UC and Nutrition

Hi Gina, all doctors are different depending on what they know. In my opinion, diet has everything to do with this disease. My (ahem) idiot doctor said the same thing about diet, just telling me not to eat fast food. Our stomachs are supposed to digest food that is rich in nutrients, and this is not the case anymore as food has become genetically modified for advertising purposes.

The important thing is yes, to reduce stress, get alot of sleep as this when your body spends most time repairing, and readjust your diet to obtain more nutrient rich foods.

My doctor like yours thinks diet doesn't matter. I tried various diets over my 11 years with UC and didn't see any positive results until 2 years ago when my back was to the wall and knowing the next step was biological drugs which I was afraid to do.

Yes, diet modification changed my life greatly for the better. But it doesn't work for everyone and you are the one who gets to decide whether you should try it. It is extremely difficult to pin down what foods seem to make symptoms worse because it isn't simple to say A(food)=B(symptoms).

The two food types that seem to be common problems are gluten (wheat products) and dairy. If you tried removing these two for 2 to 4 weeks you would have a big handle on whether it could work for you. It is very hard to remove these two food types because many, many things have wheat products in sneaky ways.

Also it's important to keep a daily food diary and keep notes on what symptoms you have, # BM's, urgency, blood. Don't try and see a pattern each day, look at it at the end of your test period and be honest--is it worth the trouble to change your diet radically?

On the one hand it's great that your family supports this idea of diet modification but really it has to be your choice.
Glad to see your using a rectal enema. For me the combo of diet mod. and enemas is the best.

Good luck.

Post Edited (imagardener2) : 12/24/2011 5:31:09 AM (GMT-7)

You'll find that even when taking medications, symptoms can change when making any changes with diet. They definitely have for me.
I'm on a low dose of prednisone and I'm fine today, but having alcohol brings me symptoms, I know having more than a few cookies, or bites of certain cheese would also make this happen, so its still great to try and test it out when your on medication.

I hoped to be off medication by now, but still am on it, better late than never!

I'm guessing that the further up your colitis extends, the more essential it is to control your diet. There's something in milk that worsens my bleeding and makes me bloated during flareups, whether it's skimmed or lactose free. Otherwise, when I'm not flaring I can eat or drink anything I want.

By the way, why are you on corticosteroids if your UC is only in the rectum? Do 5-ASAs not work for you?

Post Edited (Max89) : 12/24/2011 1:47:48 AM (GMT-7)

Diet is really personal and the only way you can figure it out is trial and error. I personally find I only need to watch my diet while flaring so that I don't irritate things further. Keep a food diary, figure out your transit time, and make a note if anything seems to bother you.

There are two things I would recommend adding, however-omega-3 rich foods may help and certainly can't hurt (worst thing that happens is you get the CV benefits), and certain probiotics can improve clinical outcome.

I agree with your doctors.