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Posted 9/26/2009 10:46 PM (GMT 0)

Hey everyone..

   I was talking with a friend of mine.. she's very into natural healing and holistic type treatments for things. She works for a MD who went into a natural healing practice and I am making an appointment with her next week.  She did advise me until I can get in to see her that I should alter my diet a LOT....  She wants me to cut out all Gluten, Dairy, anything raw and refined sugars.

  She also told me to make this stuff called Ganghi.. (not sure about spelling) but  you take 1 cup of BROWN rice and simmer it in 6 cups of water for 6 hours.... I made it yesterday and ate it for dinner..... It did settle on my stomach SUPER well...

   Another thing is she said to make "Bone Soup" to get some bones with marrow in them and simmer them in a pot all day and I can add different veggies and potatoes. I have a big pot cooking on the stove now and will be eating that for dinner...  I put in onion, zuchinni, tomatoes, celery and a little garlic salt for seasoning..

  I'll let you know how that settles on my tummy too...

   I'm sure there is going to be a BUNCH more stuff once I actually get in to see her and I will share anything I can if it can help anyone!

   In the meantime, I'm sticking to my PRednisone taper... I'm at 35mgs now and will go down 5 a week.. even if I start to flare back up which I thought I was for sure last night, I'll keep tapering.. I just want off this crap.  I still haven't heard anything from my insurance company bout Humira yet, but hopefully I will be able to get better naturally... (HOPEFULLY)... It's gonna be hard though... I LOVE TO EAT.... 

  OH and another thing... The Wellbutrin I started has been AMAZING!!! It has totally given me back control over my hunger...  I've gained about 25 lbs from the pred.. and  I have a better attitude today... It is only the 3rd day on it, but I do believe I can feel a difference.. ESPECIALLY with the appetite department...

Posted 9/27/2009 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
     Good!!  I wish you luck.  The GI specialist I saw on Thursday over at the Univ of PA Hospital gave me a diet to follow too, but I haven't started it.  I just stick to a low residue diet when flaring.  My regular GI doctor said diet has nothing to do with it.

     Looking over this diet from the guy in Philly makes me wonder.

     I will try to condense it some:

       Rice:  White cooked 1/2 c ;    Brown 1/2 c

        Fish:  All other fish are ok except shellfish and tuna  (I can believe this as I have suffered two flares in the past eating crabcakes)

       Chicken:  broiled (not breaded)

       Turkey

        Eggs: soft boiled, coddled or poached (not fried)

        Potato:  Baked without skin or boiled (1)  Mashed 1/2 c.  Do NOT eat fried potatoes

       Toast:  (1 slice)

        Cereals...WITHOUT MILK    1 cup of choice:

            Corn flakes, Fruit Loops, Puffed rice, Special K, Sugar Pops, Kix, Apple Jacks, Farina,

            Cocoa Krispies, Product 19, Rice Krispies (my favorite), Sugar Frosted Flakes, Cream of Wheat, Cheerios

        Bread: French, rye or white (1 slice)

         Cinnamon Bun:  1 average

          Crackers: Oyster (20), saltine (5), Animal crackers (5)

          Muffin: White (1)

          Pancake: (1 average)

           Waffle (1)

           Cornbread (1 piece)

           Noodles: macaroni, regular or spaghetti (1 c)

           Graham crackers (2 squares)

            Mushrooms: canned, solid and liquid (1/2 c)

            Applesauce (1/3 c)

            Cherries: canned, without pits (3/4 c)

             Cantaloupe (1/2melon)

             Fruit cocktail....NOT DIETETIC...(3/4 c)

            Honeydew melon (1/4 medium)

           Peaches: canned (3 halves)

           Plums: canned (4 medium)

            Pears: canned (2 halves)

small amounts of margarine are permitted (I personnaly use Smart Balance)

 

Avoid red meats, salads, high fiber foods or which contain bran, foods with preservatives i. e. fruit squashes, tin foods, sausage, smoked fish, etc., or additives including sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, erthrosine (a food dye) and carninic acid., salad dressings, dietetic beverages, dietetic chewing gums, dietetic candies, strong spices and seasonings, vegetables cooked and fresh especially those belonging to the cabbage family, alcohol, popcorn and corn, citrus fruits, peanuts, fruits with seeds, nuts, beverages with caffeine, onions and lactose/milk containing products. 

      You can slowly reintroduce the above foods back into your diet after three weeks of avoidance.  Reintroduce a new food type every 3 days.  If a food causes problems then avoid it while you reintroduce others.

                    

Posted 9/27/2009 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
Sounds interesting regarding the holistic idas...keep us updated.
Posted 9/27/2009 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
I was having trouble getting over a flare in sigmoid colon that blew up in March until I started eating plain boiled white rice every evening with dinner. It definitely soothes & seems to "mop up" excess liquid in there so that the waste starts to solidify. RE bone marrow: it's longtime folk medicine in Hungary & likely elsewhere in Europe. Whenever I was sick with viral bugs as a child, my mother would make soup with beef marrow bones & after it was finished cooking she spread the marrow on toast for me, just sprinkled with a bit of salt. "This will help you to get better and to grow up big & strong," she always said. I really loved it! Hope these trusted home remedies will help you, too-- take care. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [ect.])










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Posted 9/27/2009 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
Christine - Thanks for sharing the list. Very interesting! To a large extent, it echoes what my old GI said for during flares: nothing greasy (fried, etc); nothing "sharp" - popcorn, salads, coleslaw, etc; nothing gassy (beans, gassy vegetables). And of course at least some of the artificial sweeteners are prone to cause D; and - I myself have noticed the artificially flavored things like pasta side dish mixes, etc (maybe the msg?) can cause issues.
He had also made the quip that keeping a Kosher diet would help me - and indeed I've found things like shellfish, bacon, ham more difficult on my system.
The whole concept of "diet does not alter the progression of the disease but can bring on symptoms" - I think that's more or less the party line of the medical establishment - is interesting. If I eat popcorn and it causes me to bleed, doesn't that mean the colon lining has gotten scratched up and therefore will take longer to heal, or, if I keep irritating it, will require more meds to heal it...?
Confusing to me, or maybe I'm just not fully awake yet this morning.
But in any case, I appreciated the list!
Posted 9/27/2009 1:11 PM (GMT 0)
Christine -- I can concur with you re. the diet during a flare. I did manage to take spinach and beetroot tops as these are a soft green veg and agree wholly with the adage of avoiding what might be regarded as sharp, stinging, acidic or spicy. When in a flare I think about the disease as a rawness or " sore " -- if that were outside your body on the skin you would avoid roughness, chaffing, stinginess anyway -- so it's just the same inside ! I also alter my diet and take gluten free products. I am lactose intolerant anyway and was advised re. this 30 years ago. I am in remission and take a maintenance dose of 3 asacol/day. Happy Healing
Posted 9/27/2009 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
OK... here's my first update.. Since starting this diet (No gluten, dairy, raw foods or refined sugars) my bleeding has stopped! I haven't gone back up on a higher dose of Pred, I decided I am going to keep tapering no matter what, I simply don't like what it's doing to my body and it wasn't controlling the bleeding that well anyhow... I was still bleeding at 40mgs... Now I'm on 35 and will be going down another 5 on Thursday.

So, I have cut out all the things I was asked too and today is day 3, I ate the soup and rice and went to the healthfood store and bought some "Gluten Free" foods like chips and some bread mixes. Yes, my diet is somewhat limited, but doable now that I'm on the wellbutrin and that has really helped with the food cravings the PRed has been giving me.. Gosh I wanted to eat everything in sight!!!!! I do believe I am feeling better, Not sure how much of that is mental but my stomach has been feeling good and the absense of blood has really given me hope that this diet may do the trick... I'm not going to put the cart before the horse, but at least I have seen some improvement and hopefully will continue to do so.

I'll update again soon... So far So Good!!!!
Posted 9/28/2009 3:42 AM (GMT 0)
Have you looked at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet? scd.org? I am currently doing this and i wish someone else on this forum would try it so I don't feel so alone. I have been doing so well - no D and the bleeding had stopped and then I went crazy one day and ate everything in sight! Help! I am so discouraged with myself! It was working so well. I guess i will wait and see what tomorrow brings.
Posted 9/28/2009 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
Susie; if you are looking for Gluten Free items try Whole Foods. There is one in Roseville and has quite the variety of GF foods from frozen to baked goods. My hubby and I were amazed. We are trying to not eat anything with high fructose corn syrup in it as my husband is Diabetic (and it's making a huge difference in his sugar levels!) so we decided to buy things from Whole Foods since they don't carry anything with HFCS in it. Definitely makes it easier to shop because so many things in the regular store have it listed as an ingredient! Take care, glad to hear things are changing for the better for you.

Posted 9/28/2009 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
Carol - Wow, I didn't realize Whole foods didn't carry anything with HFCS! I don't have "particular" problems with it, I'm just trying to eat healthier. A Whole Foods is due to open in my area soon. I can hardly wait!! (I have been to others, LOVE the one in Portland, Maine.)
Posted 9/28/2009 1:52 PM (GMT 0)
I know, I was amazed when I heard it too. I remember quite a few years back one of my friends mentioned it, and I didn't pay much attention. When my husband's sugar started getting whacky, I decided to really pay attention to that HFCS factor...we've always steered away from the obvious culprits such as pastas and breads so I was amazed that this would make a difference. Yep, gotta' love the WF's!
Posted 9/28/2009 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
I had a food sensitivity test, so I know which of these things are really a problem, rather than going by what most people have problems with.
I was off the charts for gluten, but also found some sensitivity to a weird assortment like egg whites, soy, garlic, tomatoes, almonds, watermelon...it was good to know. Worked for a while, no miracles though.
Remicade did it for me.
Posted 9/29/2009 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
The recipe you described looks like an extremely basic version of Chinese congee, a savory porridge. In China, it is served at breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Chinese recommend high doses of ginger in cooking and tea for uc. You can find a great recipe for a chicken and ginger congee at epicurious.com. If you read the reviewer notes you'll see that everyone has their own special version. I have been gone from China so long that I had forgotten what a wonderful comfort food this is. Thank you for reminding me! I find it very hard not to get bored with the low residue, gluten-free, no red meat, no sugar, no hot spices diet that I have to eat to keep things quiet. Asian cooking has been extremely good for me.
It takes a while to find out what works best for your body. Keeping a journal of what I ate each day and how my body reacted really helped me fine tune my diet. For example, I can eat plain spelt bread but not zucchini spelt bread. It took a couple of entries to figure it out. I wish you the best of luck.
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