New member, triathlete, questions

Welcome!

I don't have many answers, but I do know that you didn't mess up anything. In my opinion UC has a mind of it's own and chooses when to show up. When my UC flares it's seasonal and minor. You just need to take care of yourself, see your GI and go from there. I know some people who have long remissions, some have short. There will be other people on here who can help you more. This is a good site to join and get your answers and support. Hope your UC snaps out of it soon and you get back to normal!

Sue and Sweetie are so right - we try to find "what we did to cause" this or that with UC, but.... UC just does what it does on its own. It's a tricky disease and we just try to cope and ... maybe! - stay ahead of it.

Spring and fall are notoriously bad times for GI bleeders....so your flare just could be bad luck in Fall.

Welcome to the forum, and I didn't really edit your post - I just added a title so hopefully you'll get more feedback!

I read that whey contains about 50 percent milk lactose; so yes it could be causing you problems. I would try eliminating it, as well as all other "-tose" products for awhile, and see what happens.

Thanks so much everyone. I've started the scd diet--just ordered the yogurt maker. I will try anything to get my life back to normal. It is scary that I can be so healthy one day and sick the next. Its nice to have some other folks to share information. Thanks again!

Just asking-have you turned your furnace on for the first time this past month? Gone on any trips over the past few months?

Sometimes when you turn on your furnace or air conditioner for the first time in the season you release mold spores that have been accumulating in your air system. And, depending where you went on your trip, i.e.- if you toured any old buildings, or areas where mold could have been lurking, you may be suseptible to that. I guess, even if you stayed in a water-damaged home or hotel. That's all. Just thinking out loud.

Hi..welcome to the forum!

Regarding your doc not seeing any ulcers...it doesn't mean there was no inflammation. Low level inflammation, not dealt with meds, your increasing your exercise regimen could have exacerbated it. Did you cause it? no.

The whey in the protein powder could very well give you some discomfort or exacerbation of loose stools, etc...not inflammation or a flare.

My concern with you and the SCD and you working out hard....you won't be getting in enough carbs to burn....without the fuel, your body will find other sources...

Where exactly is the extent of your UC...throughout or limited?
You DO need rectal meds...I would suggest you use the mesalamine retention enemas. If you're in the US, they weould be the Rowasa.


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I have the same concern about how the scd diet will effect my training. Right now, I'm eating the introductory chicken soup in hopes that I can heal--I dont have the strength to run at all. My ulcers are confined to the first 3 inches of my colon. My colonoscopy is Mon. I hope things are not worse this time. I did find some electrolyte water at the healthy grocery. Maybe it can replace the gatorade and other sports drinks whenever I feel like running/biking again. I'm doing some research. My friend has a big problem with gluten and she said the Hammer Nutrition products are wheat free, dairy free and gluten free. I will have to do some research on these gels,bars etc. Right now, I'm sticking to the intro. diet. I dont have the yogurt machine yet so I'm doing everything except that. It should be in next week. I sure hope this diet helps me feel better.

Casually browse our signatures and you can check out our medications and supplements. The three most popular supplements are probiotics, vitamin D, and soluble fiber such as psyllium. There are many threads here that explain the details.

When polled for what we thought instigated our UC the majority of us cited use of antibiotics. So many have said that their UC began immediately after a course of antibiotics. But not everyone. I have been a health freak all my life and had my first flare at 56 years old, but I had never taken any antibiotics for about 10 years prior to that.

Subdue’s thought that lactose intolerance may be a factor should be given some consideration especially since many members here have expressed the same, and your symptoms increased right after taking whey. Glutamine good substitute for whey for muscle recovery. It builds muscle and is also a major nutrient for repairing cells in the digestive tract that may have been damaged during your flare.

Others feel that gluten intolerance exacerbates their symptoms to the point that it may even instigate the flare. I am in the camp that advocates a food diary. Then there are those on the SCD diet. I know that the medical establishment frowns on dietary cures but I recommend that you listen to your gut and draw your own conclusions. If we all listened to our doctors then very few here would be on probiotics. And probiotics are almost universally recognized by veterans of this disease as one of the most effective means to ward off flares. You have to take charge of this disease and listen to your gut.

Thanks I will ask about the rectal meds when I see the doctor tomorrow. My training partners take L-glutamine as a supplement after their workouts. I was afraid to try that. I"m glad to hear that it's good. I will probably wait until I'm better. I appreciate the helpful info.

I'm already signed up for a half marathon in feb. and I still have time to train for that if I can get this under control. Today(at noon) all of my training buddies are signing up for ironman florida 2011 and I would love to do it. I usually do some sprint races in the spring and just do running events in the winter. I usually ride my bike about 100 miles/week during the winter to keep a base--the rides are usually a nice steady pace--not too hard. I love to swim and swim about 6000 yds. per week. Right now, Im not doing anything and I feel like a lazy slug. I'm really worried about signing up for the full ironman and putting too much stress on my body. I've done several half-ironman races over the last 7 yrs. with no flairs. Thanks for your advice.

Not to be negative but I tried the SCD Diet, bought a yogurt maker, followed it strictly and I didn't see any positive improvement. I think it probably depends on your individual situation but it's not a miracle cure. I sure hope it provides you some relief.

I think we all sometimes sit around wondering what we did that caused things to flare up but UC really is very unpredictible and it's extremely difficult to conclude what, if anything, has impact on your condition. As I said, I've tried diets, supplements, medication, exercise, destressing... It seems none of it is guaranteed to help. I've had most luck with medicines but they are even unpredictible. You can flare up at any time and it can be very difficult to control the flare up. Some flare ups are harder to control than others.

Did you try increasing your Asacol to 9 or 12 pills a day? You can probably get this under control with a higher dose of oral 5ASAs and by adding rectal meds. That would be the best case scenerio in my opinion. Ask your GI when you see him/her.

I have zero energy when I am flaring and I couldn't possibly do any kind of ironman.