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Posted 8/12/2012 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm new here, so I apologize if this topic has been exhausted. I have had ulcerative colitis for over ten years. I have never been on any medication for it. I just sort of ignored it. I had pain, and even a few scares, but I was just never really willing to try something drastic. about three months ago, I quit smoking and drinking coffee. I went on the 80/10/10 diet. I felt fine(ish) for a while, but oddly, my constipation never went away completely and actually started to get worse. I thought fruit was supposed to make you poop? I should say here that I never know how to take people's advice on a uc diet because everyone has diarrhea but me. I never, ever get it unless I do something really stupid like drink excessive alcohol or coffee. I think maybe for most of my life, coffee and cigarettes were daily laxatives for me and now that I don't have them, I can't have a bowel movement. I tried eating paleo for a couple of days--still blocked up. I'm taking aloe water, Natren probiotics, and glutamine capsules. I just started taking systemic enzymes. I need help! Does anyone else have this problem?? shakehead
Posted 8/12/2012 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi and Welcome,

I have seen others come here who were dealing with constiipation but I am usually dealing with the opposite. It's wonderful that you're able to manage your UC without any medications but I have to wonder if you would have success with the constipation if you were taking something for maintenance? As far as treating the constipation, have you tried psyllium husk or dried fruits? I've heard mango, prunes, dates and those types of things help. I am not sure whether all fruit helps. I wish I could offer more help but as I said, I am always dealing with the D so I rarely think about what would make me poop. I am usually thinking about the opposite. I can tell you that everytime I eat a falaffel pita, for some reason, it sends me right to the toilet. Even before I had UC.
Posted 8/13/2012 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hi NichiPhantom,
Ive always struggled with constipation which diet modification didn't really resolve. I never knew why i got it and just put up with it. Late 2011 i got pretty sick with diarrhea etc finding out that i had UC. Now i know the constipation was a symptom of UC. Im not a fan of being on drugs either but for me the alternative is just not worth it. im now more regular than i can ever recall and will continue taking my maintenance drugs making diet alterations if BM's harden.

Do you know the correlation between smoking and UC?
Welcome to the forum and well done on given up smoking
Posted 8/13/2012 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
When I'm not flaring with diarrhea I am constipated despite eating whole grain, high fiber foods. I can take softeners and eat fruit 3/4 times day and not have a b/m for 4 days.
Posted 8/14/2012 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hey NichiPhantom,

I tend to have an aternance of constipation and diharea. I know for me psyllium powder in water is helpful, but I don't know if that would be good if you are in a bad flare. It's interesting that you have tried the 80 10 10 diet. I keep going back and forth with this diet. I just don't know what is right and I have so many doubts! So much conflicting informations... Anyway, I would like to hear your experience on this diet.

Take care
Posted 8/25/2012 5:35 AM (GMT 0)
I'm giving up the 80/10/10 diet. It did allow me to have one successful bowel movement a day, working in concert with my supplements. However, the gas was constant for two months. I also lost my taste for fruit. My body was rejecting the sweetness. I believe I have a bad stricture to deal with and despite what the fruitarians say, I'm not convinced a fruit diet is good for a candida or bacterial overgrowth.
Posted 8/25/2012 7:44 AM (GMT 0)
I have exactly the same problem. I can oscillate between constipation and diarrhea but more often than not I am on the constipated end of the continuum. When I discontinued Rowasa enemas I became so constipated that I ended up with fissures.

This past week, I decided to give SCD a go but had to discontinue it today. For the past several days my stomach has felt like a lead brick. Today I had acid reflux (which I've never experienced) after eating a slice of almond meal bread and decided to end the experiment. I might try the SCD again because so many people rave about it, but am really concerned that it is going to make things worse.

IMO, I wonder if constipation may be worse for overall health than diarrhea in the respect that there is a greater amount of friction between the walls of the colon and fecal matter, and prolonged contact of the colonic membrane with fecal bacteria. That seems like it can't be good.
Posted 8/25/2012 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
Constipation is a symptom of UC just like D is (as someone already posted).
Getting balance between the two is what we all seek along with non-UC people, why else is sooo much coffee drunk lol.

I found that too much insoluble fiber was bad for my colon and cut way back on it. It was just too difficult for my wounded gut to process all I was eating. Have you tried eating more spinach? Everyone is different but many people, including me, have found it very helpful, along with decreasing insoluble fiber (google that to find what has most of it).

I do remember the bad "C" times when nothing worked on C except time and diet. I drank lots of water which helped and coffee (sometimes did, sometimes didn't) but I stopped eating solid food for a day and just took liquids including veggie juices which had most of the fiber removed.

Good luck.
Posted 8/25/2012 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
shartz

You did right by stopping almond meal which has a lot of insoluble fiber.
SCD helped me but parts of it were just not tolerated by my gut. I slowly moved toward the Paleo-diet spectrum and less SCD but hard-line on neither, instead my gut tells me what to eat and not eat. I now use almond butter not almond meal to make bread which is easier for me to digest.
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