New here! A few questions...

Hi, my name is Shauna and I was diagnosed with UC not quite a year ago. I've been having symptoms since October 2011. I've done several treatments and meds, but so far nothing has really helped. The steroids helped while I was on them, but as soon as I weaned off of them my symptoms came back, probably worse than before. I've done the standard treatments...enemas, steroids, asacol, remicade. I've also spent hundreds of dollars on natural supplements my chiro recommended. I'm still a mess.

I've also tried cutting out "bad" foods. Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc. I've done dairy free and gluten free. High fiber, low fiber. Giving everything a 2-3 week trial at least. None of it seems to make me any better or any worse. It's just the same day in and day out.

I've only had 2 doses of the remicade so I'm still hoping it works. I go back on the 23rd for my third dose. Until then I decided to try a purée/liquid diet. My daughter is tube fed and I blend all of her food for her. One day, I was watching her food whirling around in the blendtec and I thought to myself "wow I bet food like that wouldn't bother me at all." And so I googled it and found out that a blended diet can be helpful for some people.

Yesterday I got started and while I was unsatisfied and cranky, I made it though the day. So I think I can do this. I think I can give it a decent shot. 2 weeks at least. Has anyone here tried a purée diet? The only thing I'm worried about is getting my body to accept solid food later on. Is that a reasonable fear? I'm not worried about getting enough calories and nutrients. I've been blending my daughters food long enough to know how to get in everything I need. This morning I had a shake with spinach, almond milk, tofu, frozen fruit, oats, and flax oil. Not the tastiest, but it didn't make me gag either.

Would love some insight!

Do you know if there's any benefit to using a ready made formula vs. puréed food? In my googling, it seemed more common to use formula, but I don't know if it's because it's convenient or what. I have loads and loads of peptamen here because my daughter used that for a long time before I started blending. We continue to get it "just in case" but we've used maybe 4 cans of it in the last month. It's not something I resort to often for her.

My daughter has a GJ and it's possible to blend it thin enough to go through the J port! We were just using the G for a couple of months but I couldn't get her to gain so I got brave and tried the J. I just blend it really well and strain the heck out of it. Best of both worlds...real food and no pukies! Her doctor claims it is fine as long as it is thin enough and I've talked to a couple of people who do it with a J tube. I blend a vegan diet for her so it's easy to digest and doesn't spoil as quickly. Also, if you use a zevex/moog infinity pump, there a way to modify the feed bag so it doesn't clog and alarm so easily.

I do believe I have upper GI issues as well. They did an upper endoscopy and said I had bleeding in my esophagus. I have reflux and I feel I don't empty my stomach in a normal time frame. I can't eat any meat without feeling bloated and getting horribly refluxy. I was vegetarian/vegan for a long time. Ironically, when I fell off the wagon and started eating cheese is when my symptoms hit. Going back to vegan has not fixed the damage though. I don't think it's that simple.

The stuff my chiro had me try was all stuff like digestive enzymes and probiotics. No improvement. I gave it a solid shot too....over two months I think. I just couldn't justify the cost when I wasn't seeing any benefit from it.

I've never heard of betaine hydrochloride so I will look into that, thanks.

i recommend Bromelain 3,000 GDU capsule take 2 capsules three times a day. It has helped me more than anything i've tried

Just a quick update: Only 2 full days on blended food and I'm already seeing some improvement! I really hope it's not a coincidence. I have noticeably less gas (started noticing that yesterday) and this morning I had a halfway normal poop! Still some blood, but not as much as I usually have. This is a big deal because for the last two weeks I've been having blood leaking into my underwear it was so bad. Also, usually when I have a BM, I have the feeling like I need to go more, even though I know I got it all out. It's so overwhelming sometimes that I sit there for 10-15 minutes just making sure, and in the meantime I'm just causing myself pain. I did NOT have that feeling this morning!

The first day was hard....I was soooo hungry! Second day wasn't so bad. My breath is awful so I'm probably detoxing a bit. My diet the last 6 months has been horrible because I was in a "I don't give a #%@& anymore" mood. I'm craving corn dogs like you wouldn't believe, but seeing some improvement has given me the motivation I need to keep going and not cave. My whole family and my best friend think I'm completely nuts, but they are overall supportive. They just have the "more power to you but I could never do it" attitude. I think they could if they were in my situation! It's not so bad. Those little baby food pouches are my saving grace. I was starving when I got up this morning and didn't have the energy to make myself anything. Pop open an organic banana, oats, and quinoa baby food pouch and 10 minutes later I had the energy to make all my food for the day and clean up the kitchen!

I have not been counting calories....I'm more concerned about keeping my diet balanced and getting enough protein. I figure if I'm not starving and have energy I'm ok. It's not like I don't have 50 lbs to lose! LOL!