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Nasty flare/need diet advice

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/21/2017 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I was diagnosed with UC after a colonoscopy about 3-4 weeks ago. I am having a particularly nasty flare- it's so bad that I cannot go to work. if anyone has very specific foods that are good during a flare or for someone who is newly diagnosed trying to eventually achieve remission it would be much appreciated! I was literally in the emergency room with bloody diarrhea and severe cramping. Any advice helps! sad
Posted 9/22/2017 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
welcome - are you taking any medications ? what are your current symptoms ? when do you see your doc next ?

sorry, but what i eat during flares and not flares is not typical of most folks with UC - others will respond with lots of help in the eating dept -
Posted 9/22/2017 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
Severe flaring requires bland, easily digestible foods. Best to stay away from beef, fresh fruits and raw veggies. Chicken, fish are good. Yogurts if you tolerate dairy--if you don't, the brand So Delicious makesca coconut milk yogurt and Silk makes an almond milk yogurt. Smoothies made with kefir and fresh grated ginger and a banana might be tolerated. Bone broth!!! Well cooked veggies. My gut liked carrots and zucchini and eggs. Some people tolerate white rice and potatoes, however if you check into some of the diets (IBD-AID, SCD, AIP, low fodmaps) they may not be allowed.

Diet and food tolerances are highly individual and it can take a lot of experimentation plus a food diary/elimination diet to find what works for you. Most of us end up going gluten, dairy, soy, free. I also limited grains and sugar.

Good luck and I wish you healing!
Posted 9/22/2017 11:51 AM (GMT 0)
If I am flaring, I usually eat bananas, toast, rice and broth
Posted 9/22/2017 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your replies! I am taking 1.2 grams of mesamaline (4 pills) for 60 days.
Posted 9/22/2017 12:31 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto on flowersgal recommendations. Google "low residue diet". Some things meals are staples for me:

1) chicken soup without veggies---Lipton noodle is easy to digest. Or chicken broth with noodles.

2)!scrambled eggs and toast

3) roasted chicken without skin, mashed potatoes and green beans

4) pasta with olive oil and plain bread no butter

5) chicken and rice with soy sauce or lemon

6) salmon and roasted butternut squash

.
Posted 9/22/2017 1:22 PM (GMT 0)

Catlover3 said...
Thank you so much for your replies! I am taking 1.2 grams of mesamaline (4 pills) for 60 days.


for a severe flare, you seem to be undermedicated - has your doc given you rectal meds ?

and the 60 days ? what do you mean ?

again, what are your current symptoms ?
Posted 9/22/2017 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
There is no food that will help you achieve remission - unfortunately that is not how UC works. However, it is often recommended that you go on a Low Residue Diet while in a flare as it is simply easier to digest through damaged intestines. I ate a lot of eggs (well cooked) when I was flaring badly.

I agree that it sounds like you are undermedicated and need rectal meds.
Posted 9/22/2017 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
I am so sorry I suck at details. I take 4 1.2g pills a day for 60 days. After that my doc said we might decrease the dose if I see improvement but I will remain on mesamaline. I did see improvement until 2 days ago. At that time bloody diarrhea all day and severe cramping were my symptoms. At this point there's nothing left in me. Hope that helps. Also, how does one get caffeine during a flare? I had a SMALL cup of green tea this morning and I'm ok so far.
Posted 9/22/2017 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
trying to find foods that help is great - but ...... imo, that works best after you get things under control for a while - a month probably isn't enough time - meds are your best friend right now - if you can't make it to work (and need to) you probably need to try a round of prednisone along with some butt meds -

call your doc !
Posted 9/22/2017 3:55 PM (GMT 0)
Enzymes (when I eat) and probiotics, with a day or two of bowel rest. When i dont want to do the liquids I will just eat one meal a day that is soft and easy to digest.

Frozen bananas were super nice too.
Posted 9/22/2017 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
What do you mean by enzymes? Ty
Posted 9/22/2017 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
Would you not consider rectal meds? You are undermedicated.

q
Posted 9/22/2017 5:30 PM (GMT 0)

Catlover3 said...
I take 4 1.2g pills a day for 60 days.

If you mean you take 4-pills a day, and each pill is 1.2 grams then that is proper dosing! It'd be a grand total of 4.8 grams per day.
Posted 9/22/2017 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
I definitely would I'm freaking miserable! My doc said he doesn't want to do that unless I don't improve in the next couple days bc it would be a steroid sad I might call and request it though.
Posted 9/22/2017 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Geez...what's with doctors. Request and refuse pred. Easy. I did once when prescribed another doctor and said OK to steroid enemas instead.

q
Posted 9/22/2017 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Ok thanks moderator. I'm new to this so I am never sure. My doctor did promise me that this is a super high dose but I flared after I ate a burrito and a pizza. I've lost a lot of weight and I was trying to pack it back on and it backfired? It's just really frustrating because since my flare with the strict liquid/ low residue diet I am practically starving.
Posted 9/22/2017 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Did you answer on the rectal meds yet?
Im confused.

It's not the pizza or burritos.

q
Posted 9/22/2017 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
Well confused as to why symptoms suddenly got worse 2 weeks into treatment when I was improving.
Posted 9/22/2017 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto pizza and burritos didn't cause it. Correlation doesn't equal causation.

Uc inflammation builds up slowly due to undertreatment. Once the inflammation reaches a tipping point, symptoms hit in full force.

It's common to loose weight when flaring. A bad flare might cause you to loose 20 pounds or 9 kilograms. Mild flares are less, my last mild flare i lost only 5 pounds or 2 kilograms.
Posted 9/23/2017 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
While I agree that food don't cause inflammation, I do think there is a correlation between spicy foods (pizza!) or irritating foods (pizza crust = gluten) on a weakened and inflamed and extremely irritated colon. That's why they say bland food. I know it's hard -- I totally get it. I lost 20 pounds, and ended up less than 100 lbs while I was sick. All you can do is eat often, but stick to the low residue, bland diet. If gluten doesn't bother you, then by all means, eat it. Try mac and cheese. Toast and eggs. I found for some reason that fats (butter, bacon) didn't bother me at all, whereas they certainly used to. So I didn't shy away from lots of butter on my toast, and bacon every morning. Just try to eat every 2 hours. Here's one of my favorite recipes for muffins. They're gluten free but not moooshy like lots of the gluten free stuff is. And they have lots of ginger in them. They are made with almond flour, though, so there's that to consider if your diet allows it.
https://www.savorylotus.com/carrot-ginger-coconut-muffins-glutengrain-free-paleo/#more-292
Posted 9/23/2017 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
I just called the after hours at my GI and they called in prednisone. Anyone have any bad experiences with prednisone?
Posted 9/23/2017 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone was a life saver for me. Beyond the slightly sleepless nights I never had bad side effects and it always immediately made me feel better as far as my energy level and tiredness
Posted 9/23/2017 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hello catlover3

Sorry to hear you are suffering with your new diagnosis. This forum was a wealth of information for me in the beginning. I've only been dx a short time, but I've done a lot of research and am feeling a ton better. I had my first severe flare requiring hospitalization in May of this year and it really changed things for me.

You're welcome to visit my website tagged in my signature for more of my story, but here's the summary for you.

I found the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) very soon after diagnosis and started it in March. Prior to that i had followed this low residue low fiber diet as prescribed by doctors. Its horrible. Its incredibly unhealthy and all it really does is mask symptoms. My UC then worsened after consuming too much wine in April (still on SCD). I ditched SCD and went back to low fiber. After hospitalization, and doing more research, I started back with SCD because the science is just simply logical.

I also began my LEAP program through a functional dietitian and started taking supplements after bloodwork revealed some issues. Just a heads up for you, vitamin d is incredibly important for us IBDers and I noticed an improvement almost immediately when I got mine out of the danger zone. We need to be around 40 or higher even though 30 is normal. Our bodies aren't normal...

LEAP is a mediator release testing program and you can find out more at (url removed). It's been one of the best things I've done yet and I use it as my roadmap on SCD. Food absolutely affects inflammation in the body. I mean...bloating? Seriously. I have none anymore.

I hope that you navigate the IBD waters wisely and find some relief. This forum is a great place to sort through some knowledge and advice (good and bad). My doctors think I'm in remission and have me testing on October 5th. That's a far stretch from where I was in May as they were insisting I go on remicade. I asked them to let me try my own way first and I'd entertain biologics if I truly needed them.

Good luck to you and I hope you feel better!

(Url removed)

Post Edited By Moderator (iPoop) : 9/24/2017 5:01:06 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/25/2017 2:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all, just a quick update. I have been taking prednisone for 2 days now and I'm not constantly going to the bathroom and cramping, but there was still bloody diarrhea this morning, just not all day thank God! I have also decided to join a yoga studio among other natural things to help with my severe anxiety that UC only intensifies. I am looking forward to improvement in all aspects. I hope I can get off of the low residue diet soon because honestly it's all extreemly processed compared to what I normally eat. Nonetheless, priority number one is getting the UC under control. Thank you for all of your knowledge and input! I suppose I need to update my signature to include the prednisone.
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