Salicylate sensitivity?

[Lucy_B]

Howdy, all. I've been doing a bit of research and am beginning to wonder whether I have a salicylate sensitivity in addition to all these other food issues. I suspect this because I didn't do well on Lialda (although it took 4 or 5 days to have a reaction to it, from what I remember) or Pepto, and I tend to get looser than normal stools after consuming fresh pineapple (which I've read is high in salicylates). At first I thought it was a result of the added fiber, but now I'm not so sure. At any rate, if I have a salicylate sensitivity in addition to all these other ones...I honestly don't know how I can manage it, lol. I mean, that eliminates COCONUT OIL, OLIVE OIL, AND HONEY for crying out loud. As well as squash, sweet potatoes, and pretty much all herbs/spices. (!!!!) Haha, I know I sound like a whiney baby but seriously...that would be an insanely limited diet. I had planned on following the AIP, but if the aforementioned items plus fruits, high-sal veggies, AND pork, chicken, beef, tuna, salmon, etc. (my meat sensitivities) are prohibited, I don't see how that's feasible. Anyway, it's just something that occurred to me, so I figured I'd throw it out there. For those of you who know you are sensitive to salicylates, how did you find out? Was it mostly a process of elimination? And if you have other sensitivities as well, what diet do you choose to follow?

Hungry and frustrated,

Lucy

[Gabes-Apg]

Lucy
I cant comment on the salicylate stuff but in reading your post I cant help but suggest, how about you walk before you try to run

If you are having fruit i would stop, not many people in early stages of MC could handle any fruit, not even low fibre cooked apple. it is the sugar that is the issue along with the fibre. Even those taking entocort or other medications

the other aspect is that there is no 'strict' eating plan like AIP that works for MC, we all do slightly modified eating plans to adjust to our intolerance's, fact of life, it is what it is

there are other oils out there, like rice bran, animal fat from your safe sources etc
there are other veges out there
dont get overwhelmed, embrace the challenge, there are solutions.

my suggestion, stop reading, follow a bland easy to digest, low amount of ingredients eating plan, calm the mind and see if the LDN Is going to work while you juggle dosages and times, stick with it for 4 weeks at least. making too many changes at once is not helping the healing journey
while you are super inflammed there is limited scope to ascertain if these are issues affecting you[/code]

[Lucy_B]

I know, you're right. I've just been feeling really overwhelmed ever since I got the Enterolab results. But it's NOT the end of the world and could be so much worse. :) I just need to work on changing my mindset, I think. Right now, the thought of needing to limit my diet so drastically is daunting and depressing, but only because I'm allowing it to be that way. Honestly, I think I'm going through a grieving period of sorts (which I'm sure is familiar to all of us). I have a huge emotional connection to food that I'm gonna have to get over. I'll get there. :) Probably shouldn't be thinking about salicylates in addition to everything else, haha.

[crervin]

Lucy B,
I completely know how you feel, that was me 2 months ago. Start really slow, it took me about 2 months to eliminate everything. Right now I can just eat 3 things and not take any med whatsoever to feel "okay but hungry". But I'm finally okay with it and my family is now okay with it too. It will take a lot of tears, woefulness, and depression before you can say, "okay it is what it is."

I'm holding onto the hope of an appetite and some form of a nutritional meal eventually. Know that you are not alone and on the bright side you will probably never have any weight issues!

[Lucy_B]

Thanks, Martha!! It really helps to know I'm not alone in feeling this way. I'll suck it up eventually. :) So glad to hear that you're doing better now and making peace with this new way of life.

[Erica P-G]

HI Lucy,

If you followed my "sticky" - Need input I'm not going to get from a Dr. you would read I have gone thru this grieving process also.

I believe we all go thru this old way of feeling about food process and is does make you grieve, but it also releases a person to reach beyond what they thought they knew about themselves, it is liberating once you stop feeling sorry for the loss. I know you will find peace with this process it just takes time.

I am feeling so much better it is beyond words right now, and it has only been 5 months with one of those months having normal Normans

I've tried a little pineapple just recently and have decided I can tolerate a small serve once in a great while, it is loaded with sugar and although my intestines have done some amazing healing I don't really need to eat pineapple to live properly, but I now know that if it comes my way I don't have to reject it either, I just can't eat in on a daily basis.

Give yourself more healing time, you'll get there
Erica

[DJ]

Hi Lucy,
Hang in there! I agree that you need to allow time for your gut to calm down. Work hard at being strict about eliminating gluten!! Fruits and veggies will get easier over time. I eat all cooked fruits and veggies and many but not all raw fruits now. I eat some raw veggies now but certainly not all. I gained the ability to eat these foods over time and a little bit at a time. That's the story most of us tell. There are also times when I need to pull back. I've had episodes when I ate food slightly tainted with gluten and I went back to eating only four foods again while things calmed down. It's a learning process. You can do it!

[Lucy_B]

Thanks so much, Erica and DJ! I am extremely glad to hear that you're both doing better by following the protocol. And I agree that I need to embrace this thing and be patient. Just trying to get to that place emotionally. ;) I think I got so frustrated because I received those awful Enterolab results after years of being pretty good with my diet (i.e. eating VERY little gluten, dairy, and corn, in particular). I did start LDN recently and am hopeful that it will help eventually. That would be a tremendous relief. In the meantime, I'm just working on sucking up the anger/stress/sadness and doing what needs to be done. Really glad I can come here to vent and receive so much support/understanding about where it's coming from. That helps a lot. <3

[tex]

Lucy,

Believe it or not, IMO "eating VERY little gluten and dairy, in particular" is significantly worse than eating normal amounts. By limiting the amount (but not avoiding it completely) the sensitivity of the immune system is increased significantly. IOW, this practice kicked your immune system into high gear. That may seem counterintuitive, but allergists have known this for many years. That's why some of them recommend that if you want to verify a food sensitivity, just avoid the food for 5 or 6 days and then try it again. The reaction by the immune system will be amplified so that it will be obvious whether or not the food is a problem. (That doesn't work for gluten, because of the extremely long antibody half-life, but it works for other foods).

Another way to view this phenomenon is to consider that when the immune system is flooded with gluten (for example) every day, day after day, another day of heavy gluten intake is just "business as usual", and it simply maintains the status quo. If the immune system has been fighting gluten for a long, long time, it doesn't necessarily give up, but it seems to recognize that it will probably never eradicate it, so the best it can do is to maintain a mediocre resistance, because it "knows" that it will still be fighting it next week, and the week after that.

But if the gluten is suddenly withdrawn, or the amount is significantly reduced — Whoa! The immune system sits up and takes notice, and thinks, "Hey — maybe there's a chance of eradicating this stuff after all!" As a result, similar to the way that the taste of success inspires an army, the next time that gluten shows up, the immune system reacts with renewed vigor.

At least that's the way that I see it.

Tex

[Lucy_B]

Wow...that makes so much sense. And yep, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened here. I haven't cooked with gluten, dairy, or corn in ages, but I would still have those foods in small amounts when eating out, socializing with friends, etc. I had no idea I could be setting myself up for worse sensitivity! This is really helpful information to have, and honestly it makes me feel a whole lot better about the situation, as now I am more confident that I will be able to resolve it over time. Thanks so much, Tex! Really good to know.

Lucy

[tex]

You're most welcome,
Tex