Eat bad food, symptoms improve?

For the last week, due to the holidays, I have been extremely laxed with my diet. Before last Friday I was avoiding lactose, presevatives, artificial ingredients, gluten, chilli, alcohol etc. (mainly SCD without red meat). However, for this week I have been eating chocolate ice cream, subways (with salami), mcdonalds (including french fries), steamed pork buns (made with wheat), chocolates, cakes, cookies, curry soups, 2 minute instant noodles and almost no vegetables or fruits.

This week my symptoms have all but almost disappeared. My stools are a very healthy brown and are ALWAYS formed (unlike before where they were mostly loose). My abdominal pains are gone, occassional bloating + gas but I think that is due to an over indulgence of ice cream (I am lactose intolerant, even before my IBD). NO urgency (number of BMs are 1 - 2 per day). No blood or mucus at all.

I definitely know this change has nothing to do with the joyful/relaxed spirit of the holidays because I have been on holidays almost this entire year (I am waiting for my job to begin next year). Moreover, my symptoms disappeared immediately when I started eating unhealthily.

I have also been laxed with my meds. I haven't used my suppositories for 4 days in a row now (never ever been this long without using them). I also reduced my Pentasa tablets to 2grams per day (instead of 3grams).

Has anyone ever experienced this? What is going on?

I had something similar with my flare up in 2011, but it was fairly mild.

My diary seems to show that when I started lowering my Asacol the symptoms improved - but my theory is the UC was disappearing anyway. I also noticed that when I ate the occasional junk food, there were no symptoms. Again, I put it down to timing.

Maybe your UC is close to remission?

Thanks guys. I actually only lowered my oral Pentasa 2 days ago but my abdominal symptoms disappeared on the day I started eating all the junk food (exactly 1 week ago). The change was also very sudden and distinct (it literally happened over night) so I am unsure whether my symptoms were related to inflammation in the first place (I wouldn't think inflammation could disappear over night).

I obviously am happy with the changes but confused. I am enjoying being totally unrestricted in what I eat, especially since I am eating all the naughty foods I ate prior to UC (and I don't need to cook either).

To be honest, I only allowed myself to start eating this way because I am scheduled for 10 faecal transplants in mid-January 2013 (to eliminate my non-toxigenic c.diff) and I figured I'd enjoy myself and endure any symptoms that arose because the FTs would heal everything up... I was expecting my symptoms to get worse so I would feel more certain that having the FTs was the right move... but now my symptoms have actually gotten better, which makes me even more confused about whether I should still do the FTs.

What you've done is put yourself on a low residue diet. I'm glad it has relieved your symptoms.

Wavey,
In my experience sometimes it can take a good 48 to 72 hours for what you've ingested to affect you and make its appearance... Ad you're right that certainly makes it difficult to connect the dots.

I loaded up on Zaxby's cheddar bites over the holidays and it helped tremendously...it's too close to my house! lol

I tell you what MaxMilian, if that's the miracle cure - I'm in!

Geez, maybe I should try something I had deleted from my list.

Max...what did you STOP eating or taking during that time. It's connected to what you were eating daily possibly, not what you added necessarily.

It's good to hear you're feeling better, however.

Are you taking the Vanco?  Another possibility because of the c.diff.

q

Quincy: I haven't started the Vancomycin yet (will be starting tomorrow).

Before being laxed with my diet, I would consume:
- Stir fried spinach
- Fresh mangoes
- Panfried salmon (with sea salt + cracked pepper)
- Homemade almond pancakes (with honey, no sugar)
- Tofu
- Ginger tea
- Green tea
- Fresh papaya
- Sunflower seeds
- Stir fry prawns
- Fresh cherries
- Almond milk
- Homemade pork mince burger (with almond bread, no gluten)
- Bananas
- Homemade fried rice
- Homemade potato wedges (sea salt, cracked pepper and thyme)
- Occassional salads (with homemade dressings)
- Plenty of water (no other drinks, aside from tea)

Oh, and I was very strict with my med regime... 3grams of oral Pentasa every day and 1g suppository EVERY night.

Maybe not the quality of food, but the quantity. Huge servings and such. If I eat bulky food my colon loves me.

missk: I've done an allergy test (for all the common foods and non-food items either). I am not allergic to anything except cat hairs and pollen I think. I know wheat and lactose I am fine. I apparently can't take lactose, fructose or sorbital according to my hydrogen breath tests but I've been taking 2 mangoes, honey and some other fruits without issues.

stereo: I definitely wish this were a cure or at least a maintenance treatment option but my logical self tells me its not. plus I know all this bad food, if done long term will catch up with me in other ways. I also can feel that I am low in energy and have mild headaches from this food. perhaps my vitamin stores are no falling :(. having said that, I love eating the food...

i am sitting here just nodding my head... yup, can completely relate.  i had a 10 year remission in which i ate whatever, lots of junk food processed food, made no diet changes and took no meds.  meanwhile i had a 4 year flareup, that did not go away despite taking meds religiously, and trying every diet mod suggested. thats why i have gotten so sceeptical when people come on here and say they did xyz and are cured, lol.....

i went down the shore this summer and ate all the crappy boardwalk food about 6 weeks after starting imuran and nothing bothered me, i was as close to remission in my week down the shore as one can get.... 

i think for some diet plays a part and for (alot) of us not so much.  i am lactose intolerant and when flaring certain foods bother me (caffiene, sugar, junk, etc)  but in remission, i can eat mostly anything.  i guess figuring out what bothers you can be hard. 

for what its worth, my gi says about food, if it bothers you dont eat it, but said that there is no across the board thing that works for ucers.  i believe it. our colons act mysteriously.

i tend to notice on weekends and days off from work when i get more sleep or sleep later and am not at work i feel better.

max when i looked at your food list the only thing i noticed was that you were eating less fruit than your normal diet. other than that i'm as clueless as you, but enjoy feeling better....