Need to vent

[Gabes-Apg]

Whole baths are great! stick with that
my suggestion for foot soaks was moreso that in my mind not everyone has a bath. (and in my case where I am on a farm reliant on rain water tanks we conserve water a bit)

sorry you had hiccup with bone broth batch, hope the second one works out ok

getting some good sleep is awesome news...

[tex]

Tex...got the most sleep I have in months with that one Benadryl last night. Amazing. That helps..

That's great. Besides all the other obvious advantages, as I'm sure you're well aware, good sleep enhances the healing process.

You're well on your way back to remission.

Tex

[HockeyMom]

So just to clarify for the future if I ever get to the point where I can try to be a semi normal person again!! Apparently over the years since I started this journey just avoiding gluten/dairy and soy (only did that panel initially in 2011 and eggs were a 6 then so kept eating them) I have picked up tons of other
things I react to..or always did but didn't know it since I was pretty good.. RICE!!!! REALLY???? My score on the other panel in July of 2016 was 41 with
everything in the 2+ category with rice 3+. Beef, corn and cashew the least reactive and yes I react to white potato.

My high overall score with everything in 2+ and 3+ seems to mean that all of this stuff is off the table forever, no?? The printout says to eliminate things
slowly but as MCers we have to slash/burn. Wonder why he says to avoid meat as being inflammatory if he has this disease himself??

I have no problem eating like a Plains Indian (what my coworkers say about me people...I live in Colorado and that diet seems pretty Paleo to me!). I am slowly getting better I think...not bloated anymore...not much gurgling (only with new stuff I try and which doesnt' work out..S.O. coconut milk in box past 2 nights seems to have done that to me..). I just seriously worry about losing more weight. I feel like I look about 10 years older than I did last year at this time and and dreading summer when I have to wear short sleeves or roast at work...Covered up I look ok except for this thin face.

Seems that ALL grains are out, peanuts out, nuts seem to be out in general. Doing about 2 tablespoons of sunflower seed butter everyday just for the calories and fat. Tried coconut butter but the jury is out on that. I eat an obscene amount of turkey and lamb. Haven't done the ground elk or antelope in a week or so. Salmon didn't go well...but dug back thru this board and read that people who react to tuna (highest reactor) usually can't do salmon either . Read that shellfish seems to be ok...will try crab soon. Have some frozen cod that I will try also.

I do a banana a day, some avocado, little applesauce, little canned peaches or pears. Taro/root vegetable or sweet potato chips. Had some plantain chips with safe ingredients in them that I tried a week ago...jury out on that..maybe ate too much (and I don't mean the whole bag Tex!!). Overcooked green zucchini/yellow squash/butternut squash. Lamb bone broth. Squirt some coconut oil in my veggies.

Any other suggestions for putting weight on people? I figured out that I am getting 100 mg mag glycinate at lunch with Drs Best, 225 mg during day with ReMag and at least 400 mg with the oil/lotion spread out 3x/day....10,000 of Vit D. All this is timed to not interact with my cholestyramine.

I know this is a slow process but last time I did the Entocort which in hindsight probably helped more than I thought and had support of husband and son...son has lived on own and just graduated/has own life!!! My brother moved back in with me last June to help out financially but travels alot (just left an hour ago..will be back Friday).

I know I would feel better IF I COULD JUST PUT SOME WEIGHT BACK ON AND LOOK LIKE MY OLD SELF....which is thin to begin with !!! Suggestions??

Laine

[Rosie]

I know I would feel better IF I COULD JUST PUT SOME WEIGHT BACK ON AND LOOK LIKE MY OLD SELF....which is thin to begin with !!! Suggestions??

Laine, like you I have always been thin. My normal pre-MC weight was around 126 lbs, at 5' 5''. With MC, my weight dropped to a low of 110 lbs, before I found this Forum and began my healing journey. But I had a real hard time putting weight back on. After several years of having my MC fairly under control, I was only at 116 lbs. I would work real hard trying to gain weight, and then it would slip off again very easily. And that is still the case today after 8 years! I think it is a combination of lack of enthusiasm for eating a limited diet leading to not eating as much, and my gut not absorbing nutrients as efficiently as a healthy gut. It finally occurred to me earlier this year (smack my forehead) that I really didn't know how many calories I was eating. So I decided to keep a food journal to track the number of calories I was consuming each day. That turned out to be the key to putting on weight.

There are some helpful web sites that can make doing this easier. I use http://www.myfitnesstracker.com but if you are just eating a few foods, then it is probably just as easy to keep track yourself on a spreadsheet or other ways. For homemade items, like bone broth, you can find out detailed nutritional information on the web by googling the item, like "lamb bone broth calories". First of all, you need to find out how many calories you need to maintain your weight, and then decide how many extra calories you want to consume each day in order to gain some weight. There are lots of web sites that can do this this, including myftnesstracker. After tracking your diet and weight for a few weeks, you can see if you need to add a few more calories than recommended because you aren't absorbing as many calories as the healthy person these numbers are based on.

This keeping track was very enlightening for me. I discovered that on some days I did OK, but then on other days I wouldn't be as hungry, or be doing errands and not eat as much as I should to maintain the weight. Or I would be eating something that didn't have very many calories in it. Keeping track each day, and making sure that I consumed my targeted number of calories each day enabled me to gain weight, and also maintain it.

I hope this helps, and you can gain some weight. Not only will you feel better about how you look, but you will feel better too if you are getting the calories you need.

Rosie

[HockeyMom]

Thanks Rosie-
Great idea. I'm fairly regimented with what I eat. Work full time so it's not like I'm missing meals...eat at same time basically. Wish I was sleeping well enough to say that sleeping in on weekends like I used to do was making me miss meals!!!

I'm 5'6" and usually weight 123#. Feel good there. I'm probably 110# now, a month ago at PCP's office I was 114# with all my clothes and work shoes on!! Haven't weighed myself since. I feel like a dried up old lady when I'm naked, little birdy legs that look crepey and dehydrated. And believe me people, I am not dehydrated..I drink all day long. Pee all day long too!! Good thing I work in a hospital where there's a toilet every 20 feet or so!!

I guess I'm just feeling down because this really has been going on for a year...I truly have been trying to increase what I eat of what I think is safe per Tex's recommendation. Not bloaty anymore, not much rumbling...just if I eat/drink something that isn't agreeing with me. Plus I'm always wierded out when I'm on my period and have been dealing with that lately...just wish Mother Nature would let me slide into menopause already!!

Again, thanks for the idea. Will see if I can look into that today.

Laine

[Gabes-Apg]

I guess I'm just feeling down because this really has been going on for a year...

which is why healing is going to take time, ONCE you have the right nutrients and inputs.
just like when we break a bone, it takes 6 weeks of protection for healing, and another 6 weeks of light duties for it to fully heal. Our bodies and our gut are the same. Based on when you started with the right foods, Vit D3 and magnesium, you are only about 6 weeks into what I would call quality healing, where symptoms are starting to reduce, sleep quality is improving.

It can take at least 6 weeks of high dose Vit D3 and magnesium to START to resolve deficiencies. if the deficiency was a bit more severe it can take 12 weeks or more to start to resolve the deficiencies.

and as we have discussed in the time that you have been sorting out safe foods, taking the Vit D3 and magnesium you have had emotional stress of relationship changes, working full time.

Like when new people come to the board that have had mild to moderate symptoms for 12 months - most of them take about 3 -6 months to be relatively symptom free. You are 2 months into this process

[tex]

Wonder why he says to avoid meat as being inflammatory if he has this disease himself??

It could be because he's a vegetarian (or a vegan, I can't remember which). He actually is. Vegetarians/vegans are always dissing meat and promoting their cause. But interestingly, according to a Psychology Today article, a CBS survey done in 2005 showed that there are three times as many ex-vegetarians, as there are people adhering to the lifestyle.

Tex

[HockeyMom]

Didn't know he was a vegetarian Tex!! Oh, and don't really eat like a Plains Indian as I don't eat buffalo after you said that it's all basically cross bred with cattle...don't do beef any longer and really haven't much lately in the past few years with all the elk and antelope that we had in freezer. Don't know if y'all have ever had antelope..but it's hard to beat...

Mom was here at Christmas and left a few packages of duck in my freezer-will try this next when I get over the coconut milk upset. Straight up diarrhea today which I really haven't had in awhile...glad I got all my running around done yesterday.

Ya...I know this will be slow Gabes...just looking for a few more semi benign things to add calories to my life. Just want more calories...I look so darn old looking at myself in the mirror every morning. All my coworkers are whining about trying to lose weight as they eat all the crapola that is brought in by coworkers/bosses and patients. And there I sit eating my meat/overcooked veggies/bone broth and applesauce wishing I could gain weight!!

Laine

[Gabes-Apg]

No point worrying about calories / focussing on weight too much while there is inflammation and you are trying to sort out safe ingredients.

Once you have an eating plan of safe ingredients and a few weeks of 'stability' -with this safe eating plan / less intensitiy things will improve.