extensive problems like we (MC folks) do. The shots have made my allergies worse in the meantime... I am having random throat tightness, random hives, coughing, sneezing and itching. Such fun. :(