Thanks Mathew,
I do think I am having problems with confusing what is supposed to be healthy with what will work with my "new" digestive system. So, I can easily take it easy on the oils and keep the veggie quantity smaller. I am sure you've shared this before..but I'd love to hear what food worked for you in the beginning. Was trying the paleo a good idea at the start...or is that diet better suited when I am no longer having active D? Since I eat no grains, and I need to be careful with fruits and veggies...I'm left with just meat. Are potatoes and starches better tolerated at first? I am not eating any of those. Thanks for any advise you can send my way. I am sure I'll get this eventually.
Love,
Cristi
Day Three on Entocort
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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artteacher
- Rockhopper Penguin
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- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:13 pm
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Hi Cristi,
Please take this with a grain of salt, because we're all so different. For me, if I were to eat those foods a year ago, I'd be sick.
*The high sugar content of the bananas (or maybe the sulphur residue) would be a problem. Unsweetened applesauce would be ok, but sweetened applesauce would trigger D, also.
*Chicken and tuna also gave me D: I don't know exactly why - maybe the pesticides, maybe additives. Lately I've been able to eat it, but it's been about 2 years on the gf diet. I used to stick to just beef and pork without any additives.
About getting starches for calories; I eat potatoes in any form. I find any non-grain, non-legume source of starch to be ok for me: yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tapioca to thicken gravies, sweet vegetables like carrots. I could also tolerate some candy: Necco's and Junior Mints. I know neither has dairy in it, and I think neither has maltodextrin, which is a trigger for me. Having a candy I could eat at movies was a BIG deal. Of course you have to do it in moderation, or those'll make you sick, too.
I also ate Caltrate 600 Plus pills twice a day before meals, which helped a lot. I think they absorbed excess bile acid that irritated my intestines - but that's just a guess.
I just thought you should hear from someone that has kind of weird intolerances. It's possible that some of the things you're eating could still be setting you off.
Talk to you soon, I'm glad you're doing better!
Marsha
Please take this with a grain of salt, because we're all so different. For me, if I were to eat those foods a year ago, I'd be sick.
*The high sugar content of the bananas (or maybe the sulphur residue) would be a problem. Unsweetened applesauce would be ok, but sweetened applesauce would trigger D, also.
*Chicken and tuna also gave me D: I don't know exactly why - maybe the pesticides, maybe additives. Lately I've been able to eat it, but it's been about 2 years on the gf diet. I used to stick to just beef and pork without any additives.
About getting starches for calories; I eat potatoes in any form. I find any non-grain, non-legume source of starch to be ok for me: yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tapioca to thicken gravies, sweet vegetables like carrots. I could also tolerate some candy: Necco's and Junior Mints. I know neither has dairy in it, and I think neither has maltodextrin, which is a trigger for me. Having a candy I could eat at movies was a BIG deal. Of course you have to do it in moderation, or those'll make you sick, too.
I also ate Caltrate 600 Plus pills twice a day before meals, which helped a lot. I think they absorbed excess bile acid that irritated my intestines - but that's just a guess.
I just thought you should hear from someone that has kind of weird intolerances. It's possible that some of the things you're eating could still be setting you off.
Talk to you soon, I'm glad you're doing better!
Marsha
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harvest_table
- Rockhopper Penguin
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- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 6:29 pm
- Location: Fergus Falls, Minnesota
I'm going to copy it and send it again. Let me know if you don't get it.
Love,
Joanna
Love,
Joanna
THE GLUTEN FILES
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/
Hi there,
Some people, like Dr. Fine, himself, have trouble with flax seeds, so it's just possible that that's the oil that you need to try leaving off. Dr. Fine said that he found some other nuts and seeds that worked for him, but he thinks it's probably a very individual thing which ones work, so it's best to try substituting something else for long enough to tell if it helps.
Too sleepy, so hope this makes sense. These have lots of calories, so I hope you can eventually tolerate them.
Yours, Luce
Some people, like Dr. Fine, himself, have trouble with flax seeds, so it's just possible that that's the oil that you need to try leaving off. Dr. Fine said that he found some other nuts and seeds that worked for him, but he thinks it's probably a very individual thing which ones work, so it's best to try substituting something else for long enough to tell if it helps.
Too sleepy, so hope this makes sense. These have lots of calories, so I hope you can eventually tolerate them.
Yours, Luce
Cristi,
Just thought I'd second Marsha's post about non-grain, non-legume starches. I have alway been able to eat potatoes without any problems, and though many people recommend against eating them, (simply because they are a white starch, and therefore, a high glycemic index item), I'm not aware of anyone who has discovered that they are intolerant of potatoes.
It's hard to beat meat and potatoes when you're trying to heal, and rebuild your strength and energy. I lived on a meat and potato diet for about two years, after I cut all the troublesome foods out of my diet.
Love,
Tex
P S Regarding the missing PM: No, there's nothing you need to do. Something apparently went wrong with the system. That's a real head-scratcher. I'll have to mull on that a while to see if I can figure out what happened. If you still haven't received it on the resend, then there may be a problem with a corrupt cookie in your browser.
Just thought I'd second Marsha's post about non-grain, non-legume starches. I have alway been able to eat potatoes without any problems, and though many people recommend against eating them, (simply because they are a white starch, and therefore, a high glycemic index item), I'm not aware of anyone who has discovered that they are intolerant of potatoes.
It's hard to beat meat and potatoes when you're trying to heal, and rebuild your strength and energy. I lived on a meat and potato diet for about two years, after I cut all the troublesome foods out of my diet.
Love,
Tex
P S Regarding the missing PM: No, there's nothing you need to do. Something apparently went wrong with the system. That's a real head-scratcher. I'll have to mull on that a while to see if I can figure out what happened. If you still haven't received it on the resend, then there may be a problem with a corrupt cookie in your browser.
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.
Hi Tex and Marsha,
Well, that's interesting about the potatoes. I never thought I was reacting to them either ...as much as I could tell. They would help with the calories replacement if I cut back on the fruit and veggies. I think I am doing well with the chicken. I seem to have some problems digesting the pork....not from a D episode but just a burning stomach for a long time after consuming it. Same with beef. I may just need to eat a little and rotate them in only a couple of times a week to see if I can get used to digesting them again. I was also reading the food combining info you sent me Tex.....sounds like fat dilutes the acid in the stomach which is needed to digest meat. Since I seem to have an acid problem already...I was probably making it even worse with all my olive oil. I will work on fine tuning the diet today and run it by you all later. Thanks for your help. You guys are the best.
Love,
Cristi
Well, that's interesting about the potatoes. I never thought I was reacting to them either ...as much as I could tell. They would help with the calories replacement if I cut back on the fruit and veggies. I think I am doing well with the chicken. I seem to have some problems digesting the pork....not from a D episode but just a burning stomach for a long time after consuming it. Same with beef. I may just need to eat a little and rotate them in only a couple of times a week to see if I can get used to digesting them again. I was also reading the food combining info you sent me Tex.....sounds like fat dilutes the acid in the stomach which is needed to digest meat. Since I seem to have an acid problem already...I was probably making it even worse with all my olive oil. I will work on fine tuning the diet today and run it by you all later. Thanks for your help. You guys are the best.
Love,
Cristi
-
artteacher
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 731
- Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:13 pm
.
Hi Cristi, (again)
Just one more thing . . Maybe just concentrate on stopping the diahrrea, then once that's under control think about caleries. It could be that once you stop the D, the caleries you need will be getting absorbed anyway. Do you know of even one food that will bring on normal poops? For me it was millet, in the beginning. (And, I know, its a grain. Go figure.) Then pears canned in pear juice, and green beans. Then bacon. then hamburger, beef, potatoes. It wasn't as simple as it sounds, and at first even the starches/sugars in potatoes weren't entirely good for me. It seems like people like us need to make diet really really simple - one item, and build from there (rather than eliminating things from a list of dozens of foods and additives).
From the peanut gallery . .
Marsha
Just one more thing . . Maybe just concentrate on stopping the diahrrea, then once that's under control think about caleries. It could be that once you stop the D, the caleries you need will be getting absorbed anyway. Do you know of even one food that will bring on normal poops? For me it was millet, in the beginning. (And, I know, its a grain. Go figure.) Then pears canned in pear juice, and green beans. Then bacon. then hamburger, beef, potatoes. It wasn't as simple as it sounds, and at first even the starches/sugars in potatoes weren't entirely good for me. It seems like people like us need to make diet really really simple - one item, and build from there (rather than eliminating things from a list of dozens of foods and additives).
From the peanut gallery . .
Marsha
Hi Marsha,
That is an interesting thought....I am starting to think the Paleo might be better for me to tolerate once the inflamation is reduced. The only grain I was on since I started with MC was rice...a lot of rice..and I was having a lot of bloating. Today I am cutting back on the oils and eliminated the fruit (hopefully only for a short time). I have only had a brief glimpse of norman and that was with the Entocort...so I am flying blind.
I know fiber is not good for us...but some kind of easily digestable bulky food seems like it should help stop the D.....like potatoes as you said or even something with the texture of a grain like buckwheat. I was thinking of trying to make some simple buckwheat pancakes so I would be able to spread some nut butter on it. I tried blending just nut butter up in the blender with some water to drink....was way too nasty alone.
It's not just the calories...I'm freaking hungry. Haha...guess that won't kill me. Thanks for the input, Marsha.
Love,
Cristi
That is an interesting thought....I am starting to think the Paleo might be better for me to tolerate once the inflamation is reduced. The only grain I was on since I started with MC was rice...a lot of rice..and I was having a lot of bloating. Today I am cutting back on the oils and eliminated the fruit (hopefully only for a short time). I have only had a brief glimpse of norman and that was with the Entocort...so I am flying blind.
I know fiber is not good for us...but some kind of easily digestable bulky food seems like it should help stop the D.....like potatoes as you said or even something with the texture of a grain like buckwheat. I was thinking of trying to make some simple buckwheat pancakes so I would be able to spread some nut butter on it. I tried blending just nut butter up in the blender with some water to drink....was way too nasty alone.
It's not just the calories...I'm freaking hungry. Haha...guess that won't kill me. Thanks for the input, Marsha.
Love,
Cristi
Cristi,
Is there anything that you know you can safely eat in volume? When I was hungry, (during my healing period), I just ate more of what I knew I could tolerate, rather than to look for more variety.
Also, even though a lot of members here seem to like the nut butters, I couldn't eat them without getting sick, until my gut had completely healed.
Love,
Tex
Is there anything that you know you can safely eat in volume? When I was hungry, (during my healing period), I just ate more of what I knew I could tolerate, rather than to look for more variety.
Also, even though a lot of members here seem to like the nut butters, I couldn't eat them without getting sick, until my gut had completely healed.
Love,
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.
Hi Tex,
This is the same diet that I have been on the whole time...and for the 5 weeks I had where I wasn't having unformed stools...I was having one softly formed bm a day. I may just be dense, but I have no clue what I am reacting to. I've always reacted the same....6am. I start with the D. and keep dumping until it's done...from one to five bms...usually done around 10am. I couldn't move my bowels after that time if I wanted to. The only time I noticed a change was when I eliminated rice..and that wasn't from a D perspective...that just eliminated a lot of bloating for me. I took those acid pills and I haven't been the same since. Go figure. I've cut down on the amount of oils I used today by more than half, had only one smoothie today instead of two, and ate a sweet potato. I'll let you know how it goes.
Love,
Cristi
This is the same diet that I have been on the whole time...and for the 5 weeks I had where I wasn't having unformed stools...I was having one softly formed bm a day. I may just be dense, but I have no clue what I am reacting to. I've always reacted the same....6am. I start with the D. and keep dumping until it's done...from one to five bms...usually done around 10am. I couldn't move my bowels after that time if I wanted to. The only time I noticed a change was when I eliminated rice..and that wasn't from a D perspective...that just eliminated a lot of bloating for me. I took those acid pills and I haven't been the same since. Go figure. I've cut down on the amount of oils I used today by more than half, had only one smoothie today instead of two, and ate a sweet potato. I'll let you know how it goes.
Love,
Cristi
Cristi,
Don't forget that sweet potatoes are extremely high in fiber..but don't you love 'em! Yum! You should be able to tolerate them well, once you've healed, however.
Regular potatoes aren't fibrous, I don't think.
Tex, which potatoes do you think are the easiest to digest -- Russets, Yukon's, which???
I wouldn't over do it on the fruits, especially right at first. Even now, we just have them occasionally for a little treat instead of a veggie serving.
How do you tolerate yellow squash?
If fiber is an issue, you might try scrapping the outer peal off, and of course, cooking the daylights out of it. Good idea about green beans and pears, if you want a fruit serving.
If you'd like to cut down on the oils a bit, you could always make a little gravy out of chicken broth since you seem to tolerate chicken quite well. Again, the fluid that you've cooked veggies in makes a nice gravy, particularly if you've seasoned them with something you like.
I'm sure you know by now to contact seasoning companies to see what they use, if anything, for fillers.
After your diarrhea has settled, you can always add in more oils, and that will put weight on you quickly, as will any fatty food.
By the way, do you tolerate dark chicken as well as white chicken. The dark, having more fat, will provide some calories now, if you tolerate it. If white is better, then it might be just a problem with fats, in general, but I never had that problem that I know of.
If I did early on, it would've been masked by the reactions to unknown (at that time) food reactions which I later discovered.
One thing about it, if you follow Tex's example, the fewer foods you are eating, the easier it is to have control of your situation. Once you're in control, you can always expand from there.
Supplements can help you through that period to get some of the
nutrients you are not otherwise getting -- like the B-12 and folate/folic acid that I think you're already getting, and probably an occasional low dose of B-6.
Be sure to get the amount and form of calcium that your doctor recommends for the sake of your bones as well as the Vit D, and minerals as well, for your bones.
Yours, Luce
Don't forget that sweet potatoes are extremely high in fiber..but don't you love 'em! Yum! You should be able to tolerate them well, once you've healed, however.
Regular potatoes aren't fibrous, I don't think.
Tex, which potatoes do you think are the easiest to digest -- Russets, Yukon's, which???
I wouldn't over do it on the fruits, especially right at first. Even now, we just have them occasionally for a little treat instead of a veggie serving.
How do you tolerate yellow squash?
If fiber is an issue, you might try scrapping the outer peal off, and of course, cooking the daylights out of it. Good idea about green beans and pears, if you want a fruit serving.
If you'd like to cut down on the oils a bit, you could always make a little gravy out of chicken broth since you seem to tolerate chicken quite well. Again, the fluid that you've cooked veggies in makes a nice gravy, particularly if you've seasoned them with something you like.
I'm sure you know by now to contact seasoning companies to see what they use, if anything, for fillers.
After your diarrhea has settled, you can always add in more oils, and that will put weight on you quickly, as will any fatty food.
By the way, do you tolerate dark chicken as well as white chicken. The dark, having more fat, will provide some calories now, if you tolerate it. If white is better, then it might be just a problem with fats, in general, but I never had that problem that I know of.
If I did early on, it would've been masked by the reactions to unknown (at that time) food reactions which I later discovered.
One thing about it, if you follow Tex's example, the fewer foods you are eating, the easier it is to have control of your situation. Once you're in control, you can always expand from there.
Supplements can help you through that period to get some of the
nutrients you are not otherwise getting -- like the B-12 and folate/folic acid that I think you're already getting, and probably an occasional low dose of B-6.
Be sure to get the amount and form of calcium that your doctor recommends for the sake of your bones as well as the Vit D, and minerals as well, for your bones.
Yours, Luce
Luce,
I have no idea which varieties of potatoes might be more easily digested. I never gave it any thought until you brought it up.
Tex
I have no idea which varieties of potatoes might be more easily digested. I never gave it any thought until you brought it up.
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.
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moremuscle
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 706
- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 6:16 am
- Location: South Carolina
Hi Cristi,
I would like to join Matthew in saying that you are doing very well with your diet. Please, don't despair. Sometimes you can be just a few short steps away from finding a way to control your symptoms but there is no way for you to know how close you are until either by thorough trial and error or by sheer luck you find yourself on the "other side" all of a sudden symptom free.
In the days when I was sick all the time and tried to find my way with the diet I would be 100% symptomatic one day and 3 days later I would have formed BMs and feel a calm in my digestive system. That's how fast it changed once I figured out what the trigger was.
Of course, I may have been different from many other people in terms of the damage done or not done to the digestive system. I didn't suffer from this disease for very long before I found the diet to control it so my damage may have been lesser than that of many other people.
I think Matthew's approach of eating a little food every 2-3 hours is a good approach rather than the 3 big meals per day.
Personally, I am on a paleo diet and eat relatively high amounts of meat, fruit and vegetables. All my meals consist of combinations of the above. I do not have problems with fruit. Even prunes are very good for me - I eat Newman's Own because they don't have any additives, or Sunsweet Premium for the same reason. I like to eat raw almonds or walnuts with the prunes. A handful or two for a snack. I have also found a prune juice that is w/o additives. I like to drink a small glass when I lack energy. Contrary to what most people seem to experience with prunes I actually get firmer stool from them.
Have you tried shrimp as an alternative to other meats? You can buy them frozen in bags. Check the ingredient list to see if they are natural. If you buy pre-cooked they often have salt added which is OK per our diet but you may or may not want the extra salt.
I like to use ground pork to stirfry with a few vegetables in a skillet. No need for sauce or spice - just salt and pepper and a little Muir Glen Ketchup on the side.
Keep up your good work; you will find the way to control your symptoms with your diet. Don't give up!!
Love,
Karen
I would like to join Matthew in saying that you are doing very well with your diet. Please, don't despair. Sometimes you can be just a few short steps away from finding a way to control your symptoms but there is no way for you to know how close you are until either by thorough trial and error or by sheer luck you find yourself on the "other side" all of a sudden symptom free.
In the days when I was sick all the time and tried to find my way with the diet I would be 100% symptomatic one day and 3 days later I would have formed BMs and feel a calm in my digestive system. That's how fast it changed once I figured out what the trigger was.
Of course, I may have been different from many other people in terms of the damage done or not done to the digestive system. I didn't suffer from this disease for very long before I found the diet to control it so my damage may have been lesser than that of many other people.
I think Matthew's approach of eating a little food every 2-3 hours is a good approach rather than the 3 big meals per day.
Personally, I am on a paleo diet and eat relatively high amounts of meat, fruit and vegetables. All my meals consist of combinations of the above. I do not have problems with fruit. Even prunes are very good for me - I eat Newman's Own because they don't have any additives, or Sunsweet Premium for the same reason. I like to eat raw almonds or walnuts with the prunes. A handful or two for a snack. I have also found a prune juice that is w/o additives. I like to drink a small glass when I lack energy. Contrary to what most people seem to experience with prunes I actually get firmer stool from them.
Have you tried shrimp as an alternative to other meats? You can buy them frozen in bags. Check the ingredient list to see if they are natural. If you buy pre-cooked they often have salt added which is OK per our diet but you may or may not want the extra salt.
I like to use ground pork to stirfry with a few vegetables in a skillet. No need for sauce or spice - just salt and pepper and a little Muir Glen Ketchup on the side.
Keep up your good work; you will find the way to control your symptoms with your diet. Don't give up!!
Love,
Karen
Inspired by the paleolithic diet and lifestyle -
living w/o gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and yeast.
living w/o gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and yeast.