Thank you all for your warm welcome last week. I have had two really good weeks, no medications, firmer stool, not having to go immediately after eating, only going 2-3 times a day. We went away for my husband's birthday this weekend and I thought for sure that I would be in trouble because I ate a lot (I think everything was GF as far as I could tell but you never know with dining out), had a martini, etc., but things progressed well all day Saturday and Sunday morning.
Yesterday afternoon I had a looser stool than I had been having for the past two weeks but I chalked it up to overindulgence on Saturday. I was fine for the rest of the day/night, and my movements this morning were firm and then a bit pile-ish.
Upon eating breakfast (Corn Chex with some milk, some applesauce, a Carnation instant breakfast with milk), I felt a bit rumbly, but I fought it off. These are all things I've eaten before, and in the past two weeks. I don't eat them every day. I then ate GF bread with pb and j, GF potato chips, and a Hunt's pudding (I think they are GF - but I have eaten stuff that is not GF in the past year and not had an immediate reaction like this). At about 3 pm I finally had to go and it was explosive, for the first time in two weeks. It's amazing how fast that can change my mood. I am trying to not worry about it, and if I am fine for the next BM or two, I'll feel better, or else I'll take some Imodium.
Any idea as to what could have triggered it? My husband left on a business trip yesterday so I was feeling a bit stressed with him flying, but that passed once I knew he had arrived safely last night.
Does anyone here find that fiber capsules help them (when in a flare, or in general, all the time, etc.?) Same with probiotics.
Also, do people find that foods bother their colitis instantly or perhaps could the chicken and gravy I had last night affect me this afternoon (fat-wise)?
Thanks so much!
Two great weeks and then badness - some questions
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Abbie,
Sorry to hear that you're having a flare. I would be very suspicious of the gravy you had last night. Gravy almost always has flour in it, and unless you made it yourself, it almost certainly contained gluten. Also, some/most chickens are injected with a solution that the processors claim is a moisturizing or tenderizing solution, (actually, it is mostly rinse water that allows the processor and the retailer to charge the consumer the same price for slop, that they charge for poultry meat), and in some cases it contains gluten. There are a few processors, such as Sanderson Farms, for example, that sell nothing but pure, uninjected chickens, and most of us look for those brands, or else carefully read the label.
Unlike your doctor, we don't have your medical records open in front of us, so we have to guess at your situation, as far as tests and medications are concerned, so I have no idea whether you have had a test at enterolab, to rule out casein intolerance, but if you have not, then another possibility is all the dairy products that you are eating. To find out why, please read my first post in this thread:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11383
It's possible that you may not be sensitive to dairy products, though, so if I were in your shoes, I would wait to see if the symptoms are going to go away after the gravy and/or chicken gets out of your system,m (or it could have been something else you ate over the weekend). Response times to intolerance triggers tend to vary individually, so it's difficult to pin down a time, until you determine your own particular pattern. If the symptoms persist after several days, you might need to eliminate dairy products from your diet, for the reason described in the post that I referenced above.
Good luck. Hopefully, you'll be back on track by tomorrow.
Tex
Sorry to hear that you're having a flare. I would be very suspicious of the gravy you had last night. Gravy almost always has flour in it, and unless you made it yourself, it almost certainly contained gluten. Also, some/most chickens are injected with a solution that the processors claim is a moisturizing or tenderizing solution, (actually, it is mostly rinse water that allows the processor and the retailer to charge the consumer the same price for slop, that they charge for poultry meat), and in some cases it contains gluten. There are a few processors, such as Sanderson Farms, for example, that sell nothing but pure, uninjected chickens, and most of us look for those brands, or else carefully read the label.
Unlike your doctor, we don't have your medical records open in front of us, so we have to guess at your situation, as far as tests and medications are concerned, so I have no idea whether you have had a test at enterolab, to rule out casein intolerance, but if you have not, then another possibility is all the dairy products that you are eating. To find out why, please read my first post in this thread:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11383
It's possible that you may not be sensitive to dairy products, though, so if I were in your shoes, I would wait to see if the symptoms are going to go away after the gravy and/or chicken gets out of your system,m (or it could have been something else you ate over the weekend). Response times to intolerance triggers tend to vary individually, so it's difficult to pin down a time, until you determine your own particular pattern. If the symptoms persist after several days, you might need to eliminate dairy products from your diet, for the reason described in the post that I referenced above.
Good luck. Hopefully, you'll be back on track by tomorrow.
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.
thanks so much, tex. i should have said that i made the gravy myself (cornstarch and chicken runoff and Gravy Master, which I thought was GF, but maybe it isn't...). i suspect that it might have been something from saturday night (i had a martini which may have not been GF and chocolate mousse that may have not been GF, and a burger with cheese, no bun of course). I had GF pizza during the day and Charleston Chews. I suspect I have trouble with chocolate in general but I have a hard time letting it go.
Sorry I am just rambling now. Does Enterolab test for casein?
I think I had it in my head that any food reactions I was going to have would happen immediately, because when I am in a really bad flare, I tend to go right after I eat (but perhaps it has nothing to do with what I just ate and is more the act of eating itself).
So confusing. I'm going to give it tonight and if things don't improve I'll try Imodium tomorrow.
Sorry I am just rambling now. Does Enterolab test for casein?
I think I had it in my head that any food reactions I was going to have would happen immediately, because when I am in a really bad flare, I tend to go right after I eat (but perhaps it has nothing to do with what I just ate and is more the act of eating itself).
So confusing. I'm going to give it tonight and if things don't improve I'll try Imodium tomorrow.
The delay in reactions is something that is different from person to person, and also depends on what the food item is.
I can eat a piece of chocolate and I will be fine for about 10-12 hours. Then I get what I called "bubbly bum" - gas, a constant bubbling in my lower tubes, and then wet farts. A chocolate bar would cause D (I know - I tried it; I'm a chocoholic).
Contrast that with a brussels sprout where the time to trouble (pain, gas, soft bm) is about 18-24 hours. I think that's because my tum doesn't mind a sprout at all but my colon hates them, at least now while I am still healing inside.
Then there is raw fruit or veg. An hour or so and I get awful pain in my stomach, and the next 24 hrs are unpleasant with pain all the way down as the fruit works its way through, then gas, and D.
Drinking orange juice is an immediate pain and discomfort for me, no wait time at all!
The time something takes to go through your system is called transit time, so there's bowel transit time, colon transit time etc.
I can eat a piece of chocolate and I will be fine for about 10-12 hours. Then I get what I called "bubbly bum" - gas, a constant bubbling in my lower tubes, and then wet farts. A chocolate bar would cause D (I know - I tried it; I'm a chocoholic).
Contrast that with a brussels sprout where the time to trouble (pain, gas, soft bm) is about 18-24 hours. I think that's because my tum doesn't mind a sprout at all but my colon hates them, at least now while I am still healing inside.
Then there is raw fruit or veg. An hour or so and I get awful pain in my stomach, and the next 24 hrs are unpleasant with pain all the way down as the fruit works its way through, then gas, and D.
Drinking orange juice is an immediate pain and discomfort for me, no wait time at all!
The time something takes to go through your system is called transit time, so there's bowel transit time, colon transit time etc.
Maxine
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
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- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
i love that term - bubbly bum.
i get that alot as well!!!
if you do a search for probiotic you will read the posts regarding this. I dont think anyone has had good response to probiotics.
as Maxine said - reaction time is different depending on the item and your intollerance level to that item.
I also think it depends on how inflammed your digestion is, the reaction time may be quicker and and type of reaction more intense if there has been recent flares.
i think i can attribute quite a few of my flares to stress. you will notice in recent weeks we have had quite a few discussions about relaxation, breathing techniques, yoga, meditation. we all agreed the having MC, and the mental energy we exert to manage it , relaxation is very important
i get that alot as well!!!
if you do a search for probiotic you will read the posts regarding this. I dont think anyone has had good response to probiotics.
as Maxine said - reaction time is different depending on the item and your intollerance level to that item.
I also think it depends on how inflammed your digestion is, the reaction time may be quicker and and type of reaction more intense if there has been recent flares.
i think i can attribute quite a few of my flares to stress. you will notice in recent weeks we have had quite a few discussions about relaxation, breathing techniques, yoga, meditation. we all agreed the having MC, and the mental energy we exert to manage it , relaxation is very important
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
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Olivia-Micro-Colitis
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 119
- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:51 pm
- Location: Fallbrook, Ca
Abbie,
The only thing that you named in your last post, that might contain gluten, is the chocolate mousse. Some recipes contain gluten, and some do not, so it's a possibility, but not a certainty.
Everything else contains dairy and/or soy, but no gluten, (unless someone slipped up). Usually, soy lecithin is the problem with chocolate, but some of us react to the chocolate, itself, of course.
This is an awesome board, for descriptive information about MC, isn't it? Where else in the world could you read an accurate description of the "bubbly bum" effect?
Yes, Entrolab offers a test for casein sensitivities. Bear in mind, though, that enteritis almost always causes an interruption in the production of lactase enzyme, so you might simply be having digestive problems because of the inability to digest lactose. When sufficient lactase enzyme is not available in the small intestine, some of the lactose passes into the colon, where it is digested by fermentation, resulting in bloating, gas, and D. Normally, lactase is produced in the brush border region of the small intestine, and it is introduced to the chime, (the partially-digested food from the stomach), as the chime enters the small intestine. However, as I mentioned above, any form of enteritis interferes with lactase production, so lactose cannot be digested in the small intestine. After the enteritis is resolved, normal lactase production will usually resume. Obviously, MC causes severe enteritis, (by definition). Even the flu, will cause temporary lactase deficiency.
Lactose "intolerance" will usually result in osmotic D, (which is the type of D that normal people, (people who do not have MC), have. However, if you are casein intolerant, then the resulting autoimmune reaction will often cause what is known as secretory D, (similar to a resonse to gluten-sensitivity), and the effect will be much more pronounced. With secretory D, (which is unique to the IBDs, I believe), instead of removing water from the fecal stream, the intestines infuse water into the lumen, thus greatly increasing the volume of output, and significantly escalating the risk of dehydration.
Hopefully, you'll be feeling better by tomorrow.
Tex
The only thing that you named in your last post, that might contain gluten, is the chocolate mousse. Some recipes contain gluten, and some do not, so it's a possibility, but not a certainty.
Everything else contains dairy and/or soy, but no gluten, (unless someone slipped up). Usually, soy lecithin is the problem with chocolate, but some of us react to the chocolate, itself, of course.
This is an awesome board, for descriptive information about MC, isn't it? Where else in the world could you read an accurate description of the "bubbly bum" effect?
Yes, Entrolab offers a test for casein sensitivities. Bear in mind, though, that enteritis almost always causes an interruption in the production of lactase enzyme, so you might simply be having digestive problems because of the inability to digest lactose. When sufficient lactase enzyme is not available in the small intestine, some of the lactose passes into the colon, where it is digested by fermentation, resulting in bloating, gas, and D. Normally, lactase is produced in the brush border region of the small intestine, and it is introduced to the chime, (the partially-digested food from the stomach), as the chime enters the small intestine. However, as I mentioned above, any form of enteritis interferes with lactase production, so lactose cannot be digested in the small intestine. After the enteritis is resolved, normal lactase production will usually resume. Obviously, MC causes severe enteritis, (by definition). Even the flu, will cause temporary lactase deficiency.
Lactose "intolerance" will usually result in osmotic D, (which is the type of D that normal people, (people who do not have MC), have. However, if you are casein intolerant, then the resulting autoimmune reaction will often cause what is known as secretory D, (similar to a resonse to gluten-sensitivity), and the effect will be much more pronounced. With secretory D, (which is unique to the IBDs, I believe), instead of removing water from the fecal stream, the intestines infuse water into the lumen, thus greatly increasing the volume of output, and significantly escalating the risk of dehydration.
Hopefully, you'll be feeling better by tomorrow.
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.
I'm going to adopt the term "bubbly bum" as well. Doesn't happen too often but I'm getting reaquainted with it since going down to 1 asacol and the added stress with Mom's hip.