Hello!
I'm about 6 weeks gluten free and 3 weeks "other sensitivities" free (oat and rice). I'm starting to notice that the frequency of BM's is improving from >7 times each day to just 1 or 2. Yay... something to celebrate!! However, the consistency doesn't seem to be changing much. Are these changes indicative of the healing process? I'm guessing more patience is the prescription as I have eliminated all meds, all fruits (except banana) and all veggies.
I'm consuming lots of protein in the form of bacon, eggs (enterolab testing shows ok), chicken, fish, shrimp, beef and almond butter, but I'm having a hard time getting enough calories. Advice? I don't want to lose any weight.
Also - I'm finding old habits die hard, even subconsciously (licking my fingers after baking for my kids, communion bread, etc). I 'accidentally' had a mouthful of bread last week and have been several days in feeling the effects in the form of high degree of urgency, extreme fatigue and brain fog for a few days. It made me wonder if there are any guidelines for the timeline of symptoms when we have a slip up? I'm sure everyone is very different, but am interested in other people's experiences. It is incredible that such a small amount of something can have such a strong impact.
Finally - I'm about 3000 IU vitamin D3, 600 mg Calcium (calcium carbonate) and about 150 mg Mg (topical spray). Should I add a vitamin B? Thinking I'd prefer sublingual... any advice on a good US brand?
Thanks!
Recovery expectations and "slip up" symptoms
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Hi TexasMom,
It sounds like you are really doing good. I know the last 3 months have been stressful for Texans.
Change in frequency--yes you are healing.
Change in consistency takes time. You are moving in the right direction and doing everything right.
Eat all day long. Force yourself to eat even if you are not hungry. Are you able to tolerate rice or potatoes?
Put blobs of bacon grease on your protein for more calories. Try avacodos. Eat some spoonfuls of almond butter every hour or so.
Generally I feel slip up within 24 hours. It is less bad the longer I've healed.
Re: supplements--generally less is more early on and sublingual or transdermal is better. If you are having a lot of fatigue and brain fog I would recommend 1 pill Thorne methyl guard plus. It is a pill. If you are still having WD you may think of adding back after you get solid stool. Until I get like a ribbon type stool I do better with less oral pill supplements. If you decide to take the Thorne at some point it is a good version because it is more absorbable than a lot of the B's on the market. It is the "active" form of the B's.
Welcome to the forum.
It sounds like you are really doing good. I know the last 3 months have been stressful for Texans.
Change in frequency--yes you are healing.
Change in consistency takes time. You are moving in the right direction and doing everything right.
Eat all day long. Force yourself to eat even if you are not hungry. Are you able to tolerate rice or potatoes?
Put blobs of bacon grease on your protein for more calories. Try avacodos. Eat some spoonfuls of almond butter every hour or so.
Generally I feel slip up within 24 hours. It is less bad the longer I've healed.
Re: supplements--generally less is more early on and sublingual or transdermal is better. If you are having a lot of fatigue and brain fog I would recommend 1 pill Thorne methyl guard plus. It is a pill. If you are still having WD you may think of adding back after you get solid stool. Until I get like a ribbon type stool I do better with less oral pill supplements. If you decide to take the Thorne at some point it is a good version because it is more absorbable than a lot of the B's on the market. It is the "active" form of the B's.
Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the info Brandy! Will take your advice to add in quick, calorie-full bites throughout the day. I love nuts, but have been avoiding them until a little more healing happens. Any thoughts on when it's ok to add them back in? I'm guessing I should wait until consistency is a bit more under control. I do ok with potatoes, but not rice... took me a while and the enterolab results to learn that.
Just thought of another question... why are some foods ok and some not even if they have the same ingredients? For example, I eat A LOT of corn tortillas (for chicken "fajitas" and breakfast tacos) and seem ok with them. However, I'm not sure about corn chips or corn tortilla chips. All three contain corn and oil. Not sure if I just tried the chips too soon or if the format matters for some reason? ANy thoughts?
And we are thinking of all of you in Florida!! Stay safe and wishing for as smooth recovery as possible!
Just thought of another question... why are some foods ok and some not even if they have the same ingredients? For example, I eat A LOT of corn tortillas (for chicken "fajitas" and breakfast tacos) and seem ok with them. However, I'm not sure about corn chips or corn tortilla chips. All three contain corn and oil. Not sure if I just tried the chips too soon or if the format matters for some reason? ANy thoughts?
And we are thinking of all of you in Florida!! Stay safe and wishing for as smooth recovery as possible!
If the corn chips are not fried in soy oil they should be OK. Another possibility is eating too many and getting an overdose of fiber, or too much oil.
Is there a reason why you are taking calcium? Most people have plenty of calcium in their diet — they only need more vitamin D to help absorb it or more magnesium to work with the insulin to transport the calcium out of their bloodstream and into the cells were it's needed. Magnesium is vital to allow insulin to work properly. Taking calcium when you don't need it (which is virtually always) depletes magnesium in order to protect your heart against a calcium overdose.
Tex
Is there a reason why you are taking calcium? Most people have plenty of calcium in their diet — they only need more vitamin D to help absorb it or more magnesium to work with the insulin to transport the calcium out of their bloodstream and into the cells were it's needed. Magnesium is vital to allow insulin to work properly. Taking calcium when you don't need it (which is virtually always) depletes magnesium in order to protect your heart against a calcium overdose.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Avoid nuts--they are like shards of glass going through our gut.
After you are further healed you can try 5 soaked nuts (not peanuts). Google soaked nuts. Soaking the nuts will make them softer and more digestible. I had a flare last summer. I'm eating nuts at 11 months of healing, not before.
Potatoes--eat and enjoy them. Also, most of us can tolerate some coconut oil early on. I like the extra refined as it does not taste like coconut. This is another fat you can put on things.
Thanks for the good wishes.
After you are further healed you can try 5 soaked nuts (not peanuts). Google soaked nuts. Soaking the nuts will make them softer and more digestible. I had a flare last summer. I'm eating nuts at 11 months of healing, not before.
Potatoes--eat and enjoy them. Also, most of us can tolerate some coconut oil early on. I like the extra refined as it does not taste like coconut. This is another fat you can put on things.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Tex - I added the calcium supplement to help with bone health. I don't have any known issues, but it's one I took before MC and thought to add back since it doesn't usually cause D. No reason to worry about bone health, so I could take it out. Thoughts? Will also try just a few corn chips at a time and see how that settles.
Brandy - good to know on the nuts! I'll also have to try coconut oil. You just use it for cooking, for example, to replace olive oil?
I have been using avocados for flavor and fat... I've been pretty conservative, eating 1/3 - 1/2 an avocado per day. Can I go higher?
I also added cheddar cheese in small amounts... enterlab shows no problem with casein.
THANKS!
Brandy - good to know on the nuts! I'll also have to try coconut oil. You just use it for cooking, for example, to replace olive oil?
I have been using avocados for flavor and fat... I've been pretty conservative, eating 1/3 - 1/2 an avocado per day. Can I go higher?
I also added cheddar cheese in small amounts... enterlab shows no problem with casein.
THANKS!
For some individuals, calcium can help suppress diarrhea, but supplemental calcium is very rarely needed for bone health, if one's vitamin D and Magnesium levels are adequate. If they're not adequate, the calcium will just go right through you anyway, because your ability to absorb it will be compromised.
Refined coconut oil is much better for cooking than olive oil because it has a higher smoke point. It's great for deep-frying fish, for example.
You can probably tolerate additional avocado, if you don't run into your fiber tolerance limit. Whether or not you hit that limit depends on the total amount of fiber in your diet.
If your casein test result at EnterpoLab was negative you should be able to tolerate the hard cheeses just fine. You probably won't be able to tolerate the soft cheeses until the inflammation is gone. The soft cheeses contain lactose, and as long as we have an inflamed intestine we're unable to produce normal amounts of the lactase enzyme, so we're temporarily lactose intolerant. That will usually resolve as the inflammation subsides.
You're very welcome.
Tex
Refined coconut oil is much better for cooking than olive oil because it has a higher smoke point. It's great for deep-frying fish, for example.
You can probably tolerate additional avocado, if you don't run into your fiber tolerance limit. Whether or not you hit that limit depends on the total amount of fiber in your diet.
If your casein test result at EnterpoLab was negative you should be able to tolerate the hard cheeses just fine. You probably won't be able to tolerate the soft cheeses until the inflammation is gone. The soft cheeses contain lactose, and as long as we have an inflamed intestine we're unable to produce normal amounts of the lactase enzyme, so we're temporarily lactose intolerant. That will usually resolve as the inflammation subsides.
You're very welcome.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
So interesting, Tex. I just reviewed my food log, and I think I am one of those people who benefit from Calcium supplement to suppress diarrhea. It seems that my improved frequency lines up well with when I started taking calcium. Could also be coincidence, I guess? I think I'll plan to continue with the supplement... its pretty low relative to the daily recommendation for my age of 1000 mg/day. And I'll up the vitamin D to 5000 and use as much Mg spray as possible. I find that stuff makes me super sleepy. Sound reasonable?
Another question... I like to run and often end up with leg cramps. The Mg spray helps, but I've also been drinking Smart water. Does the MgCl in that water contribute to Mg intake?
Bought my coconut oil today... think I'll start with sauteing... my cooking skills aren't up to frying yet.
Another question... I like to run and often end up with leg cramps. The Mg spray helps, but I've also been drinking Smart water. Does the MgCl in that water contribute to Mg intake?
Bought my coconut oil today... think I'll start with sauteing... my cooking skills aren't up to frying yet.
Yes, magnesium relaxes muscles so most people sleep better when they have an adequate supply.Txmom wrote:Sound reasonable?
I don't know offhand how much magnesium chloride it contains, but yes, most any form of magnesium treats/prevents cramps.Txmom wrote:Does the MgCl in that water contribute to Mg intake?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Here's the issue with supplemental calcium: Too much in the bloodstream is a cardiovascular risk. Normally, calcium levels in the blood will never get too high from food. But if you take supplemental calcium, and you take vitamin D, you're going to absorb it, whether you need it or not.. But magnesium is necessary to work with insulin to transport it out of the blood and into the cells of bones and various organs where it is needed. If you happen to run low on magnesium, there's no way to control blood levels of calcium and calcium levels can rise above allowable levels and actually cause a heart attack or some other cardiovascular event. This is documented by published research:
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/5/10/e003815
Bottom line: Dietary calcium is safe, supplemental calcium is not, so be careful and be sure you don't run low on magnesium when taking supplemental calcium.
Tex
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/5/10/e003815
Bottom line: Dietary calcium is safe, supplemental calcium is not, so be careful and be sure you don't run low on magnesium when taking supplemental calcium.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.