Stuck In a Rut - Inflammation + No Weight Gain

[tex]

That last test result shows that the information must be improving — at least it's not system-wide. I wouldn't give up just yet, because we never know when we will reach remission. It might be tomorrow, two weeks from now, or several months from now, but patience and perseverance wins the race. Most doctors are skeptical of those stool tests, but we've found that to be incredibly accurate for detecting food sensitivities associated with this disease.

Tex

[amaguire]

Hello:

Have some follow up questions please (have been very consistent with diet last 9 months, background on earlier posts).

Q1: Is 2x BM per day too many? Have them in the morning 2-3 hours apart, no D just small amounts. Not crazy urgent like at the beginning of the journey just normal time to go (sorry for graphic).

Q2: Is sore bottom an indication of inflammation? It really hasn't changed these last 9 months some days are better than others. It's sore to the point that I have a small amount of blood when wiping first BM (but goes away on second BM).

Q3: Could issue in Q2 be from too much fiber? Pretty consistent diet fiber wise daily: 2/3 cup buckwheat groats, 2/3 cup quinoa, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 cup soft cooked carrots or zucchini or broccoli, 1 pear, 2 bananas, 1 cup taro/sweet potato/parsnip chips).

Q4: Could issue in Q2 be from organic black tea (bags have no soy/legume additives) - 2x cups per day with honey?

Other than issue in Q2 am doing fairly well (weight staying steady, energy level ~70% pre-issue, brain fog ~70% better than pre-issue).

Thanks for your comments!

- Andy

[Gabes-Apg]

Q1 when you say small amounts - is the poop like pebbles? (if so this is indicator of constipation)

to have the motion split across two loo visits could mean that the muscles are struggling to push the poop out, or there is not enough liquid to keep it together

for the muscles to be able to push the poop out - we need Vit D3 and magnesium
you also need to have enough water in the body and fat in the diet for the motion to pass through


Q2 - the discomfort and small amount of blood generally is related to mild haemorrhoid and the body struggling to pass the poop.
using haemorrhoid cream or coconut oil on the anus will help this.
similar to what I have mentioned above in the answer to Q1 if the poop is pebbles this is sign of constipation and you need to increase water, fat, and mild fibre to help the poop pass through
Oral magnesium will also help

Be careful of using cleansing wipes etc on your bottom. best to clean your bottom with moistened 100% cotton (non bleached) or toilet paper with some moisturiser on it. using cleansing wipes or dry toilet paper may be contributing to the soreness


Q3 - there are two types of fibre
The quinoa and pear of part of the insoluble fibre group and can bulk up the stool and be contributing to issues I have mentioned above
the other is soluble fibre which dissolves in water
how much protein and fat are you having with that food list you have provided
are you drinking water ?

Q4 - unlikely

[tex]

What was your poop pattern before you developed MC? For some people, two trips to the bathroom each morning is their normal pattern. For some of us the stage you're at is a normal stage in the healing process as they progress toward remission. The hemorrhoid issue could be associated with remaining inflammation that hopefully will soon fade away as you continue to heal.

Tex

[amaguire]

Good Morning Gabe / Tex:

Thanks for the kind comments, below elaborate some.

1. Pattern Before MC - similar but volume and make up of BM different.

2. Water - will endeavor to drink more.

3. Magnesium (taking 300 mg elemental Doctor's Best) and D3 (5000 IU).

4. BM Consistency - varies, some days like soft serve ice cream (sorry) and thin small pieces (not pebble like) (seems like discomfort level worse in these cases)

5. Here's what I eat maybe this will provide some insight to issue.

B: 2/3 cup buckwheat groats + 1/2 organic no-gum coconut milk + 2 tablespoons sunflower butter + 1 banana + 2 cups tea with honey
L: 2/3 cup quinoa + 1 cup ground turkey + soft vegetable (carrots or zucchini or broccoli) + olive oil + + salt + Terra chips + applesauce or pear or some other soft fruit
D: lamb or freshwater fish + 2 sweet potatoes + olive oil + salt + banana or some other soft fruit + sometimes olives
Snacks: applesauce or Terra chips or banana

6. Activity Level - running (20 mile/week) + walking 3 miles/day + gym 3 times/week + house work during non-working hours

Thank you.

[tex]

Ever hear of runner's diarrhea? Due to primal instincts inherited from our paleo ancestors, long distance running can trigger gut-brain axis feedback signals that can cause the digestive system to be completely shut down, and when the digestive system is shut down for more than a minimal amount of time, the partially digested food may spoil, resulting in diarrhea. I've never been a runner, so I have no idea whether you're crossing that threshold, or even coming close, but if you are, it's not likely that is benefiting your digestive system recovery from MC.

Aside from that, your poop pattern sounds quite similar to the stages many of us go through on our journey to remission.

Tex

[amaguire]

Hi Tex:

Thank you for reply, ouch hope running isn't the cause of this one of the few things that keeps my sanity! This is less than half what used to run before the MC thing came on. It makes sense (when I was younger did 5+ hour endurance events and never had to go #2 or #1). But your comment about gas seems in line with this as yes have this pretty bad during the most discomforting intervals. Taking some days off from running makes sense to gage this.

[amaguire]

Hello:

Just wanted to give an update on my "situation" with pain and gas as it may help someone else.

Seems the culprit is excessive honey and fruit (excess fructose). Read in other posts (from Tex - thank you) on potential inability to digest it properly resulting in excessive gas. Backed way off on amount for the last 2 weeks and am seeing huge improvement.

Thank you.

[tex]

Great! Thanks for sharing that, and I hope that you continue to improve.

Tex

[amaguire]

Hello:

I'm at the one year point on my very limited diet and thankfully symptoms have been very good for sometime now, the last "issue" was resolved in May (excess honey causing issues). I've read through Stage 2 folder along with other messages regarding re-introducing some foods.

Below are my Entero Lab results from last early in the summer.

ENTERO LAB RESULTS
Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: 178 units
Fecal Anti-casein IgA: 252
Fecal Anti-ovalbumin IgA: 151
Fecal Anti-soy IgA: 133
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods: 140
3+ foods: corn, beef, almond, white potato
2+ foods: rice, oat, tuna, pork, chicken, walnut, cashew
1+ foods: none
No reactivity foods: none

Grains:
Corn most reactivity
Rice intermediate reactivity
Oat least reactivity

Meats:
Beef most reactivity
Tuna next most reactive
Pork intermediate reactivity
Chicken least reactivity

Q1: Based on Entero lab results should I even be considering to introducing more foods?
Q2: If yes to Q1 OK to try now or wait another 6 months or a year?
Q3: If yes to Q1 and Q2: start with rice and chicken (not together)?

Thank you for the comments.

Andy

[tex]

Q1: Based on Entero lab results should I even be considering to introducing more foods?

Considering the high level of inflammation on your last test results: the answer probably depends on how long you have been in remission, your age, and the condition of your immune system. Kids can heal in a year or two, but it takes us older folks 3 to 5 or more years, and some of us don't completely heal. There are no definite statistics, because we're all different, but if we don't have some significant healing in place, we run a bigger risk of relapsing if the food we try causes a reaction. The more our intestines heal, the shorter reactions to small-exposures (to inflammatory foods) will be. if our immune system still leans toward the highly inflamed side, it sometimes doesn't take much to upset the apple cart. So we can't tell you specifically how long you need to wait — we can only advise you in general terms, since we can't look inside your immune system. Each of us has to listen to our body for clues, and (cautiously) proceed accordingly.

Q2: If yes to Q1 OK to try now or wait another 6 months or a year?

Q3: If yes to Q1 and Q2: start with rice and chicken (not together)?

Yes, when you feel ready to try a new food, rice, chicken, and pork would probably be the best options to choose from.

Incidentally, don't be fooled by the low reactivity rating on oats (under the grains ranking). That might be technically true, because the avenin in oats is a much weaker allergen, compared with the gluten in wheat, but virtually all of us react to oats — it just takes us longer to develop a sensitivity to it, if we haven't eaten it in a long time. But once our immune system begins to produce antibodies against it, in my case, at least, my reaction to oats was basically the same as my reaction to gluten. In a trial, it took me six weeks to develop a sensitivity to oats, but once I developed that sensitivity, it took me six more weeks for the diarrhea to stop, after I stopped eating the oats.

I hope this helps — sorry that I couldn't be more helpful, but these are uncharted waters. Maybe Gabes has more insight on this than I have. If she has, she'll probably chime in with her thoughts — we're all prejudiced to some extent by our own personal experiences with this disease.

Tex

[amaguire]

Hello:

Thank you Tex for your comments much appreciated, have an additional question.

Q: Histamine Intolerance: Other than eliminating potential foods/drinks is there any way to know if have this issue?

Entero Lab results give any clue?

Background on why asking: Although have made a huge improvement this past year still not where would like to be and am wondering if have a histamine issue. Not looking for trouble for sure but remain having 2x BM in morning very small volume, frequent sour stomach to the point don't feel like eating (am very active and need the calories). Short read on histamine foods see bananas, coconut milk, and black tea as being not OK. These are hard for me to give up my main source of calories (1-2 bananas a day, 1/2 can coconut milk, 2x cups of tea).

Thank you.

[tex]

Andy,

If you can eat two full-size ripe bananas daily without itching like mad, you don't have a histamine problem, at least, not a serious one.

If you're looking for calories, can you eat avocados? How about sweet potatoes?

One reason it's taking you an unusually long time to heal, is because your Enterolab results were extraordinarily high, compared with most of us, suggesting that your immune system has been producing antibodies against those foods for a long time, and therefore you've acquired more damage to your intestines, than most of us. Your body may be having a difficult time having to retrain itself.

Tex

[amaguire]

Hi Tex - thank you!

[amaguire]

Hello:

Have been staying consistent with my diet but have been having a minor issue with small amounts of yellow leakage mostly after have BM, sometimes a small amount later in the day. The small amount of blood when wiping is still present so am a little sore still.

Have read some comments on the site regarding potential being a BAM issue. But have a few questions:

1. If not BAM could the leakage be an indication of still having significant inflammation.

2. Should I cut back on fat intake? To get calories I eat quite a lot of fat. I put olive oil on most everything that I cook with the exception of lamb. Also I eat 1/2 can of coconut milk (organic no gums) a day and organic non-grain chips made with avacado oil. That's pretty much it for sources of fat other than meat.

3. Worth trying Cholestyramine to see if it turns it off ? I have a couple cans of prescribed by gastro doctor that have not used -> not a fan of using medications.

4. Could organic baby food (mix of fruits and vegetables) be a cause? I'm on my feet a lot with work and these are quick sources of energy but they're pretty sweet. I drink lots of water to try to dilute any concentrated stuff in gut.

Other than these 2x small issues am doing really well. The diet for sure remains a challenge socially and work-wise have had to make some hard changes to step back from high level responsibilities.

Thanks for the comments and this website.