Oops, I originally posted this under Apple Cider vinegar.
Hi. I just got my "official" diagnosis of C.C. today. It was almost impossible to get the results of the colonoscopy (which I took at a private clinic) on May 31.Forget Medicare. You'll wait until the cows come home to get your test. I had to trick the clinic by giving them the authorization to fax them to a particular doctor. Actually I got them to send the results to my dentist husband's office. In Quebec we go by our maiden name so the nurse did not catch on. Otherwise I would have to wait until Aug 31 for my gastoenterologist to see me in his office and give me the results.
So now I need a lot of practical information: meal plans,etc. I have a lot of food allergies and intolerances so I'm afraid to restrict myself too much. Any suggestions?
Just got diagnosis of collagenous colitis
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Just got diagnosis of collagenous colitis
allergic to :nuts, all seeds, tomatoes, eggplant, all pepper, nutmeg, most raw fruit, many cooked fruits, peanuts, chestnuts, etc.
It seems somewhat ridiculous that a patient should have to wait for several weeks or even months after an exam, to receive the diagnosis for a disease characterized by uncontrollable diarrhea. Obviously, a lot of doctors have absolutely no empathy for their patients. That happens in this country, too often, also. Good for you, for using the system to beat them at their own game. 
Just to show you that your food sensitivities are not unusual for someone with MC, most of us who have food sensitivities, not only have to avoid the foods that trigger autoimmune reactions for us, but we also have to minimize fiber, and avoid citric acid, all artificial sweeteners, and most significant forms of sugar in our diets, especially fructose and sorbitol, (which cuts out most fruits, of course, except for bananas). Some vegetables, such as lettuce, (which is the worst), onions, garlic, tomatoes, etc., have to be avoided by most of us, and the veggies that we can tolerate should be peeled, (again, to minimize fiber), and well cooked, (actually overcooked is much safer).
After we are able to achieve remission, and our gut has had sufficient time to heal, (typically, after a year or more), we are usually able to begin adding some foods back into our diet, as our digestive system once again regains the ability to tolerate more fiber, sugars, etc.
To give you some information to start with, here are some meal suggestions:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=53
Here is a lot of information on cooking, and making ingredient substitutions, etc., along with several hundred delicious recipes that are free of gluten, dairy, and soy:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7
Here is a lot of detailed diet information:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=6
And here are some past discussions about dieting, for people with numerous food sensitivities:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=47
If you have any other, specific questions as you delve into this, please don't hesitate to ask.
Tex
Just to show you that your food sensitivities are not unusual for someone with MC, most of us who have food sensitivities, not only have to avoid the foods that trigger autoimmune reactions for us, but we also have to minimize fiber, and avoid citric acid, all artificial sweeteners, and most significant forms of sugar in our diets, especially fructose and sorbitol, (which cuts out most fruits, of course, except for bananas). Some vegetables, such as lettuce, (which is the worst), onions, garlic, tomatoes, etc., have to be avoided by most of us, and the veggies that we can tolerate should be peeled, (again, to minimize fiber), and well cooked, (actually overcooked is much safer).
After we are able to achieve remission, and our gut has had sufficient time to heal, (typically, after a year or more), we are usually able to begin adding some foods back into our diet, as our digestive system once again regains the ability to tolerate more fiber, sugars, etc.
To give you some information to start with, here are some meal suggestions:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=53
Here is a lot of information on cooking, and making ingredient substitutions, etc., along with several hundred delicious recipes that are free of gluten, dairy, and soy:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7
Here is a lot of detailed diet information:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=6
And here are some past discussions about dieting, for people with numerous food sensitivities:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=47
If you have any other, specific questions as you delve into this, please don't hesitate to ask.
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.
Apple Cider Vinegar as a treatment for Diarrhea
Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. I will try to make up some sort of meal plan from your guidelines
allergic to :nuts, all seeds, tomatoes, eggplant, all pepper, nutmeg, most raw fruit, many cooked fruits, peanuts, chestnuts, etc.
Our basic meal plan is - a meat, and a vegetable. Homemade chicken broth was my go-to food when I was first sick, and I'm going to put a bunch in the freezer for easy summer soup-making. These days, we sort of "pick one from column A, and one from column B" - so yesterday, lunch was chicken burgers and sweet potato; today dinner will probably be steak and cauliflower; you get the idea. I'm able to have bigger helpings of vegetables, and sometimes salad, now that I'm feeling better. But with this super-simple structure, I can always dial it back if I need to (if symptoms recur).
It took me a while to catch on that I need to plan for bigger servings of meat when the "starch" part of the meal is gone. Most of us find fats and oils difficult to tolerate, especially when symptoms are active. I had a lovely potato salad last night, with a lemon-olive oil dressing. But if I have to go back to plain boiled potatoes for a few weeks, my handy meat-plus-veg rule will help!
Since you don't tolerate tomatoes and eggplant, perhaps potatoes are risky for you, as they're in the same plant family. I am loving mashed cauliflower (also roasted cauliflower, and now I can have my husband's favorite dish, which is cooked with a little oil and some broth).
I applaud you for tackling meal planning. I find that very difficult when I'm not feeling well, and my appetite is poor. I hope you're feeling better,
Sara
It took me a while to catch on that I need to plan for bigger servings of meat when the "starch" part of the meal is gone. Most of us find fats and oils difficult to tolerate, especially when symptoms are active. I had a lovely potato salad last night, with a lemon-olive oil dressing. But if I have to go back to plain boiled potatoes for a few weeks, my handy meat-plus-veg rule will help!
Since you don't tolerate tomatoes and eggplant, perhaps potatoes are risky for you, as they're in the same plant family. I am loving mashed cauliflower (also roasted cauliflower, and now I can have my husband's favorite dish, which is cooked with a little oil and some broth).
I applaud you for tackling meal planning. I find that very difficult when I'm not feeling well, and my appetite is poor. I hope you're feeling better,
Sara
Just got diagnosis of collagenous colitis
Thanks again. You are all so kind and thoughtful.
I am allergic to tomatoes and eggplant, not intolerant. Because I did graduate research in a lab and wore latex gloves for years, I became allergic to latex. As a result, I developed allergies to those foods that have proteins that cross-react with latex. I don't seem to be allergic to well-cooked potatoes.Maybe, I will one day.
I don't handle cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, raw cucumbers, well. Vinegar makes my rosacea flare up and gives me reflux. I can't hanle too much fat. I make chicken soup a lot (I'm a Jewish mother), but I don't like soup very much. It's bad for refux.
I like sweet potato,squash, rice and turkey. Right now, though the though of eating turkey is not too appealing. I live on HP ensure mixed with pasturized egg whites and Lactase treated skim milk and cottage cheese, cooked blueberries, and rice, etc. Yuck
I am allergic to tomatoes and eggplant, not intolerant. Because I did graduate research in a lab and wore latex gloves for years, I became allergic to latex. As a result, I developed allergies to those foods that have proteins that cross-react with latex. I don't seem to be allergic to well-cooked potatoes.Maybe, I will one day.
I don't handle cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, raw cucumbers, well. Vinegar makes my rosacea flare up and gives me reflux. I can't hanle too much fat. I make chicken soup a lot (I'm a Jewish mother), but I don't like soup very much. It's bad for refux.
I like sweet potato,squash, rice and turkey. Right now, though the though of eating turkey is not too appealing. I live on HP ensure mixed with pasturized egg whites and Lactase treated skim milk and cottage cheese, cooked blueberries, and rice, etc. Yuck
allergic to :nuts, all seeds, tomatoes, eggplant, all pepper, nutmeg, most raw fruit, many cooked fruits, peanuts, chestnuts, etc.
Hm...
Rosacea definitely has some association with gluten intolerance. That is interesting (though it doesn't mean or prove anything). For almost all of us here, gluten and dairy (all dairy, not just lactose) are the big offenders. For me, those two plus egg whites would put me into a giant flare-up of symptoms. My late mother practically lived on various forms of Ensure, and the HP formula does contain quite a lot of casein (the milk protein that causes the antigenic reaction). I wish I had known more about diet in her late years.
I'm sorry the turkey doesn't appeal - turkey and rice or sweet potatoes could be a good bland diet. You're not alone in having difficulty with fats, especially when symptoms are active. You may find that your reflux improves as you begin to heal, too. It definitely seems to be connected for me. I had occasional, mild, but gradually increasing reflux over the past couple of years, which I now suspect was a symptom that my MC was about to run wild. When my MC tipped over to full-on nightmare, I also began to have terrible reflux. I'm happy to say that's very rare now, if ever. (Sleeping on my left side definitely did help in those first bad days.)
Please don't let me talk you out of well-cooked potatoes if they work for you!! We need all the friendly foods we can get, especially when we're trying to get our lives back.
All my best,
Sara
Rosacea definitely has some association with gluten intolerance. That is interesting (though it doesn't mean or prove anything). For almost all of us here, gluten and dairy (all dairy, not just lactose) are the big offenders. For me, those two plus egg whites would put me into a giant flare-up of symptoms. My late mother practically lived on various forms of Ensure, and the HP formula does contain quite a lot of casein (the milk protein that causes the antigenic reaction). I wish I had known more about diet in her late years.
I'm sorry the turkey doesn't appeal - turkey and rice or sweet potatoes could be a good bland diet. You're not alone in having difficulty with fats, especially when symptoms are active. You may find that your reflux improves as you begin to heal, too. It definitely seems to be connected for me. I had occasional, mild, but gradually increasing reflux over the past couple of years, which I now suspect was a symptom that my MC was about to run wild. When my MC tipped over to full-on nightmare, I also began to have terrible reflux. I'm happy to say that's very rare now, if ever. (Sleeping on my left side definitely did help in those first bad days.)
Please don't let me talk you out of well-cooked potatoes if they work for you!! We need all the friendly foods we can get, especially when we're trying to get our lives back.
All my best,
Sara
I can relate to that. I eat turkey every third day. It's easy on my gut, but I have to talk myself into eating it for dinner most nights. I have to talk myself into eating lamb and pork most nights, too. I tell myself that I can get through another bland meal.wnorm wrote:Right now, though the thought of eating turkey is not too appealing.
I cannot tolerate any form of vinegar, either. It gives me mouth sores. This was a red flag that I might have mastocytosis or mastocytic enterocolitis, or a problem with mast cells. You might want to look at this website to see if you react to many of the foods listed: http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.co ... tamine.htmwnorm wrote:Vinegar makes my rosacea flare up and gives me reflux.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.