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undigested blueberries

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/23/2023 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
So I've been on rinvoq for about weeks, off steroids for about 1 week...and honestly so far so good! Not QUITE as good as last week, but pretty good - very close to what I've felt like when I was in remission on Entyvio. Hopefully things continue to improve!

Anyway - something I've noticed today that I haven't seen before...completely undigested blueberries. When I was flaring really bad 10 years ago or so I'd frequently have undigested lettuce leaves and various vegetable like that. But I haven't had entire, perfectly shaped and solid blueberries, especially with somewhat formed stool. I've been eating blueberries over the past few days, so I don't even know how long they took to go through me, but damn...completely undigested while everything else looks normal-ish?

Obviously I need to learn how to chew my food...but maybe I should never touch another blueberry?
Posted 5/23/2023 5:29 AM (GMT 0)
Have you ever had your small bowel checked (MRI, CT scan)? How were you first diagnosed with UC? What tests and what were the results?

If you just have left sided colitis, that shouldn't be happening, ie, food should be digested better before it reaches the inflamed part of your colon.
Posted 5/23/2023 6:13 AM (GMT 0)
I honestly don’t remember all the details, it was over 10 years ago. It was a ct scan from what I recall, followed by an endoscopy. All the tests always indicated UC, something about the biopsies made them think UC. I always had consistent inflammation from the anus up, and it was never patchy.

I’ll definitely bring it up with my gi on my next appointment…which should be soon.
Posted 5/23/2023 6:35 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, the reason I ask is because I've experienced similar - and I have Crohn's, more in the small bowel than in the colon.

As I wrote above, the food should be nearly fully digested before reaching the left side of the colon (where your known inflammation is). To me this indicates that there *might* be inflammation higher up in the GI tract, maybe the small bowel.

On the other hand, some people have reported that even inflammation at the end of the colon somehow causes the entire digestive tract to "rush" things through, leading to some things not getting digested properly.

So I'm not saying at all that you defiinitely have inflammation higher up, just that you *might.* So definitely bring it up with your GI.

The good news is that Rinvoq is now approved for Crohn's as well as UC, although I think the dosing/schedule is a little different.
Posted 5/23/2023 8:02 AM (GMT 0)
When you have UC and are flaring, sometimes the transit time for food is too fast for things to be digested. But eating too quickly and not chewing things can also have the same effect.
Posted 5/23/2023 9:38 AM (GMT 0)
And Blueberries with their protective skin covering are harder for some people to digest when they've been thru a flare.

I have an ostomy with slower digestive times and if I don't break the skin of the blueberry it'll still go thru while. Totally freaks me out..

Chew chew chew...

Clo
Posted 5/23/2023 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Blueberries can look partially undigested even for "normal" people or when in remission. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Glad you're feeling better.
Posted 5/23/2023 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
Define digested...unless one chews and regurgitates and rechews...maybe. Try not to get hung up on one food and fear the healing process. Not all types of foods are "digested". Plus it's a type of food that can increase peristalsis and help with constipation if eaten in larger amounts. Rather than eating them alone (which Im assuming), eat them when you have a fuller stomach.

q
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