Hi all I'm sorry I keep posting but what little comfort I get is from people on this website.
My Diarrhea has not been too bad however I get quite a lot of lower abdominal pains and plenty of tenderness in the same region. Is this common a complaint with MC .
Abdominal tenderness
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Hello Jimbo........
Where exactly is your abdominal pain and discomfort? Is it on the left or right side, across the top of your tummy under your ribs or down in the bottom of your abdomen below your belly button. Try and describe it after thinking about the pain carefully. When do you feel the most pain - all the time, after meals, how long after eating? Do you keep a food diary and log your pain and discomfort?
If you are experiencing D, tenderness and pain it means your gut is inflamed and unhappy. My guess is you are still ingesting something you are sensitive to.
My diarrhoea stopped as soon as I was established on my restricted diet. After about a month all my tenderness and abdominal discomfort disappeared. My energy levels are slowly rising and I'm starting to see the improvements.
Jimbo, unfortunately there are no short cuts to regaining gut health. The simple truth is strict elimination diet, very bland home cooked food, and a food diary. Are you able to go shopping and do your own cooking? My dinners are all cooked in one pot for quick pain free meals. The vegetables go in towards the end of the cooking, my one pot serves me lunch and dinner.
The food diary helps you to find troublesome food or products so we can avoid them. Home cooked food - because food from caterers, supermarkets etc contain a vast amount of extras and E numbers to enhance flavour or prolong the life of the food all of which can be responsible for irritatating the gut.
Where exactly is your abdominal pain and discomfort? Is it on the left or right side, across the top of your tummy under your ribs or down in the bottom of your abdomen below your belly button. Try and describe it after thinking about the pain carefully. When do you feel the most pain - all the time, after meals, how long after eating? Do you keep a food diary and log your pain and discomfort?
If you are experiencing D, tenderness and pain it means your gut is inflamed and unhappy. My guess is you are still ingesting something you are sensitive to.
My diarrhoea stopped as soon as I was established on my restricted diet. After about a month all my tenderness and abdominal discomfort disappeared. My energy levels are slowly rising and I'm starting to see the improvements.
Jimbo, unfortunately there are no short cuts to regaining gut health. The simple truth is strict elimination diet, very bland home cooked food, and a food diary. Are you able to go shopping and do your own cooking? My dinners are all cooked in one pot for quick pain free meals. The vegetables go in towards the end of the cooking, my one pot serves me lunch and dinner.
The food diary helps you to find troublesome food or products so we can avoid them. Home cooked food - because food from caterers, supermarkets etc contain a vast amount of extras and E numbers to enhance flavour or prolong the life of the food all of which can be responsible for irritatating the gut.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hello Jimbo............
Your large bowel or colon goes up the right side of the abdomen, across from right to left under your ribs then down the left side of the abdomen to the rectum. It is very important to decide firstly what is causing your pain so that you don't develope another problem and blame the MC. If in doubt about the source of your pain or the pain becomes suddenly much worse or different to what you expect from MC it is best to see the GP or your GI doctor or visit A&E if its an emergency.
You must remember that when we have MC we are still able to have other causes of D such as food poisoning, or D from contaminated food or water on top of the MC. In the UK at present chicken bought from supermarkets can be contaminated with salmonella. Food hygiene at home is therefore very important.
My abdominal cramps were in the left side radiating down to the pelvic area. The pain you describe sounds very similar. My cramp pain always preceded a D by just few minutes to 30minutes. Once the D happened the cramp pain would go and leave a dull discomfort but would return again just before the next D.
When I was in my flare and very ill I had a generalised abdominal discomfort all the time. If you are experiencing pain all the time then my guess is you are eating foods or ingesting medicines that are keeping
your MC active hence the persistent D. If you are eating ready meals, using sauces, stock cubes etc for instance they could be the problem. It's best to go totally dairy free, soy free, legume free, egg free, gluten free and only eat fresh food, home cooked with just salt and pepper as seasoning.
It would be of huge benefit to yourself to keep a basic record of times of your meals and the times you have pain. All of us who suffer from MC need to practice mindfulness in relation to our eating habits and pain. I know it's often a nuisance to write all your meals down, even a brief description is better than nothing.
Would you like to share what you ate and drank today just to help us get an idea of how to help you best.
Hope you find a solution soon,
Jen
Your large bowel or colon goes up the right side of the abdomen, across from right to left under your ribs then down the left side of the abdomen to the rectum. It is very important to decide firstly what is causing your pain so that you don't develope another problem and blame the MC. If in doubt about the source of your pain or the pain becomes suddenly much worse or different to what you expect from MC it is best to see the GP or your GI doctor or visit A&E if its an emergency.
You must remember that when we have MC we are still able to have other causes of D such as food poisoning, or D from contaminated food or water on top of the MC. In the UK at present chicken bought from supermarkets can be contaminated with salmonella. Food hygiene at home is therefore very important.
My abdominal cramps were in the left side radiating down to the pelvic area. The pain you describe sounds very similar. My cramp pain always preceded a D by just few minutes to 30minutes. Once the D happened the cramp pain would go and leave a dull discomfort but would return again just before the next D.
When I was in my flare and very ill I had a generalised abdominal discomfort all the time. If you are experiencing pain all the time then my guess is you are eating foods or ingesting medicines that are keeping
your MC active hence the persistent D. If you are eating ready meals, using sauces, stock cubes etc for instance they could be the problem. It's best to go totally dairy free, soy free, legume free, egg free, gluten free and only eat fresh food, home cooked with just salt and pepper as seasoning.
It would be of huge benefit to yourself to keep a basic record of times of your meals and the times you have pain. All of us who suffer from MC need to practice mindfulness in relation to our eating habits and pain. I know it's often a nuisance to write all your meals down, even a brief description is better than nothing.
Would you like to share what you ate and drank today just to help us get an idea of how to help you best.
Hope you find a solution soon,
Jen
Psoriatic Arthritis
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
I did experience a similar pain when I was first diagnosed. It moved around a bit, but there was tenderness under my ribs and also lower abdomen. So this could be totally normal and should slowly go away once you start healing.
It is important to rule out any other issues, so it would be worthwhile to mention this pain to your doctor. Mine ordered an ultrasound just to make sure there was nothing concerning going on.
For me, while the pain did become less over time, it was probably close to a year before it was totally gone.
It is important to rule out any other issues, so it would be worthwhile to mention this pain to your doctor. Mine ordered an ultrasound just to make sure there was nothing concerning going on.
For me, while the pain did become less over time, it was probably close to a year before it was totally gone.
With respect to the pain I went to accident and emergency at my local hospital the weekend, where they done an abdominal CT scan and told me i have Diverticula and a single kidney stone, not sure if the tenderness and pains can be caused by diverticula?
in terms of food I had a ready cooked chicken quarter with skin removed for lunch, in the evening I had chicken breast with diced dry roast potatoes and carrots. I got a feeling that the aggravation I got was from a freshly squeezed orange juice (5 oranges) I had from the night before , I'm only guessing but it was the only unusual thing I consumed don't know if any of you have problems with oranges?
Thanks Jim
in terms of food I had a ready cooked chicken quarter with skin removed for lunch, in the evening I had chicken breast with diced dry roast potatoes and carrots. I got a feeling that the aggravation I got was from a freshly squeezed orange juice (5 oranges) I had from the night before , I'm only guessing but it was the only unusual thing I consumed don't know if any of you have problems with oranges?
Thanks Jim
-
Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
jim
if you have read some of the discussions here you will see that it is frequently mentioned that most people react to citric acid (oranges). Also it is best to avoid fruit due to the sugars when you are healing...
so yes, the 5 orange based juice would be enough to cause major issues.
most people can handle small amounts of banana. (so long as it is not over ripe and high in histamine)
there is another recent thread where Tex had a kidney stone, things like that can be related to nutrient deficiencies. are you taking the Vit D3 and Magnesium?
if you have read some of the discussions here you will see that it is frequently mentioned that most people react to citric acid (oranges). Also it is best to avoid fruit due to the sugars when you are healing...
so yes, the 5 orange based juice would be enough to cause major issues.
most people can handle small amounts of banana. (so long as it is not over ripe and high in histamine)
there is another recent thread where Tex had a kidney stone, things like that can be related to nutrient deficiencies. are you taking the Vit D3 and Magnesium?
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Jimbo1968 wrote:With respect to the pain I went to accident and emergency at my local hospital the weekend, where they done an abdominal CT scan and told me i have Diverticula and a single kidney stone, not sure if the tenderness and pains can be caused by diverticula?
in terms of food I had a ready cooked chicken quarter with skin removed for lunch, in the evening I had chicken breast with diced dry roast potatoes and carrots. I got a feeling that the aggravation I got was from a freshly squeezed orange juice (5 oranges) I had from the night before , I'm only guessing but it was the only unusual thing I consumed don't know if any of you have problems with oranges?
Thanks Jim
Hello Jimbo........
Most people, male and female, over the age of fifty have diverticulosis. Most don't have any symptoms at all. When the diverticulae get inflamed you are said to have diverticulitis - this condition is painful.
Kidney stones are also painful and may cause blood in the urine which may be microscopic or you may notice a pink tinge to the urine and in very bad cases the urine is red. Kidney pain is normally felt on the side of the kidney stone. The pain fron kidney stones and gall stones is a very bad sharp pain.
As far as your today's food intake goes, it would be better if you could swap the chicken for turkey. The potatoes and carrots are fine but the orange juice is bound to be an irritant to your gut.
Gabes gives good advice - citric acid is in oranges, lemons, limes, satusamsa, clementines and mandarins. Please make a note to avoid the fruit and the juice until you are fully recovered.
There is light at the end of the tunnel Jimbo.....from being wracked with abdominal pain and struggling with terrible cramps and D in late August, after a short time on the right food I am pain free. I have no tummy niggles. The secret is diet, the right diet not just today but every day.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hi Gabes and happybird thank you for your responses to try and answer both questions together , I am taking magnesium and d3 however is there a recommended daily dose? (I'm taking 500mg magnesium not sure of D3) , should I be taking B12 as well? I'm also considering taking H1 anti histamine.
I should've known better with oranges , if it tastes good it's usually no good .
Turkey going to be a lot harder to get hold of but anything worth a try, especially for a bit of variety . I find myself eating the same safe dinners almost day in day out, the diet is already restrictive and I work 12 hour days which doesn't allow for much in the way of gluten free culinary magic in the evenings.
As an asside I've been going through the forum archives after reading the mast cell link posted by Tex, I feel like I've learned so much in the last few days since reading it, I'm almost swamped with information that I feel relevant to me. Before my D even started one evening I was having problems with my stomach I went to hospital , I remember mentioning to doctor in passing my eyes were watery, also since then I've have an issue of runny nose when I eat certain foods and , also mouth ulcers etc etc all of which I though we're spurious, it turns out that everything could well be linked , at moment I'm struggling to make sense of a mass of information I'm taking in.
I should've known better with oranges , if it tastes good it's usually no good .
Turkey going to be a lot harder to get hold of but anything worth a try, especially for a bit of variety . I find myself eating the same safe dinners almost day in day out, the diet is already restrictive and I work 12 hour days which doesn't allow for much in the way of gluten free culinary magic in the evenings.
As an asside I've been going through the forum archives after reading the mast cell link posted by Tex, I feel like I've learned so much in the last few days since reading it, I'm almost swamped with information that I feel relevant to me. Before my D even started one evening I was having problems with my stomach I went to hospital , I remember mentioning to doctor in passing my eyes were watery, also since then I've have an issue of runny nose when I eat certain foods and , also mouth ulcers etc etc all of which I though we're spurious, it turns out that everything could well be linked , at moment I'm struggling to make sense of a mass of information I'm taking in.
-
Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
Jim
I have been eating 'lamb vege stew' for lunch most days for the past 6 years. yes the eating plan is restrictive, but for me it is the best option to have minimal symptoms, be well enough to work and enjoy life.
I do cook ups on the weekend and freeze in meal size portions so I have the weeks worth of meals prepared. I know that fridge/freezer space is not easy in the UK, but it might be worth investigating an option that will allow this for you
Also look at things like Rice Protein, it is affordable, MC safe, easy to digest and no cooking required.
there are solutions, albeit, they dont come via a doctor or a pill.
You have to implement the solutions and stick with them.
it kinda comes down to - do you want to stay as you are, pain, struggling, tired etc, or do you want to enjoy life?
the choice is yours, there are affordable, workable ways to do this.
yes, there is lots of information, but we have provided various suggestions over time based on the symptoms you have described. rather than considering taking anti-histamines, try them, you will know within a few days if that is the problem/solution.
Vit D3 at least 5000iu per day would be good if you had your levels checked
with the Magnesium are you taking 500mg ELEMENTAL magnesium per day Orally?? (check the back of the bottle to confirm the actual elemental magnesium intake) oral intake of some types of magnesium will cause D.
I have been eating 'lamb vege stew' for lunch most days for the past 6 years. yes the eating plan is restrictive, but for me it is the best option to have minimal symptoms, be well enough to work and enjoy life.
I do cook ups on the weekend and freeze in meal size portions so I have the weeks worth of meals prepared. I know that fridge/freezer space is not easy in the UK, but it might be worth investigating an option that will allow this for you
Also look at things like Rice Protein, it is affordable, MC safe, easy to digest and no cooking required.
there are solutions, albeit, they dont come via a doctor or a pill.
You have to implement the solutions and stick with them.
it kinda comes down to - do you want to stay as you are, pain, struggling, tired etc, or do you want to enjoy life?
the choice is yours, there are affordable, workable ways to do this.
yes, there is lots of information, but we have provided various suggestions over time based on the symptoms you have described. rather than considering taking anti-histamines, try them, you will know within a few days if that is the problem/solution.
Vit D3 at least 5000iu per day would be good if you had your levels checked
with the Magnesium are you taking 500mg ELEMENTAL magnesium per day Orally?? (check the back of the bottle to confirm the actual elemental magnesium intake) oral intake of some types of magnesium will cause D.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Hello Jimbo.........Jimbo1968 wrote:at moment I'm struggling to make sense of a mass of information I'm taking in.
There is a lot of information to digest all at once, I found that too.
Take your time, copy and paste important facts into your digital notebook for future reference. If you are able to do a weeks cooking and freeze that will save you time after a long day at work.
I bought a slow cooker that has been invaluable - all that is necessary is to brown the lamb or turkey in a saucepan and add to the slow cooker with your carrots, potatoes, salt and pepper and enough boiling water to cover all the ingredients, then cook on the lowest setting for 12hours. Your meat will be very tender and your vegetables very well cooked and you will have a clear broth to use in place of gravy. Don't add anything to the cooking other than salt & pepper, no thickening, gravy granules, flour etc
Slow cookers cost about £30 and upwards and use very little electricity.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hypertension
Hashimoto Thyroiditis
Allergies
Severe Atopic Reactions
HIT
Elimination Diet Start : 1/9/15
Hi Gabes sorry it was my mistake the magnesium tablets are actually 250mg and that's what each tablet contains In magnesium according to ingredients. With respect to other ingredients the tablet do state no lactose no gluten no soya. Not sure that that is enough for them not to cause diarrhea. Gabes I appreciate the time you take to answer my question and I do value your input. I don't want you thinking advice is falling on deaf ears. Believe me I'm sick and tired of feeling this way. I get a few ok days then I mess things up and get a bad one
-
Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
It will have 250mg of magnesium, but is that 250mg of elemental magnesium.
All the magnesium tablets capsules products I have seen will say something like
Magnesium in the form of xxxx. 250mg
Which equates to elemental magnesium of 125mg.
There are some here that can not tolerate any magnesium orally and rely on the sprays/lotions...
It's tough, I have been there...
Work pressures, life pressures, to have ongoing issues and a health issue that is 'high maintenance' is stressful, tiring, frustrating...
It takes a bit of work emotionally and mentally to deal with it all. The reality is, things like this are for life, we can't get rid of it or take a pill and fix it.
Your body is struggling.... Like the car that does not get maintained and serviced, there will be niggly issues and one day it will break down.... We have to do the various stages of grief, anger, denial, wallowing, etc, the life and health we had 5-10 years ago is gone per say. Grieve that, and embrace the new chapter....
The health system doesn't get it, and is not geared up to fully support us.
We have to do the mental and emotional work of 'change'. Have you heard of the book 'who moved my cheese?' It is a 15 minute read...
I highly recommend audio books and podcasts about acceptance, dealing with change and transition etc.
Happy birds advice of a slow cooker is fantastic. A bit of tweaking and adapting and you can easily set up a good eating plan, management plan and have way more good days...
This really bland, low amount of ingredients eating plan is not forever, it is just until you get inflammation reduced and get good healing happening into your gut....
As we talked about in the villi damage discussion. Ongoing inflammation is serious. It puts you at a huge risk of multiple chronic health issues...
I don't want to see you end up like that....
All the magnesium tablets capsules products I have seen will say something like
Magnesium in the form of xxxx. 250mg
Which equates to elemental magnesium of 125mg.
There are some here that can not tolerate any magnesium orally and rely on the sprays/lotions...
It's tough, I have been there...
Work pressures, life pressures, to have ongoing issues and a health issue that is 'high maintenance' is stressful, tiring, frustrating...
It takes a bit of work emotionally and mentally to deal with it all. The reality is, things like this are for life, we can't get rid of it or take a pill and fix it.
Your body is struggling.... Like the car that does not get maintained and serviced, there will be niggly issues and one day it will break down.... We have to do the various stages of grief, anger, denial, wallowing, etc, the life and health we had 5-10 years ago is gone per say. Grieve that, and embrace the new chapter....
The health system doesn't get it, and is not geared up to fully support us.
We have to do the mental and emotional work of 'change'. Have you heard of the book 'who moved my cheese?' It is a 15 minute read...
I highly recommend audio books and podcasts about acceptance, dealing with change and transition etc.
Happy birds advice of a slow cooker is fantastic. A bit of tweaking and adapting and you can easily set up a good eating plan, management plan and have way more good days...
This really bland, low amount of ingredients eating plan is not forever, it is just until you get inflammation reduced and get good healing happening into your gut....
As we talked about in the villi damage discussion. Ongoing inflammation is serious. It puts you at a huge risk of multiple chronic health issues...
I don't want to see you end up like that....
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Jim,
The compound that contains the magnesium matters. Is it magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, magnesium glycinate, etc.?
The first two commonly cause D, while magnesium glycinate (also called chelated magnesium) does not normally cause D (that's why it's more expensive).
Most magnesium tablets actually contain half the amount listed on the front label, because the back label shows that the normal serving is 2 tablets, not 1.
Tex
The compound that contains the magnesium matters. Is it magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, magnesium glycinate, etc.?
The first two commonly cause D, while magnesium glycinate (also called chelated magnesium) does not normally cause D (that's why it's more expensive).
Most magnesium tablets actually contain half the amount listed on the front label, because the back label shows that the normal serving is 2 tablets, not 1.
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.
Hi Gabes and Tex . Firstly to cover the easy things , My magnesium tablets are actually Magnesium Oxide which are no good for D (great, but then what should I expect hen they were cheap from Holland & Barrett), at least I now know what type to get, is there anything I should know about D3 tablets while I'm at it, also should I bother with B12 of not.
With respect to food, I have a slow cooker , can I use stock cubes or gravy granules in it or are is it just add water? Gabes I'm surprised to hear you eat lamb, I'd thought it would've been the most troublesome of red meats with its high fat content?
With respect to food, I have a slow cooker , can I use stock cubes or gravy granules in it or are is it just add water? Gabes I'm surprised to hear you eat lamb, I'd thought it would've been the most troublesome of red meats with its high fat content?