New to UC

Hi all :) My husband was just diagnosed two weeks ago with UC. This is his first flare and he's 42 years old. He's always had great health, not even colds over the years, so he's never really learned about his health because he never had to. He's in the Army and has always been very active, so he's never watched what he's eaten like most people do to lose weight. He's always been able to eat everything and anything and did. That has certainly changed now. Now he's up for eating things and trying things that a few weeks ago he would have never considered...anything to have a normal BM again.

We're on about week 6 of his first flare. At first he thought it was the stomach bug that I had before him, then he thought it was some sort of parasite or bacteria from flipping his kayak in a lake and ingesting lake water. The multiple trips to the bathroom and the blood in his stool finally convinced him to go to the doctor. His colonoscopy was a week and a half ago and the official diagnosis was last Thursday. He just finished his Cipro and Flagyl and is on pred and Lialda. He just started the Lialda Friday.

The Army doctors are just basically throwing pills at him right now and not telling him anything else. They told him to cut out dairy for a week while he was on one of the antibiotics but that's it. They've been a huge help So, it's left to us to figure things out, which maybe is better anyways. I'm the researcher between the two of us and am just overwhelmed with the amount of information out there on UC. I've been reading a lot on GAPS and SCD and right now am just trying to eliminate the foods that he shouldn't be eating and trying to incorporate what he should be to get this under control. We've taken dairy and gluten out of his diet already. He's always been a little lactose intolerant so that was an immediate change. What I'd love to know is the number one thing that you wish you had known about from the start, whether it's a supplement to start taking or a food to stop eating or anything in between.

Thanks :)

But food sensitivities vary from one person to the next. At the height of flares some people do become more sensitive to gluten and lactose, but in remision these foods are no problem.

Also some foods address symptoms, for example low fiber/residue during a flare means less poop. Other foods have anti-inflammatory properties (e.g., turmeric) and directly address inflammation. Some address condition of the mucous lining, such as foods the promote butyrate fermentation.

Hopefully the Lialda deal with the inflammation. You might research the meds that are tried if Lialda does not work. Also, if there is lots of D, beware of dehydration. IF lots of blood, beware of anemia.

Probiotics help most people. VSL#3 is the most popular and has studies on it regarding UC. Studying foods is like being on a merry-go-round and can make you very dizzy. Everyone is different so going vegan helps one person while going paleo helps another. There is very little rhyme or reason to it and you can give yourself a major headache researching it. The best thing to do is notice what makes him worse and discontinue those things.

Sorry to say hi here...
You are in the right track by watching foods and having him on meds.Some cases - It takes lots of patience and try outs to get close to normal.

As his normal gut flora is disturbed he may not be able to tolerate many foods he tolerated before. Keep a food- symptom journal to pinpoint trigger foods. Sometimes one needs to customize SCD, Paleo or Gaps diet to see benefit.

My DD was on cooked and puréed butternut squash and baked salmon -lunch and dinner for more than a year to control symptoms. But Fecal transplant we did for C. Diff infection (which I now believe happened due to restrictive diet) brought her a solid remission to this date.

Sometimes we have to incorporate few more things to the general approach to avoid more powerful medications.

Sharing some successful alternate approaches posted in this forum that I noted- If you are interested search in this forum for:

Probiotic- VSL-3
Nopal
Grape seed extract
LDN
Spinach sunflower seed diet
Cabbage juice
Fecal transplant
Nicotine
Manuka honey
Clay therapy

Please Do keep in mind all these are trial and error and it is not one size fits all...
Do take this disease seriously from the very beginning so that he can attain remission soon. The more we let this flare up continue, our body will get into autoimmune mode is what I gathered in this UC journey.

Best wishes..

These are some foods I found safe to eat while flaring. All foods hurt but these less than others
It's different for everyone.
Baked/ boiled/ mashed potatoes without skin
White rice
White bread and white pasta
Peeled apples as a treat
Salmon

Thank you for all of the suggestions and advice! How long does it take to know if something doesn't sit well? Does it hit quickly within a few hours (like food poisoning) or does it take a few days? I just want to make sure we allow enough time between new things so we don't start running things together and then get confused as to what's causing a problem. Or is this also something that varies from person to person?

It varies from the food
Some things can cause issues right away for me ( things with carrageenan) others may take longer but I am still pretty new to this so I am still having trouble identifying trouble foods as I still get cramping pain
I think once the flare is basically over it will be easier to know.

After lots of trial and error after my diagnosis, I never found any food sensitivities. Even raw greens and spicy foods are fine for me. The most helpful supplements to my prescribed medication are Iron, B12, and probiotics (pills as well as foods like yogurt and kombucha) - without them I feel exhausted and have more pain.

I also had a similar experience to your husband with IV fluids. Once I ended up in the emergency room purely due to dehydration. So staying hydrated is critical.

Not too earth shattering but keeping up on these basics is really important for me.