HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Flare triggered by food?

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/19/2012 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone had a flare triggered by a particularly rich meal or some kind of combination of food that was not so easily digestible? I went out to eat on Thursday and have been having some diarrea, gas, urgency, cramping - all the things that usually signal the start of a flare for me. I don't feel bad most of the day but I so hope this is just a meal that didn't agree with me that my body is taking it's time digesting rather than the trigger for a flare.

Any last minute suggestions to ward off a flare (other than meds) if my colon has not decided which way to go yet? I plan on calling my GI on Monday if I'm not feeling better by then.

Dahlia
Posted 2/19/2012 4:09 AM (GMT 0)
i know certain foods affect my colon worse than other. a few days ago, i had some nuts and i've been having cramps since then. i usually just eat nuts once every 2-3 weeks, but now i know to just avoid them totally.

maybe try a juice fast for a few days to give your colon a break.
Posted 2/19/2012 4:53 AM (GMT 0)
No...never happened to me. I'm in the belief that food doesn't cause flares.

You might already be in a mild flare. If you have urgency with particular feelings in the rectum such as pain and spasming...I'd say flare.

You might be sensitive to meals that have lots of fat, loose stool is common with overconsumption of fat.

You might have picked up a gastro invader...bug/bacteria/virus...coincidental to the timing of what you ate.

Some foods can cause the digestive tract to work faster...it can be very much in a hurry to eliminate without causing any rectal symptoms. Cramping can be normal with increased peristalsis and hurrying things out...such as in IBS.

Only you will know if it's a flare anyway....are you on any rectal meds? If you have any, start them.

If you have any probiotics, double them....and maybe up a fibre supplement.

Hope this won't last long for you.
q
Posted 2/19/2012 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
All people are different in what affects them so no one can make a blanket statement about whether foods cause "flares".

I am very sensitive to the foods I eat and know pretty quickly when I have consumed something that is irritating to my gut. D, gas, bloating, pain. Take your pick.

I've been experiencing success using slippery elm powder to soothe my digestive system. It might help you to try it.
Posted 2/19/2012 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
I also believe that food can change your bm's. If you bm's change that can cause problems.
I think recently my daughter drank juice which she never has, and she had some bloody diarrhea shortly thereafter. The excess sugar does cause problems for her.
she did not go into a full blown flare but we have been having less than perfect poops for over a week. I have upped her VSL and even added in some hydro enemas and this has helped.
I firmly believe that food does play a role in her bm's.
I have been super careful with her diet but once you go down the wrong path
it is hard to get back!
Posted 2/19/2012 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
IBSISTHEPITS-
I made a batch of slippery elm powder enema solution
because I was experiencing irritation after eating foods that did not agree with me.

Experimented by refilling an empty mesalamine enema with about 1/3 cup of the solution and applied it this morning. Retained it about 1 hour, then repeated the process about an hour later. Same results.....however, I was able to go shopping this afternoon with no irritation or urgency and no BM's.
I plan to continue using it at least a couple of times a week. Cortisone enemas give me a headache. Slippery elm has been described as Nature's mesalamine.
Posted 2/20/2012 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
bklyngrl,

IMO there's a definite connection between diet and inflammation, and also between trigger foods and flares.

I agree with ItsAlwaysSomething, try adding some slippery elm powder, and upping your probiotics.

Posted 2/20/2012 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
If I was in remission I usually stayed that despite food I ate in moderation. Food could make the symptoms of a flare I was in already worse.
Posted 2/20/2012 9:05 AM (GMT 0)
YES. my last two "flares" were when I Was really relaxed, having fun, out of this country. One trip it was definitely the food. The other trip it was either a week long of food, or a lot of alcohol in one night. I think I've drank 5 times in the 2 years since. Food is definitely a factor for me.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply