Dear all,
I was diagnosed with LC last week and it was quite a blow.
I was diagnosed with coeliac disease 2 years ago and felt great for 2 months but was then struck down with D that was worse than ever and excruciating abdominal pain. I suspect that it was my first flare up.
I am shocked how lite doctors seem to know about LC and, more than anything, how little they care! It seems that if it's not going to kill me, they don't want to be much bothered!
Anyway, I am keen to experiment with diet. I have already cut out coffee and think that has helped but I will give it a little longer before trying the next thing. What would you recommend is the best food to try?
Also, I live in Devon in England. Is there anyone on this forum who lives near me?
I don't have much time this evening but hope to spend a while looking at your postings tomorrow.
Thanks for being there.
Alison
Introduction
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
-
Alison Orchard
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:27 pm
Introduction
I am a coeliac who has recently been diagnosed with lymphocytic colitis. I live in Devon in England and am keen to see if I can control the disease by diet.
Hi Alison,
Welcome to the board. We have quite a few members in England, but none are currently posting (or they post rarely, these days). We have several members in Northern Ireland, and a couple of them post somewhat regularly.
You are quite correct, most GI specialists have a very poor attitude about treating this disease, and that's probably because most of them don't know much about treating it. Most of them still claim that diet has nothing to do with it. That's like trying to claim that breathing polluted air has nothing to do with lung disease.
Since you're familiar with treating coeliac disease by diet changes, adjusting your diet to control your MC symptoms should not be difficult. With LC, most of us are sensitive to gluten and casein (the primary protein in all dairy products). At least half of us are also sensitive to soy, most legumes, and all soy derivatives (including soy lecithin (which is in many foods, including most chocolate) and soy oil (which can be found in many foods and also vitamin supplements and medications). Some of us are also sensitive to eggs, yeast, and a few other foods or ingredients, (such as carrageenan).
If you are one of the lucky ones, you may be able to get your life back simply by avoiding dairy products in addition to gluten, but if that doesn't bring remission, you may have to avoid other foods, (such as eggs), also. Some of us determine our food sensitivities by trial and error, and some eliminate the guesswork by sending a stool sample to EnteroLab (located in Dallas, Texas), to test for the most common food sensitivities. Experience shows that there is no other lab in the world that can match the accuracy and reliability of the EnteroLab tests for tracking down food sensitivities.
In addition to determining our food sensitivities and cutting them out of our diet (100 %), while our intestines are healing, we must minimize fiber. Most of us must also minimize sugar in our diet, and almost all of us must avoid all artificial sweeteners. Fruits are a problem due not only to the fiber, but also the fructose and sorbitol sugars that they contain. Bananas are an exception — most of us can tolerate bananas, as long as we don't over do it.
Most of us can tolerate a few vegetables if they are peeled, and overcooked (to make them easier to digest). Veggies such as squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, for example, work for many of us. Salads (because of the raw vegetables) cause most of us to react, and iceberg lettuce is absolutely the worst. Rice is safe for almost all of us, and most of us can tolerate corn. After our gut heals, most of us can once again slowly add most of these foods (fruits, most vegetables, salads, etc.), back into our diet.
It takes much longer for the gut to heal than most GI specialists realize, so please don't be surprised if it takes a few months (or longer) to recover. Many new members take Entocort EC (budesonide) while they are healing, so that they don't have to deal with the symptoms while their diet changes promote healing.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex (Wayne)
Welcome to the board. We have quite a few members in England, but none are currently posting (or they post rarely, these days). We have several members in Northern Ireland, and a couple of them post somewhat regularly.
You are quite correct, most GI specialists have a very poor attitude about treating this disease, and that's probably because most of them don't know much about treating it. Most of them still claim that diet has nothing to do with it. That's like trying to claim that breathing polluted air has nothing to do with lung disease.
Since you're familiar with treating coeliac disease by diet changes, adjusting your diet to control your MC symptoms should not be difficult. With LC, most of us are sensitive to gluten and casein (the primary protein in all dairy products). At least half of us are also sensitive to soy, most legumes, and all soy derivatives (including soy lecithin (which is in many foods, including most chocolate) and soy oil (which can be found in many foods and also vitamin supplements and medications). Some of us are also sensitive to eggs, yeast, and a few other foods or ingredients, (such as carrageenan).
If you are one of the lucky ones, you may be able to get your life back simply by avoiding dairy products in addition to gluten, but if that doesn't bring remission, you may have to avoid other foods, (such as eggs), also. Some of us determine our food sensitivities by trial and error, and some eliminate the guesswork by sending a stool sample to EnteroLab (located in Dallas, Texas), to test for the most common food sensitivities. Experience shows that there is no other lab in the world that can match the accuracy and reliability of the EnteroLab tests for tracking down food sensitivities.
In addition to determining our food sensitivities and cutting them out of our diet (100 %), while our intestines are healing, we must minimize fiber. Most of us must also minimize sugar in our diet, and almost all of us must avoid all artificial sweeteners. Fruits are a problem due not only to the fiber, but also the fructose and sorbitol sugars that they contain. Bananas are an exception — most of us can tolerate bananas, as long as we don't over do it.
Most of us can tolerate a few vegetables if they are peeled, and overcooked (to make them easier to digest). Veggies such as squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, for example, work for many of us. Salads (because of the raw vegetables) cause most of us to react, and iceberg lettuce is absolutely the worst. Rice is safe for almost all of us, and most of us can tolerate corn. After our gut heals, most of us can once again slowly add most of these foods (fruits, most vegetables, salads, etc.), back into our diet.
It takes much longer for the gut to heal than most GI specialists realize, so please don't be surprised if it takes a few months (or longer) to recover. Many new members take Entocort EC (budesonide) while they are healing, so that they don't have to deal with the symptoms while their diet changes promote healing.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex (Wayne)
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.
-
Alison Orchard
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:27 pm
Hi Tex,
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I am very grateful.
I shall see if I can use the Texan Enterolab from the UK.
Can you also tell me about the amount consumed. Does that affect things? I seem to find that little and often works well for me; is that a common experience?
Can you also suggest anything to speed up the healing of the gut?
Best wishes, Alison
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I am very grateful.
I shall see if I can use the Texan Enterolab from the UK.
Can you also tell me about the amount consumed. Does that affect things? I seem to find that little and often works well for me; is that a common experience?
Can you also suggest anything to speed up the healing of the gut?
Best wishes, Alison
I am a coeliac who has recently been diagnosed with lymphocytic colitis. I live in Devon in England and am keen to see if I can control the disease by diet.
-
humbird753
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:44 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
Hi Alison - I see Tex has already given you a lot of helpful information. I just wanted to welcome you to the board. I was diagnosed with LC in June of 2010, but didn't understand it was associated with foods until I found this web site in November, 2011.
Since you were already diagnosed with celiac disease a couple of years ago, that must mean you have already eliminated gluten from your diet? It is typical that the next food intolerance may be casein (the milk protein in dairy products), and then soy, and also eggs. I have been GF/DF/SF for a year now. Eliminating foods we are intolerant to will bring remission to the symptoms we are experiencing, and then of course healing. Ordering the Enterolab test from Texas with eliminate a lot of guess work.
I hope you find relief soon. There are a lot of supportive members here, and a wealth of information.
Paula
Since you were already diagnosed with celiac disease a couple of years ago, that must mean you have already eliminated gluten from your diet? It is typical that the next food intolerance may be casein (the milk protein in dairy products), and then soy, and also eggs. I have been GF/DF/SF for a year now. Eliminating foods we are intolerant to will bring remission to the symptoms we are experiencing, and then of course healing. Ordering the Enterolab test from Texas with eliminate a lot of guess work.
I hope you find relief soon. There are a lot of supportive members here, and a wealth of information.
Paula
Paula
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
Hi Alison,
You should be able to order a test kit from the UK. Members from as far away as Spain and even Hong Kong have successfully sent samples to the lab.
On the other hand, if you are referring to the foods that we can safely eat, yes, most of us find that moderation is best, and small frequent meals or snacks seem to work better than fewer, larger meals for many of us.
Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with low vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D blood levels predispose to the development of IBD, and IBDs tend to depelete vitamin D levels in the body. Therefore, most of us take a vitamin D supplement. Those of us who suffer with symptoms for several years before we receive a diagnosis, may be low on vitamin B-12, or some of the other B vitamins, so taking supplements can be beneficial. We have to be very careful with supplements, though, because many of them contain traces of food ingredients to which we are sensitive, and so we are not able to reach remission because of them. In most cases, it's best to reach remission before bothering to fine-tune our nutrition and supplements, because as long as we are reacting, we are unable to absorb many nutrients effectively, anyway.
Extremely careful attention to diet is the key to faster recovery. Ingesting even small amounts of foods to which we are sensitive (whether intentional or accidental) will slow down the healing process, because it will create new inflammation. Too much fiber or sugar can also delay healing progress.
A corticosteroid, such as Entocort EC (budesonide) can help to make life easier during the recovery period (by masking symptoms), but it will not speed up the healing process. In fact, corticosteroids actually slow healing by a small amount (though it may not be enough to make a significant difference).
You're very welcome,
Tex
You should be able to order a test kit from the UK. Members from as far away as Spain and even Hong Kong have successfully sent samples to the lab.
If you are referring to foods to which we are sensitive, reaction thresholds vary by the individual, but most of us seem to react to even tiny traces of our main food sensitivities.Alison wrote:Can you also tell me about the amount consumed. Does that affect things? I seem to find that little and often works well for me; is that a common experience?
On the other hand, if you are referring to the foods that we can safely eat, yes, most of us find that moderation is best, and small frequent meals or snacks seem to work better than fewer, larger meals for many of us.
L-glutamine is known to help heal intestinal damage. Body builders use it to help heal other smooth muscle tissue. Some members find it helpful, while others can't tell any difference.Alison wrote:Can you also suggest anything to speed up the healing of the gut?
Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with low vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D blood levels predispose to the development of IBD, and IBDs tend to depelete vitamin D levels in the body. Therefore, most of us take a vitamin D supplement. Those of us who suffer with symptoms for several years before we receive a diagnosis, may be low on vitamin B-12, or some of the other B vitamins, so taking supplements can be beneficial. We have to be very careful with supplements, though, because many of them contain traces of food ingredients to which we are sensitive, and so we are not able to reach remission because of them. In most cases, it's best to reach remission before bothering to fine-tune our nutrition and supplements, because as long as we are reacting, we are unable to absorb many nutrients effectively, anyway.
Extremely careful attention to diet is the key to faster recovery. Ingesting even small amounts of foods to which we are sensitive (whether intentional or accidental) will slow down the healing process, because it will create new inflammation. Too much fiber or sugar can also delay healing progress.
A corticosteroid, such as Entocort EC (budesonide) can help to make life easier during the recovery period (by masking symptoms), but it will not speed up the healing process. In fact, corticosteroids actually slow healing by a small amount (though it may not be enough to make a significant difference).
You're very welcome,
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.
Welcome Alison! It sounds like you are a willing student and are very aware of how you react to things you eat. That's a great start.
I was dx last february and am doing pretty well these days. I am one of us who took Budesonide while I overhauled my diet. I just didn't have any extra weight I could lose and still be able to function, so I went on the drugs. It worked wonders for me and helped me get my life back quickly, but the diet is key. The more serious you take the elimination diet, the faster your gut will probably heal.
I also am one who still takes L-glutamine powder. Does it help? Who knows, but it doesn't hurt. I didn't start taking supplements until I had healed a bit. I figured it was a waste of money if I was just pooping them out! After about six months of healing, I was able to add some of the "other" foods back in in small quantities. I will always be gluten, dairy, and soy free though.
Yes, eating small portions seems to work better for me also .... and stopping food after dinner helps with sleep.
When you have the time, read as much as you can here. Tex has written a book on MC that is a wonderful resource. You might want to order it from Amazon.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress
Leah
I was dx last february and am doing pretty well these days. I am one of us who took Budesonide while I overhauled my diet. I just didn't have any extra weight I could lose and still be able to function, so I went on the drugs. It worked wonders for me and helped me get my life back quickly, but the diet is key. The more serious you take the elimination diet, the faster your gut will probably heal.
I also am one who still takes L-glutamine powder. Does it help? Who knows, but it doesn't hurt. I didn't start taking supplements until I had healed a bit. I figured it was a waste of money if I was just pooping them out! After about six months of healing, I was able to add some of the "other" foods back in in small quantities. I will always be gluten, dairy, and soy free though.
Yes, eating small portions seems to work better for me also .... and stopping food after dinner helps with sleep.
When you have the time, read as much as you can here. Tex has written a book on MC that is a wonderful resource. You might want to order it from Amazon.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress
Leah
-
Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
welcome alison
your question about healing the gut
- I made my own stocks (bone broth etc) that are high in gelatin and amino acids - gelatin has been used for centuries in healing leaky gut.
- having meals that are easy to digest (ie well cooked mushy) helps as well, as inflammation is minimised during the digestion process.
- meals that dont have too many ingredients ie no more than 5-6 ingredients in a stew or a soup also helps
- for me, lots of small meals through the day (rather than just 3) and i had my main meal at lunchtime, less food in the afternoon/evening. This meant i slept better which is very important while the body is healing.
- time and patience, it can take 6 - 12 months for the gut to heal after chronic symptoms
I attained remission of my MC in under 2 years via a very focussed gut healing low inflammation eating plan, and natural therapy support. The information and support by the wonderful people on this forum not only gave me my life back, but enhanced it 10 fold.
good luck digesting (pun intended
) all the information
take care
your question about healing the gut
- I made my own stocks (bone broth etc) that are high in gelatin and amino acids - gelatin has been used for centuries in healing leaky gut.
- having meals that are easy to digest (ie well cooked mushy) helps as well, as inflammation is minimised during the digestion process.
- meals that dont have too many ingredients ie no more than 5-6 ingredients in a stew or a soup also helps
- for me, lots of small meals through the day (rather than just 3) and i had my main meal at lunchtime, less food in the afternoon/evening. This meant i slept better which is very important while the body is healing.
- time and patience, it can take 6 - 12 months for the gut to heal after chronic symptoms
I attained remission of my MC in under 2 years via a very focussed gut healing low inflammation eating plan, and natural therapy support. The information and support by the wonderful people on this forum not only gave me my life back, but enhanced it 10 fold.
good luck digesting (pun intended
) all the information take care
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
-
natythingycolbery
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 590
- Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:23 pm
- Location: York, United Kingdom
Hello Alison,
I'm from the UK from York but live in Lincoln at the moment.
I have LC too, was diagnosed nearly 3 years ago now and have been left to deal with it by myself.
I did a Yorklab food intolerance test last year and found out I was intolerant to lots of things!
I'm from the UK from York but live in Lincoln at the moment.
I have LC too, was diagnosed nearly 3 years ago now and have been left to deal with it by myself.
I did a Yorklab food intolerance test last year and found out I was intolerant to lots of things!
'The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.' Horace Bushnell
Diagnosed with MC (LC) Aug 2010
Diagnosed with MC (LC) Aug 2010