question about pre-MC eating habits

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:10 am

I should probably do this as a poll, but I've never done it before.

Could I ask you all: did you often skip meals or fast before MC? Or had had "impaired intestinal motility" ie. slow intestinal wave action that moves food toward the colon. This is sometimes due to schleraderma, diabetes, neuropathy, MS, or any drug, like codeine, where it's a side effect.

For instance, I'd answer yes: I was borderline anorexic as a teen, and have always been the type that forgets to eat until way into the afternoon, when I have a headache and feel like fainting.

This is a question that has to do with SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth).

Thanks,
Marsha

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:40 am

Hi Marsha!

I was a vegetarian for 12 years until the MC hit. I have always wondered if the overexposure to grains and legumes might have had something to do with initiating the MC. Also, I have always had increased intestinal motility. My whole life my gut has been my target organ with regard to stress (diarrhea or minimally, pooping more frequently). I am also one who "eats to live". Have always been on the thin side and forget to eat if I'm busy or stressed.

I'll be interested to see your theory.

Love,

Polly

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:07 am

Hi Marsha---

Now thats a good question-----
I grabbed a bite here and there----due to the fact the my COFFEE and Cigarettes were my staples!!!

Now that makes me think??? Supper was about the only solid meal I ate--

And thinking back---when all this MCC started---thats when I started eating meals saw a nutrictionist and she put me on a regiment of MUST EAT ROUTINE--- due to the fact of the Hiatal Hernia too-

Very interesting---cus now I eat 3 meals--plus my little snacks(fruit and such)--so U might say I eat 6 times a day---
Could be that this also helped my *inners*???

Thanks Marsha---that was good food for thoughts~~~
Barbara PS. to add--coffee is still a morning thing---BUT smoking stopped --gee ?16 years ago???

Maureen · Post by **Maureen** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:02 am

I was always a picky eater and I ate a lot of processed and junk food and I've always been thin. I eat to live not the other way around. If I had my way I would graze all day on junk......brownies, icecream, cookies etc....

I've gotten better since having MC - 3 meals/day, more fruit and salads and veggies...

I totally gave up chocolate (in candy form) 5 weeks ago! I swore I could never live without it.....

I have never smoked.
I rarely drink, except when we'd go out for dinner or to a party.
I hate to exercise but I love to go for walks

Sounds like a dating add doesn't it? Ha! Ha!
Have a good day!

Love,
Mo

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:17 am

Oh my----I forgot----I did drink too--not anymore !!!

When we partied we partied---Black Russians were my favorite drink!!!

Another ITEM to wonder over!!! hmmmmmmmmm!!!

Barb

Carrie · Post by **Carrie** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:19 am

Great question, Marsha. Yes - about a month before my LC erupted, I was very busy and would forget to eat so most of the time I ate only a blueberry yogurt and drank lots of water until dinner (the one big meal of the day). As I had not previously eaten much yogurt, that alone was a diet change for me. David has always wondered it had something to do with my LC.

Love,
Carole

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:50 am

I've been reading more about bacterial overgrowth - in particular a site sponsored by a medical/gastroenteroloy group that for some reason my computer will not cut and paste the address of - that lists the main causes of SIBO: decreased motility being #1. That means that the intestine's natural wave action, and the volume of liquid that gets washed toward the colon is the best defense against large intestinal bacteria getting into the small intestine. (Past the ileocecal valve). Once it is in the small intestine, it grows rapidly because of the low acidity of the small intestine.

So I have a theory that people with SIBO have had habits that have slowed or disrupted that process. It seems to me that going long periods without food, or not drinking fluids and getting dehydrated might be the real "culprit". Maybe even one severe episode would be enough to introduce that bacteria into the small intestine. For instance, I had an episode of seasickness in Mexico when I was 3 months pregnant with the last baby that lasted for 2 full days (dry heaves every 60-5 minutes the whole tiime).

So, it would help if other people would give their experiences, too.

Polly, when you say you're the type that forgets to eat when you're too busy, and have always been on the thin side says to me that there probably times when there wasn't food in your stomach, and the motility slowed down (for you that might not be as slow as other people), making the river that keeps bacteria downstream slow down and get more stagnant. (Whether it's enough to let bacteria work it's way past the ileocecal valve or not is the question, I guess)

Thanks,
Marsha

*this is the website address, copied longhand

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/in ... rticle.pdf

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:30 am

Well, I guess I'm the odd ball here...I love to eat, always have, and USED to be able to get away with it from a weight perspective. Those days are gone.

You all mention the headaches from forgetting to eat. Well, I always got those by 5:00 even after having had lunch. I don't so much any more get the headaches, and just a really low blood sugar feeling...sort of weak, light headed, etc. My fasting blood sugar level is normal though, so I guess my biggest problem is just finding time to snack correctly.

My childhood snack though was fresh homemade bread with butter and cinnamon sugar on it. I could eat 3-4 pieces between school and supper.

Katy

Katy

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:50 am

I suppose I ate about 2 meals a day before MC reared it ugly head. More than that would have been popcorn, or an english muffin with cheese on it...something like that. But even my 2 "meals" often didn't amount to a lot of food. Sometimes, but often not.

Now, I seem to stay hungry a lot no matter what I eat. I blame the prednisone for that because I was never that way before taking it. I know it's not still in my system but it changed something about my system or metabolism or something. I just know I'm not the same anymore.

Love, Shirley

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:05 am

Hey Shirley,

I know exactly what you mean, about the prednisone. It changes you even after it's out of your system. Me, too.

If anyone's interested in SIBO, here's another site. Polly and Wayne, look at the first paragraph after Table 12. It mentions the cause of "acid poop" as carbohydrate malabsorption. It's the first time I've seen a mention of what exactly causes it.

By for now,
Marsha

http://tinyurl.com/h6byz

mle_ii · Post by **mle_ii** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:39 pm

It mentions the cause of "acid poop" as carbohydrate malabsorption.

Wow, I always wondered what caused that.

As far as eating, I ate a lot, and more. Mostly junk though. And a lot of carbs and fat. Probably not enough protein though.

I do remember times in college while working on a project where I'd forget to eat.

Though even now I don't get hungry much, and when I feel sick I sometimes end up not eating at all for a while. Which is very bad.

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:39 pm

Pre-MC I usually ate one meal per day. When I was young (pre-15) I ate 3 meals per day and very few sweets. There was no snacking between meals.

After 15 and before children - 15-19 - I ate one meal per day and thrived on ciggaretes and pepsi.

After children - I usually ate one good meal per day and still the ciggs and pepsi until the GERD, hiatal hernia and stomach problems began.

I've had a weight problem since becoming pregnant with my first child but used to be extremely skinny when young and extremely healthy except for bouts of bronchitis.

I have another observation about the symptoms of MC which I will post in a new thread.

Love,
Mars

harvest_table · Post by **harvest_table** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:57 pm

I would say yes, I had a poor diet and ate very eratically for 3 years before my MC DX. Just having opened a new business I survived on sugar free hazelnut lattes and whoppers- literally. I was also under alot of stress and wasn't sleeping enough. Prior to that, in general most of my life I've eaten what is/or was considered pretty balanced meals.

I had a unexplainable and strange health experience about 1 1/2 years before my DX that I believe was a turning point and may have contributed to my MC. At the time, I was already having D, not chronic like it eventually developed into but was dealing with it often.

I was taking a round of antibiotics and pain medication for an abcessed tooth when out of the blue this hit me like a ton of bricks in a wink of an eye. Over the next 12 hours I had D and my bowels continued to spasam and contract over and over even after there was nothing left inside me to expell. I liken it to the dry heaves, when you have nothing left to vomit but you keep throwing up. It was as though something had invaded my body that my bowels were deperately trying to spit out. I also developed a rash and became very disoriented. My family said I acted like I was drunk or stoned.

Anyway, ended up in the ER and I don't think they ever figured out what was wrong with me. My blood pressure was pretty high and I believe they gave me benedryl for the rash, something to relax me and some other medication. Out of curiosity, I have tried to get the medical records for that visit but the clinic has changed hands twice and I ran into a brick wall so gave up.

My gut instincts tell me that it's very likely my lousy diet, sleep deprivation and stress coupled with the antibiotic and pain meds somehow set the stage and/or contributed somehow in turning on the MC light switch in my case. Following this incident my MC symptoms got progressively worse very quickly and I wasn't DX for another 18 months.

Interesting stuff. Thanks Marsha!

Love,
Joanna

thedell19 · Post by **thedell19** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:46 pm

i stopped eating breakfast in middle school- just couldnt stomach food that early.

In highschool I would sometimes skip lunch and just eat dinner. And in college I ate fast food 4-5 times per week, drank 2-4 times per week, smoked, and then when I was hungover I rarely ate until the next day.

Grease has always ripped through me and in highschool and college I probably drank 2-4 12 oz sodas per day... horrible for your innerds.

How would you get rid of the bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine?

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:20 pm

Isn't this interesting? These comments seem to prove my theory that disrupting the regular flow of food and liquids is harmful and might lead to either IBS, MC, or bacterial overgrowth, but we haven't heard from everyone. I hope to eventually have a a comment from everyone, even if it's that you've always eaten regularly. ***Your comment is all the more valuable if you disprove my theory.

Anyway, there are lots of opinions on what qualifies as bacterial overgrowth, and probiotics are recommended, or even antibiotics, like the one mentioned above: rifamaxin. I would think one important thing would be to begin eating regularly, and help your body flush out bad bacteria, keeping the colonic bacteria where it belongs: in the colon.

Anyway, I'm trying to use common sense here.

Thanks for your comments! Marsha