MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

In the early stages of healing - eating out tends to cause inflammation so your current habits of travelling and eating out may have impact.

one of the approaches I encourage with life with MC. We can't avoid every trigger 100% of the time.
if we can avoid major triggers most of the time, ie when at home eat the bland safe ingredient meals, and do the right supplements.
When you do have to travel and eat out your body will be able to handle the small amount of increased inflammation with minimal reaction.
If you revise the cookware and have seperate items (chopping board cooking utensils, etc) not touched by gluten based products, check the bathroom make up products you can reduce alot of the small constant exposure you are having.

I budget and plan for treats/outings/travel.
If I am going to be travelling, the week prior I stick to blandest basics for the week.
when travelling, I increase things like the Vit D3 etc to help the body moderate the inflammation
cholestrayamine is used by many here as their diarrhoea safety net when travelling.
I stay in places where I can heat meals I have taken with me (small cooler bag with frozen meals is part of my luggage) If I have Gabes safe staples for breakfast then I can survive on small amounts of protein for lunch if at meetings etc. or I will have small serve of Gabes safe staples at the accommodation before joining others for dinner, that way I can have small safe ingredient meal and not be hungry

once you know your 'safe staples' then it is possible to eat out /travel. with the general population embracing Keto eating, and lots of restaurants etc offering gluten free options it is so easy to organise safe meals these days. (it was not this easy 10-15 years ago!!)

in my early stages of healing (the first year) I managed to do a 3 week work trip to France ( I dont speak French). first challenge was the 36 hour transit from home to location. in France I cooking facilities, I had translated chef cards. these are great. instead of saying what you CANT eat. it has the instructions on what you can eat, and how to cook it. rather than explain it to the waitress and she get it muddled up when telling the chef. you pass the chef card to the waitress to pass onto the chef.

another time when I had to have a job interview lunch at a restaurant, I rang ahead and spoke to the manager. so I didn't have to discuss my special diet requirements in front of potential bosses, I organised it ahead of time, the restaurant were fantastic.

even now at car racing events that I attend, I turn up with my GF roll, with an avocado and ask for bacon and eggs on a plate. I make my own roll. there are so many people doing modified eating plans it is quite easy and accepted.

Your A type personality will help you! bit of pre planning and organisation. Since my Dx (12 years ago) , I have done cook ups most weekends of my safe meals, so I have lunches and dinners all prepared for the working week.
again, if I have busy weekends, or travelling in near future, one weekend I will do bigger batches so I am weeks ahead with 'staples'

Thanks so much for the terrific advice, Gabes! I brought all kinds of food with me this week for the trip to AZ and it was easy. My bowel has gotten better and better the longer I am off turmeric.Is it likely to be that simple--that turmeric was the underlying cause of the inflammation? Or is it just coincidence? I guess time will tell but I'm sure happy about it!

That is great news that bowel is better -

Yes, it is very likely that the turmeric was causing most of the inflammation!
I have seen many people over the years that figure out their major trigger and within days can get near remission once that major trigger has been removed.

hope the improvements keep coming. hope the trip goes well

That makes me really hopeful!!

Hey everyone,

I've been lurking reading a lot of the posts on here for the last month. I was diagnosed with MC last August after almost 4 years of intestinal issues that couldn't be solved. I went df/gf pretty quick, before even getting diagnosed because multiple members of my family seem to have issues with both of those.

About a year ago I took soy out as well after reading that it's a common issue. Still no avail. After a long round of budesonide last year, and no change with it other than being totally sleep deprived with 3 small kids running around to handle. I gave up on that route. I found the book and then found this forum and decided to try phase one.

I started almost a week ago. And am honestly having worse diarrhea then before, not as frequent but definitely worse... Is this common a week in? Its very discouraging. I knew it wouldn't quickly resolve issues, but I wasn't expecting things to be worse at a week.

Thanks in advance. :)

Hi,

Welcome to the Group. No, the diarrhea shouldn't be worse if you're following the guidelines here. Something is apparently wrong. Exactly what are you eating and drinking, and are you taking any medications or supplements?

Tex

Thanks for responding so quick!

I have been doing some bone broth, limited amounts of rice. Well cooked chicken and wild caught salmon. And also sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots. All of these have only been seasoned with some salt but nothing else.

As for drinks, I have been drinking some green tea, but mostly water. No medications. And D3 supplement, waiting on the right kind of magnesium supplement I ordered to come in.

Those vegetables should be safe. Are you aware that many of us are sensitive to chicken and/or salmon? A few of us react to rice, also. Safer proteins, that cause virtually none of us react, include turkey, lamb, venison, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, rabbit, etc. In other words, wild -type meats, whether they are actually wild, or farm/ranch raised. Have you read the newsletter issue published last May by the Microscopic Colitis Foundation that discusses food selection? Here's a direct link where you can download a copy, if you haven't seen it:

https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 479987.pdf

I hope this helps.

Tex

I remember reading chicken can be a trigger, I didn't realize salmon was also on that list. I'll have to look that over and try and adjust to remove those. Thank you!

In many cases, those of us who are sensitive to tuna and salmon can eat certain freshwater fish without any problems. And unless you are otherwise allergic to them, shellfish, such as clams, muscles, shrimp, prawns oysters, etc., are safe for almost all of us.

Tex

Hello, I am new as well…this is my first post as I move to stage One. I have read a lot of the posts and they have been super helpful. I do have several questions.
1. Salt only, not pepper as a spice is sage correct?
2. Is grass fed beef acceptable?
3. I did a 3 month round of Budesonide and the D came back. Budesonide for me causes constipation, which has made things confusing during several attempts to taper, so I need some help with this. I will need to remain on it and 3 mg seems to be a dose that keeps the D away. So….how do you know when to try and taper during stage 1?
4. I did not see information on Stage 2, can you let me know where to find it and how do you know when you are ready ?
5. I have had gut issues most of my life, multiple colonoscopies and several endoscopes with GERD, chronic gastritis that flaresand I take 20 mg of Protonix in the am and 40mg famotidine in the pm, otherwise I have nausea, so my recovery is anticipated to be long and I hope to move to famotidine only and as healing occurs, maybe totally off the medication/I have read the paper on how to wean off GERD meds. I also take synthroid. So do you have thoughts for us who take prescription medications?
6. Can Almond milk be used in stage 1?


That’s alot! I appreciate any and all advice and direction you can offer…..and I appreciate all who are willing to share their wisdom as they travel this journey
Tina

Hi Tina,

I'll try to answer your questions. But remember, these are just my opinions, and others here might have different opinions.

Tina wrote:1. Salt only, not pepper as a spice is sage correct?

Plain salt is safer early on, because spicy foods are harder to digest, and some spices are notorious for being contaminated. After you reach remission, it's much safer to experiment with spices then.

Tina wrote:2. Is grass fed beef acceptable?

It is unless you happen to react to beef. Some of us react to beef. For information on safe foods, please read the newsletter at the following link.

https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 479987.pdf

Tina wrote:3. I did a 3 month round of Budesonide and the D came back. Budesonide for me causes constipation, which has made things confusing during several attempts to taper, so I need some help with this. I will need to remain on it and 3 mg seems to be a dose that keeps the D away. So….how do you know when to try and taper during stage 1?

The proper time to taper the dose is at the first sign of constipation.

Tina wrote:4. I did not see information on Stage 2, can you let me know where to find it and how do you know when you are ready ?

That information hasn't been completed, yet. It basically consists of testing new foods to see if you can tolerate them. There is no point in worrying about the next steps before you reach remission, because that will take a while, and reaching remission is just the first step in healing. After we reach remission, we have to spend some time healing, before we're ready to experiment with testing new foods.

Tina wrote:5. I have had gut issues most of my life, multiple colonoscopies and several endoscopes with GERD, chronic gastritis that flaresand I take 20 mg of Protonix in the am and 40mg famotidine in the pm, otherwise I have nausea, so my recovery is anticipated to be long and I hope to move to famotidine only and as healing occurs, maybe totally off the medication/I have read the paper on how to wean off GERD meds. I also take synthroid. So do you have thoughts for us who take prescription medications?

The listing of inactive ingredients in prescription medications is exempt from labeling requirements, so only active ingredients are required to be listed, listing inactive ingredients is voluntary. You'll have to ask your pharmacist if your prescriptions contain any of the foods that you can't eat.

Tina wrote:6. Can Almond milk be used in stage 1?

Probably. It's safe for most of us.


I hope this helps.

Tex

Tex-I want to personally thank you for your guidance and help through your book and here on the forum. I have been following the guidelines laid out in the chart in the back of your book (the "To The Chef..." chart) since September 2021. It is now March of 2022 and I feel amazing. I have not felt this well since before college. I am now 43! I feel like I have my life back now. To everyone who is frustrated with this illness: hang in there, there is hope. God bless.

You're very welcome. It's great to see that you're doing so well now, and thanks for the great update.

Tex

Thanks for your reply! I am following the safe food plan and will be getting the suggested labs done as well….looking forward to feeling better