what to eat???

Hi - Have you tried rectal meds? Even though you have pan colitis - so do I, and I find that if the "bottom" of my system is being medicated, it lessens the urgency and frequency to some extent and makes me more comfortable.

When flaring badly I eat soft foods: chicken, fish, tender-cooked meats, well-cooked veggies, baked apples (no skins) sweet potatoes..... I stay away from things that are gassy or fried or... scratchy (corn, popcorn...)

You need to eat and to get protein. I have liked the book "What to eat with IBD"... and the author recommends nut butters while flaring.

Ask more questions here - you should get lots of answers; folks here have had dramatic and varied responses to foods. Some people have found that going dairy-free or wheat (gluten)-free has helped them a lot... others have found those particular things don't help them one way or another.

What other meds are you on?

Good to try the enemas - are they mesalamine or steroid? The mesalamine ones have done wonders for so many and are one of the safest things we can take - and the Lialda-type meds don't reach to the very bottom very well, so that's why the enemas are so important. (We here find that we end up begging the docs for enemas - how silly!!)

I take a regular One-A-Day Women's vitamin. That book I mentioned recommends Country Life "Multi-Sorb" and Lifetime "Softgels".

I haven't heard of the book you mentioned but I'll look it up! "What to eat" has a lot of recipes in it, too.

Dear tats, you didn't do anything wrong. We can be the most well-informed and the most vigilant about taking meds and the UC can spread. Mine went from left-sided to pancolitis after I'd read every book there was and took every pill on time every day....! (no internet then, so no forums or web info.)
I think it's common to think "I did something wrong and now I'm sick" - that is true for some diseases or conditions. (Eat too much=get fat. Exercise too little=get weak. ) But there is so much unknown about UC... we have some ideas, but we don't know how to prevent it from spreading, so ... there's nothing you could have done.

My UC went to pancolitis in 1991..... and as I've learned to recognize flares earlier in their start-up, I've been more proactive in addressing them (rectal meds and probiotics, mostly) and... I've done pretty well. And yes, I can eat cheeseburgers upon occasion! (I try to eat everything in moderation.)
I had a 2 year old when I went pancolitis...... my other son was born 2 years later. It sure was hard not eating what they ate!

Hang in there, we're here for you!

The only way to know about a food is to try it! It's always been good for me, but .... you'll have to try it to find out it if it good with you.
Have you kept a food journal before? It can help.

If you do a search for "yogurt" at the top right of the forum, you'll find lots of methods for doing so, but what I do:

I warm 3 1/2 cups of milk (I use 1 % - some fat helps the process, I've heard) just to the boiling point. I do that in my microwave in a Pyrex bowl. Then I let it cool to lukewarm.

For starter I use 2-3 Tablespoons of Dannon plain yogurt - or any that state it has active cultures. I spoon that into a quart canning jar, then I pour in the lukewarm milk, put on the cover, and leave it in the oven (turned off) with the oven light on (for a little bit of heat) for 24 hours. Done! Everything I've read has said it's important to not shake up the yogurt while it's fermenting, so if I have to take it out of the oven to make dinner or something, I do so slowly and carefully, then put it back later.
After 24 hours or so I move it to the fridge. Ready to eat!
I don't even sweeten it anymore.... I use it on cereal, eat it plain, use it instead of sour cream...... yum.

I will def try making the yogurt.

Are we allowed to eat cheese? Any recommendations. I want to know what every1 eats, lol. Like give me a break down of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

How bout bread? Milk? Veggies? Should I maybe blend my veggies n drink them? Is the scd diet book worth getting?

When I'm flaring really bad, I try to just eat lean meats, certain veggies & fruit. I mean I've eaten the blandest foods for a month straight & flared just as bad as eating pizza, burgers, snacks, etc. Food doesn't play a major part while flaring for me. If anything, I lose way more weight trying to watch my diet while flaring.

Thanks every1. I will have a lot of reading to do when these books ship to me.

Please keep the advice, suggestions and comments coming.

I am going to see my GI doctor on Monday with the colonoscopy and endoscopy results that they did for me when I was hospitalized, what questions should I ask him? What medications are working for every1 that I can suggest he puts me on it. The prednisone has me very shaky and extremely emotional, not to mention my vision is getting worse. So frustrating.

So please keep the comments going. Thanks :)