MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

I'm still new to the elimination diet. I was diagnosed with LC maybe a month ago and I just started being stricter about my diet maybe 5-7 days ago. I'm only 30 years old so I'm hoping I heal quickly but I have been dealing with chronic D for as long as I can remember, maybe even as far back as middle school but I'm not certain.

How do I know if it's working? How do I know if something is a trigger this early in my recovery? I'm feeling some improvements already but stool is still soft (thankfully not as watery or explosive as it was last week when I was in a pretty bad flare and it made me realize I have to really really commit to this diet)

I've been sticking to:
rice
quinoa
fish (shrimp, salmon, tuna, mussels, scallops, calamari)
crispy rice cereal
dairy-free soy-free coconut-based yogurt with live probiotic cultures
bananas
oranges
coffee
almond milk
potatoes (sweet, gold, russet)
squash (spaghetti, butternut, zucchini)
kombucha for natural probiotic (kombucha scoby, black tea, green tea, kiwi juice, raspberry juice, lemon juice, ginger juice)
cooked apples
canned coconut milk
no seasoning, just salt (okay maybe I cheated a few times but I made this seafood rice dish that wasn't that good and I needed a little hot sauce and lemon juice to get me through eating it for days on end)

I'm still using store bought broths and I noticed that the tuna I bought has vegetable broth. I'm working on cutting those out soon.
I bought a half chicken that I'm going to cook and then make bone broth with.

Supplements I'm trying:
Probiotics
Flaxseed oil for Omega-3 (was told this was healing by a nutritionist)
B12 for energy
5HTP for mental health (I've been taking this one for years)
Centrum multivitamin

Meds from docs:
Pepto (2 pills/4x per day)
Generic Allegra
Colchacine (prescribed for pericarditis which lead me to getting a diagnosis for my LC after being hospitalized)
Velivet birth control

Is there anything on my current list that is a BIG no-no I should eliminate? Anything that you recommend I could add for more variety to my diet? I'm seeing if I can get off the Colchacine as it is an anti-inflammatory and I think it could be delaying recovery.

I honestly feel so hungry all the time on this diet!!!

It's a natural human characteristic to not want to give up this, or that, or a whole bunch or other things, but if you're serious about trying to control this difficult-to-control disease, it's best to give risky things up for now, and then add them back in after you're in remission.

Here's the reality of the situation: It's possible to be well-fed and healthy, eating only a single food, as long as we eat enough of it. If you're still hungry, simply eat more of whatever is safe to eat (not more variety). Meat, for example, contains all the essential amino acids needed for good health. It contains a lot of protein, and a lot of protein is needed to heal the gut. Anything else, just adds variety.

The elimination diet is medicine, designed to control a hard-to-control disease. It's not intended to be an adventure in gourmet delights. We can experiment with adventurous foods all we want after we have the disease in remission, and things are going our way. But until we get to that hard-won point, anything/everything we put in our mouth must be carefully scrutinized to be sure it's not actually one of the many foods that cause us to react, and thereby guarantee that the disease will remain active.

Look at it this way:

We are almost surely going to make mistakes in selecting our recovery diet. But as long as those mistakes are on the safe side, we're still on a solid recovery path. If even one of the mistakes is on the wrong side (the risky side), we've jumped the track and we will probably never reach remission. The odds are stacked against us — we have to do everything right, in order to recover. One mistake can get us kicked out of the game. So why take chances? With a risky diet, we won't even know why it failed, after it does (fail).

You are ingesting so many things that it's difficult to decide where to begin eliminating foods, but if you expect to actually control this disease, you're going to have to get serious about your recovery diet (or it won't turn out to be a recovery diet). Anything I suggest cutting out now, can be tested and added back in later, after you're in remission. I'm just trying to get you into remission, so that the disease can't continue to control your life. If you think that my suggestions are too harsh, feel free to continue living with the disease for 10 or 20 more years before trying them.

I would stop all supplements. Not that they aren't good, but because they may prevent you from reaching remission. You don't need them now. As for prescription meds, the Pepto should help. The Allegra would be more helpful if you were weaning off budesonide. I think you shouldn't have been prescribed Colchicine in the first place, because one of the label side effects is diarrhea, and it's contraindicated for IBD patients. As for the birth control script, please be aware that most women who have active MC are very sensitive to hormonal levels, and find it very difficult (if not impossible) to reach remission and stay there if they use conventional oral, transdermal, implanted under the skin, etc., contraceptives.

Rice and quinoa, shrimp, scallops and mussels, bananas, coffee, almond milk, potatoes, squash, cooked apples (no peelings), and canned coconut milk are probably OK.

Salmon, tuna, and other fish might or might not be OK.

The crispy rice cereal depends on how it was manufactured (be absolutely sure that it doesn't contain any barley malt).

Likewise the coconut-based yogurt. I would be very very surprised if the fermentation wasn't started with a dairy-based culture. That would be a no-no.

We can't tolerate citric acid while we're reacting, so all citrus fruits are off limits.

Russet potatoes are harder to digest than the other types (such as yellow or red), but nevertheless, they should still be safe.

I would ditch the kombucha. You can try it again after you're in remission.

That vegetable broth probably contains soy.

Lean heavily toward turkey and lamb (which are safe for everyone), unless you've had the EnteroLab stool tests to show that beef, pork, and/or chicken are safe for you.

I notice that you requested suggestions about any BIG no-no that needed to be eliminated. Unfortunately, with MC, it's rare when any issue does not turn out to be a BIG issue. MC is not a very forgiving disease.

Remember, when you're hungry eat more of the foods that are actually safe for you. You can add to the variety after you're in remission. If you try to add variety now, you may never get to remission.

I hope this helps, and I wish the best of luck to you during your recovery.

Tex

Thank you for responding! I was vegetarian for almost 10 years prior to my diagnosis so the lack of variety plus adding meat back to my diet has been challenging for me.

I will double check the crispy rice cereal, but do you have any other recommendations for breakfast items? This has been the most challenging for me as the idea of eating meat and potatoes first thing in the morning sounds unappetizing. Do you recommend intermittent fasting rather than eating breakfast first thing in the AM?

And I have seasonal allergies, that's why I'm on the Allegra. Could that be causing any issues? I've thought about getting a copper IUD (which is one of the few non-hormonal BC options) but I've heard mixed reviews on them. I will chat with my gyno soon and see what alternatives I have for that. And I was cleared by my cardiologist to come off the Colchicine, but I was prescribed that before my MC diagnosis when I was just living with D because it was the norm for me. But my fear of reoccurring pericarditis is what drove me to look further into my gastrointestinal health (that and I reached my out of pocket maximum after one hospitalization so I figured I might as well get as much healthcare as possible before my deductible and OPM renewed)

I'll switch to non-traditional meats as soon as this chicken is gone. I wasn't sure where to get these meats so I've done some more research.

Thank you again, I've been feeling lost and all of these changes have been hard but I want to get better

You have a gift Gabes, the gift of writing. You're like Ernest Hemingway and you write simple and simple is easier to read and understand but harder to compose. Great article. Every time I come on here, I learn something new and I thank you Gabes. Your friend, Dorothy

Hi Femme

If you are one of the lucky few who are not sensitive to soy, you might be able to recover while following a vegetarian lifestyle, but soy sensitivity almost always brings sensitivity to most legumes, which makes getting enough protein to heal almost impossible.

If you like cereal, Chex makes several breakfast cereals that should be safe — at least most of us can tolerate them OK after we're in remission.

I hear you about the Allegra. I've had seasonal allergies all my life, and I used a lot of them. I quit using antihistamines several years ago, but now (since I had a stroke) I can't remember what the issue is. It's posted here somewhere in one of the discussions. Maybe I'll remember it eventually. Sorry that I can't remember the risk.

Tex

Thank you so much for this easy to follow guide to eating during the recovery stage. Over the past few years I’ve kind of stumbled my way through trying to work out what food was triggering my symptoms. Since being diagnosed just this week I’ve realised more and more foods that I thought were safe definitely aren’t.

It’s so hard to have a condition that requires so much personal research because medical professionals don’t believe that diet is a contributing factor. I’ve felt so alone in all my research and “mad ideas” about diet - it’s just so encouraging to finally find other people who have gone through a similar journey.

Just a question about a couple of food items...I’ve been following the AutoImmune Protocol (AIP) version of the Paleo diet for a little over a week now. It does include a couple of ingredients I’m not really familiar with: Cassava and Tigernut flours (all nuts and seeds are banned so the only other flour they allow is coconut). Is anyone else familiar with these enough to know whether they’re ok to eat for us during Stage One??

Thanks again,

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

I'm not familiar with those, but they should both be safe for virtually any of us. Here's a link to an old thread from a few years ago about tigernut flour:

Tigernut Flour

Tex

Thanks for the link. It looks like much wasn’t known about Tigernut back then. I’ve looked them up and they’re both tubers, similar to sweet potato. Sweet potato is one of the few vegetables I currently feel safe eating so they may be ok for me. I’ll try them in small doses and see how I go.

Thanks again,

Sarah

Hello,
I joined to group a couple of years ago. I have mild MC symptoms compared to most. Nonetheless I would like to reduce their frequency allot. I plan to start Phase 1 of the diet. However I came across two versions of the diet. One is the first post on this forum. The other can be found at his link, https://perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=732

One suggests potatoes, bananas and chicken as the basic foods. Though it allows adding other meats and a few cooked and peeled veggies it says no rice. The version in the first post of this forum suggests eating white rice and does not mention potatoes. Also the length of phase 1 varies greatly between the versions. One suggests two weeks, possible extending to three. The idea is that if your symptoms have improved you should start to test other foods so that you can add a greater variety of nutrients to your diet. The version in this post is says that the duration of phase 1 is open ended depending on your progress but suggests that we are looking at months, not a couple of weeks. May I ask you to clarify?
Thank you,
Alex

Hello Alex,

Surely. If you'll look at the date on the post at the link you listed (for the other version), you'll see that it's dated 2005. Back in those days, treatment of MC by diet was still so new that we hadn't had much time to perfect it. That's when this forum first began, and the diet that Jean listed was current technology (so to speak) at the time. We've learned a lot in the intervening years, and the diet posted in this thread may not be perfect for everyone (we're all different), but it's an example of how the diet has generally evolved over the years. In the final analysis, we all have to design our own custom diet. This one is based on the best odds of success for most people. That said, some people (a very small percentage) are sensitive to rice, but they can handle potatoes.

The length of time needed for the diet to work will depend on a lot of personal factors. Listen to your body. It will tell you when you're ready to try adding something to your diet. If you still have diarrhea, nausea, pain bloating, etc, then obviously you need to continue to stick to the diet for a while. On the other hand, if your symptoms (except for brain fog and fatigue) are gone, you have normal bowel movements, and you feel generally great, when you jump out of bed every morning, you're in remission and you're ready to see if you can add other foods (carefully tested, one at a time) to your diet.

I hope this helps.

Tex

Thank you for you quick response Tex. I expected that reply but I wanted to make sure. I much appreciate the incredible effort and spirit that you put into this site. Regards. Alex

Hi everyone! This is my first post on this forum. I have had LC for over 10 years and haven't responded to meds very well. I'm about half way through "Microscopic Colitis" by Wayne Persky and am finally ready to bite the bullet and try diet changes. My husband does most of the cooking in our house and I wanted to make this as easy as possible for him, so I put together this chart to summarize the phase 1 plan. Could you all review and let me know if I should add/change anything?

Hi.

Welcome to the group. You're off to a good start. That chart looks good, except that I would add fiber to the "Limit" list. Of course, peeling your vegetables will go a long way toward accomplishing that. Also, note that more than a few of us are sensitive to ghee, especially while we're still recovering. If you want a spread, Earth Balance makes a soy-free version that many members use.

Best of luck to you on your journey to recovery, and remember that the trip back to good digestive health is rarely free of bumps. Occasional setbacks usually happen — sometimes for a known reason, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. Don't let that discourage you. Perseverance pays off, and it will allow you to get your life back.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

Thank you, Tex!

I’m sorry if this has been answered elsewhere (I’m still learning how to navigate this site), but are onions safe during stage 1?