Hello, a newbie here.

Heya guys and gals...

My name is Beau, I'm a writer from Dallas, Texas. I had a colonoscopy (agh I can never spell that! haha) yesterday and the Doc confirmed it is UC. I'd lost weight, had some blood, but never any cramps or pain. To be honest, the procedure was oddly fun or reassuring. Perhaps it was the fact that they knocked me out, and I am a happy drunk (I don't drink anymore, but you get the idea. My wife said I was talking to EVERYONE who walked by lol)

I've been a little down about it, but now that I realize that it is not some death sentence I feel OK. I try to think of people who might have it a lot worse than me, and I'm thankful for the health I DO have.

Now my mission is to try to find the foods that do/do not work for me. My doc is seeing me in a week, and he has me on steroids for that week. I have warned my wife that I might be a jerk, and to forgive me if I snap at her.

Thank you for this forum. I will work with my doc to get this under control, but I am not stupid and do not pretend that I will no longer have any issues with it. What concerns me most is how to avoid losing weight during a flare, since I am always around 130 pounds (got down to 117 over the last month or so.) I'm a lil guy, but tough. I have a good attitude and am sort of proud of myself for going through the procedure. I told the nurse "Well, this isone thing to cross off my darn bucket list!"

I think I meant it. I am trying to look at it as an experience, at the least. Heck, it's the cards I been dealt but life is far, far from over. I'm sorry for those who have it much worse -- stay strong, I hope!

Beau

Welcome to Healingwell Beau! I agree with Q in that I hate hearing about people being prescribed pred from the get-go. I think in some people, starting pred sets the person up for failure for future pred use. I have never been on pred nor will I ever allow my doc to give it to me unless I am really bad off and I have no choice. However, I am steroid sensitive so that is probably my deciding factor.

Diet is so very individualistic. What one person can eat, another can't. I find that when I am in remission, most foods are okay in moderation but while flaring, no matter what I eat, it goes right thru me.

Please check out our Resource section for more articles and information about Uc. Arm yourself with knowledge because the more you know, the less scary this can be.

Thanks, guys!

I am not sure why he prescribed what he did, possibly to get it under control? It's throughout my colon, so I plan on talking to him about it when I see him in a week. If I am not satisfied after that meeting, I am going to another doc who is one of the best in the state supposedly, but farther away.

When I take the steroids I feel better, but I do worry a bit about side effects. At this point, though, I just want to get past this and feel "normal" again. When that happens, I think I will feel like the world was lifted off of my chest.

Last year when I had a bout he recommended some antibiotics and some probiotics. I got over it. This whole thing started when I put off going to the doc until after a couple weeks, then he told me to go to my gut doctor. The gut doc did the whole finger in the butt thing, then the camera deeper into the butt thing, and then I heard him mention "colitis" and made me schedule my colonoscopy.

To be honest, I'm not down about it really simply because I can see people on these very threads that have it much worse, and I know people in the world who are suffering with much worse. I am facing it head on and am not afraid of telling people about it. I have sort of this bravery about things that are scary, or at least the ability to face it and get it over with. Whatever happens, technology and medicine is advancing so I plan on doing my part in drawing attention to the disease to raise awareness. Maybe soon I will host a fundraiser...I know a good amount of people through my job and it might help other people go get checked if they are having similar issues.

Thanks again, guys...I'll keep ya updated. For now I want to just get past this flare up and concentrate on figuring out what sets me off. :)

Beau

Hi Beau,

I just want to say welcome to the forum!  You have a great attitude and I think that really helps in every way.(not that I have it, but I bet it helps :)  Good luck w/ the diet and seeing what bothers you and keep us posted on how you are doing.

B

PS I also recommend the 5asa oral/rectal route.  I also need occasional rectal steroid.  The rectal steroid does not seem to come w/ the usual side effects generally unless used for a very long time. You may cringe now at the thought of rectal meds...but it has helped alot of people (me included)  so I decided to get past it and my attitude about them now is good.  Just a thought. (sometimes tough for a newbie to accept rectal med idea)

You eat...it triggers peristalsis and with an inflamed rectum, it'll say "I better get rid of this stuff because more will be coming"...whatever is in the lower colon will be eliminated.

Plus with an inflamed colon..everything will be rushed out quicker.  With an inflamed rectum, anything in there including blood and mucus will be eliminated asap.   Remember that all of us with UC will have inflamed rectums no matter how much of the colon is affected.  The butt rules however!! lol.  Hence the suggestion to use rectal meds regardless.

Suggestions for record keeping...in a notebook have the left page intake, the right page symptoms and output.

On the left page, down the left side list the times and what you took in.

TIME - what you eat, what meds, what supplements

On the right side of the notebook:

TIME - urge, bm, soft, bloody, diarrhea..whatever.


In truth, your flare won't be worse from the food...but you can adjust accordingly to change some consistency and comfort.

q

foods....my strong opinion based on my own 25 year experience with symptoms and after diagnosis 22 years ago....food doesn't cause flares nor will heal them.

Now...food has action in the colon and can be less troublesome in the digestive tract. Not all foods are meant to be completely digested anyway, so what you see in the toilet doesn't mean it's not normally looking that way but mixed in stool with the liquid absorbed from a slower peristalsis process.

Some foods help to bulk the stool, some help to loosen it. Understand what goes in and why you're having symptoms....but with flaring, I see no use in trying to figure out whether they're making you worse....but if you choose to eat foods high in fat, high in fibre such as fruits, raw veggies, you'll have diarrhea and discomfort from that as well, and your comfort level will be less than if you eat foods that are easier on your digestive tract.

Now, please note that I'm not necessarily in a minority, but I'm not in the camp to follow a specific diet. That may not be what you believe...you'll have to make that decision for yourself based on your experience.

When I was flaring...I lost so much weight, eating was something I had to do. I did lower my lactose intake, didn't eat whole grains, no peels on fruits, lowered foods that caused me excess gas and discomfort...etc.

I'm also not meaning that food has no impact on your symptoms...I'm not playing a symantics game....just telling you to not overly concern yourself about being fearful to eat.

There is common sense to the process....make decisions according to your symptoms. Little changes can help your comfort level and sometimes the # of bms during the day...etc.

Foods that caused me discomfort but I wanted to eat them...I saved them for the evening, not during the day when I was functioning...in the evening when I was resting, less problems. At night I didn't care..I was using my meds. By morning it was out.

Like I say...you will find what works and what doesn't.

q

It's hard to know how quickly a food (or food intolerance) might trigger a BM. For instance, when I eat MSG or artificial sweetners, it triggers diarrhea very quickly. Like as soon as I'm done eating something with MSG (not due to choice, by accident!), I'll feel very bloated, and MUST be near a bathroom within 15 or so minutes after eating.

Now, if I eat too many berries, dried apricots (I wrote a poem about dried apricots and posted it here!), it'll be the next day before I notice the effect.

I don't think you can determine if a food bothers you or not until you've noticed the same symptoms after eating it a few times.

Cool, thanks. This is, weirdly, all very interesting. Perhaps this is how I deal with stress -- by examining the issue so it does not have power over me anymore. Fear of the unknown, all that.

I also plan on writing up an article about my experiences, at least to let other people my age know how the colonoscopy was not nearly as scary as you would think.

I just got off the phone with a lady from the local support group. She definitely explained some things, but we were both careful to not take it as like, advice from a doctor. She was not one, but she answered all of my questions. Here's hoping that I can keep all this together.

I appreciate the eating information. I can only guess that losing weight is NEVER a bad sign, so I'll have to watch my intake. I am figuring out which foods make me more uncomfortable or not, since the last thing I want to do is lose more weight. Thanks again!

Beau

Protein is always a good thing to eat for energy and body nourishment. Salmon, meat, sefood, but avoid soy for the time being.
Chicken broth, homemade if possible, is always a great idea.

I agree with your idea of less fiber right now. Later, many of us have found that spinach is a real benefit to regularity and beautiful BM's

There are many of us that do believe that diet lays a major role in our remission. My bleeding stopped when I quit gluten and grains but you will have to decide for yourself what part food plays in your UC. You cannot accept anyone elses statements on this.

Keep drinking water as much as possible. And keep eating. Not eating is not the solution to UC.
Use Immodium when D is causing problems.

Hi Beau, and welcome!
You're asking a lot of good questions and you've received a lot of good input!

I eat regardless of flaring, and I've never lost weight in a flare. (and in my case, I'm overweight and wish I would!)

When I'm flaring, I am more comfortable if I eat softer foods, less gassy foods (because the gas hurts when I'm flaring) not very very if any raw fruits or veggies (salads, an apple with skin, things like that. )
Or - or popcorn. Corn of any kind, in fact - it just hurts me when it goes through.
I eat well-cooked veggies, chicken, fish, beef or pork as long as it's tender..... and I make a point of trying to chew extra well.
I also take various "anti-gas" enzymes to help my comfort level when eating in a flare.

For me the discomfort may start up soon after eating, but it's as Quincy explained - it's last night's dinner (or whatever) getting out of the way because new stuff is coming down the chute.

I am one who can tolerate all kinds of foods fine, but others here have done well on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and others have found new sensitivities to dairy or wheat..... so a journal is a great way to go!