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Anyone else *starving" themselves for symptom control?

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Posted 4/13/2012 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

So just wondering if anyone else is basically *starving* themselves to achieve symptom control...I am currently on Rowasa enemas, Prednisone (20mg), Apriso, and about to go in for my 3rd Remicade treatment after a hospitalization in February. I am still having huge urgency issues, blood and mucus in stools, no formed stools, etc. (you know the drill). Anyway, I have discovered that if I *severely* restrict how much I am eating, my symptom management is SO much better (going 2-3 times a day rather than 10-12). Here is my diet for the last week (I've been eating the same thing every day): 1 hard boiled egg at breakfast, 1 banana at lunch, 1 piece of wheat toast with avocado for snack, and 5-6 bites of dinner. I know I can't do this forever, but at least for this week I have been able to leave the house without Depends, which is huge.

Anyone else?

Ta and take care,
Lisa
Posted 4/13/2012 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
I tend to "overcontrol" I guess you could say, how much I eat per day depending on it I know I have to go out of the house...if I know I'll be staying home for a couple of days in a row then I tend to be less strict with the amount of food I will eat...I also eat very healthy but I still have frequency and urgency issues so I've sorta trained myself to eat less if I know I have to go out of the house.

I don't know if it's along the lines of starving myself...I don't have a huge appetite for the most part anyway but it's probably cuz I shrunk my stomach or something from not eating a large volume of food in a day....I also have resorted to eating smaller meals rather than large ones since smaller meals are much easier on the digestive system....maybe this is also why I can pretty much eat like a bird for the most part.

Seems like you're eating fairly healthy food though, so that is good but if you find you are quite underweight, you may want to consider trying to up the amount of (healthy) food you're eating, even if it's just a little bit more than what you're currently ingesting....and as long as you don't feel faint/dizzy from eating the small amount that you're eating, then it should be okay...I'd still increase your amount a little more though.
Posted 4/13/2012 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
I pretty much ate nothing because I couldnt take the accidents anymore. It wasn't a great idea because it landed me in the hospital. Be careful because it's a fast way to run yourself into the ground.
Posted 4/13/2012 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
No, even at my worst flare I never "starved" but I understand the concept "Nothing in=Nothing out". But you really cannot continue this or your health will be even more compromised.

It took me a very long time and many tries at figuring out what foods my gut didn't like but it finally resulted in remission.
What I can suggest is protein is one of the friendliest foods and helps energy too.

Have you ever tried diet modification? This involves an elimination diet and then introducing foods one at a time.
Gluten (wheat) intolerance is common but took me a long time to figure out because there were no immediate symptoms. When I finally eliminated it things started to get better. Of course removing a lot of other food was necessary too.

I hope you can find a better solution than starving yourself.
Posted 4/13/2012 10:24 PM (GMT 0)
The only time I starve myself is the day before I have to travel. Even though I'm in remission I don't want to get hit with the I gotta go while a hundred miles from a rest area.
Posted 4/13/2012 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
yep less food less everything- ugh UC:(
Posted 4/13/2012 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
I used to do that, until my GI told me that with severe UC, even if you don't eat anything, your body will still produce mucus and poop.  It sounds like you're in a pretty severe flare, so this would be for you too.  When I was starving myself, combined with the diarrhea, I lost 40 pounds over 2 months and that helped me land back in the hospital. 

Sounds like you need a way of controlling your disease with medicines that work better, an alternative treatment that worksfor you, or surgery.  Best of luck!!

Posted 4/13/2012 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
yeah, I think this is part of my problem. I eat like a pig, especially on the Pred...Maybe I should cut back a bit
Posted 4/13/2012 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Yes I've done it. One time I sat through a party where I was absolutely starving and everyone was talking about how good the food was ....it was awful. But I managed to be at the party without any bathroom trips. Depressing. Be careful because you don't want to be malnourished because you can't heal that way either.
Posted 4/13/2012 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
Oh how I wish I could do this.

Even if I starve myself, I still get urgent bowel movements which consist of blobs of blood.
Posted 4/14/2012 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
YES, I used to live exactly how you describe when I was flaring. I barely ate anything. I wouldn't even eat an egg for breakfast, nor would I eat lunch. I would eat dinner and that was all! I had to live like that or I wouldn't be able to make it through the day at work without spending the majority of my time on the toilet. I would seriously eat one sandwich in the evening which would send me to the toilet a bunch of times when I got up but for the rest of the day, often times, I was okay.
Posted 4/14/2012 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
Instead of eating bites of foods, go on a juicing diet or a sip on warm chicken broths for the next week, its much healthier and more likely to repair you quicker.
Posted 4/14/2012 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
oh yes! i am very guilty of doing this. well, i shouldn't say guilty because it makes me feel better. i figure the less food going in, the better i will feel. obviously, i don't live like this when i'm feeling well, but during flares, it's just easier. if i have to go somewhere, especially a longer drive, i won't eat anything the entire day. i juice in place of eating actual foods. lately, i just eat dinner because i'm not hungry anymore. i don't expend a lot of energy since i sit on my butt most of the day.
Posted 4/14/2012 2:21 AM (GMT 0)
Seemed I lived on baked chicken and rice. Small portion, very little salt/pepper. One day I needed and just had to have a hamburger (not fast food kind). I figured heck, if I was going to poop, then I may as well of enjoyed it before the pain began.

After days of the same bland food, I truly believe my body enjoyed getting the burger. That night, I didn't have to get up during the night. I did however, have to bolt out of bed 1st thing that morning, but my potty time the next day wasn't near as bad as I had expected.

It's really hard. Starving yourself while on steroids. Add to it the fact that you know if you eat you will be sick. I remember feeling like a zombie. Hang in there! Drink lots of fluid and listen to your body. If you crave something eat alittle of it. Don't go hog wild or you will definitely pay the price.

You will get through this!
Posted 4/14/2012 2:47 AM (GMT 0)

I know what you mean about starving all day while working--only to make it home and finally eat; then, pain, pain, pain. . . .hours in the john. What makes it more difficult is when the urgency and pain begins at 5 am and you are unable to leave for work with repeated trips to the BR--even knowing to NEVER eat in the morning. Searching for every public restroom along your route to work!!!  Since I drive 45 minutes to work, I usually wait now (after figuring this out somewhat, that I CAN'T eat in the morning) till I'm at work for an hour or so.  Soft fruits and a little cottage cheese usually keeps me going until I flare. Then, I do without. For now, the flares are almost weekly, some lasting 3 days with fever, chills, and such extreme left-side and lower back pain!  I need, need, need to get into remission! I want my life back.  I've had to change from my classroom, to 4 different positions, in as many years all because I cannot remain with a group of children. Any advice is so appreciated since I am new to this forum.

  Not eating all day as a teacher resulted in my experiencing brain fog, numbness, and low blood sugar to boot.  For years, my viscous cycle was to live off soft drinks since food didn't work.  Little did I realize the sugar and fiber made the gut very unhappy, kept the weight on-- despite not eating nutritiously till I arrived at home to the safety of my own toliet. Sadly, being told to "increase fiber" never helped but made matters worse before being dx with diverticulosis and then, finally, UC.  Now, I realize the GI's just did not know . . .I cannot understand why it took YEARS to figure this out.  Most seem to be clueless as to the nutrition aspect and just guessing on what meds I should take-- since this seems to vary so much with each individual, as far as triggers and meds go.

Posted 4/14/2012 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
I did that down to about 130 lbs. I weight 180 right now. Never worked but long breaks between good meals is helpful.

I wont do it again I 'eat my way' thru a flare. Normally salmon all 3 times daily for a week puts it back in control but it gets pretty hard to do since its so oily.

I think it gets harder to fight it when you dont have nutrition coming in so I just restrict food to anti-inflammatory diet. Avacado, salmon, plain yogurt and curcumin. Lots of water.
Posted 4/14/2012 6:32 AM (GMT 0)
Never starved myself or chose to never eat for any reason. I did, however, choose my foods during the day for "comfort"...meaning less gas.
In the evening, I pigged out to try and gain some of the 17 pounds I lost. That, however, took years.

q
Posted 4/14/2012 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
Yes. Not eating was the only way I could plan to go anywhere. Upon returning I would eat and position myself near a bathroom. I had lost 90 lbs. before finding the treatment that worked for me. I am now in remission. Without going into any more detail here, you can read my story on a post I did called 'Ulcerative Colitis in Remission'. There are obviously different treatments that are effective for different people. I believe the reason for this is that there are many, many, many different bacteria and chemistry issues related to this disease, thus the reason we see such a divergence of effective treatments.

I hope you find something that will work for you.
Posted 4/14/2012 9:18 PM (GMT 0)
UC changed my eating habits for sure, I never eat during the day, just enough at breakfast to get the pills down, then an evening meal when I know I'm home for the night.
I have starved myself during flares and found it to be of no use. Without food to buffer, my colon turned on itself -not good.
In my case starving made things worse, much worse.
Posted 4/14/2012 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I have done it too, Many time not because I chose to do it but because as soon as I would start eating I had to run to the bathroom.
Please, read my post about what really helped me after 5 years of nightmare.
It is under name lookforcure.
Posted 4/15/2012 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
Do we have a spammer here?
Posted 4/15/2012 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
I do not sell anything, just sharing info about what really worked. You do not have a problem with mentioning the drugs (Asacol, prednisone...). I am not accusing you of pushing pharmaceuticals. If you do not like my name (lookforcure) or my out of the box advise, you do not have to read it! We are all in the same boat here, looking to beat and cure colitis and not just to cover the symptoms. At least this is what I am trying to do. I was very happy to find a group of people who share the same disease as me. For more than 5 years I have been battling this disease and nobody around me could even understand what I am going through. So, I finally found something that worked so well I am very excited to share with everybody. But looks like some people do not want to listen and are accusing me of spamming and selling products.
Sorry, for my enthusiasm!
Posted 4/15/2012 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
OK sorry if I took your intent wrong -can you please tell me what has worked for you?
Posted 4/15/2012 2:27 AM (GMT 0)
I am afraid to sound like an advertisement again but it is Terramin clay. If you are really in a lot of pain take Pascalite clay, it is stronger. Just type my name-lookforcure and read my story. It is the absolute truth!
Type in google Terramin clay research and you will see why it is so amazing! I will be glad to answer any of your questions. I am here to help, nothing more. I wish somebody would give me this information 5 years ago, so I would not have to live through the nightmare. I am not saying I am cured yet but I am in remission and I believe, on the way to complete recovery!
Just to tell you how much I believe in these clays: yesterday I ordered a few pounds of Pascalite clay to send to my parents who live abroad. I do have some extra Terramin clay ready to send, too.
Posted 4/15/2012 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I've never heard of Terramin Clay as a form of treatment, but looking it up, I see that a single serving contains over a 1000% of daily Iron, which i'm curious about because it is very easy to overdose on Iron... too much is not that good for the body, but glad its helping you Lookforcure. Would like to know more about this...
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