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Strict Diets and my inability to stick with it!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/5/2012 10:42 PM (GMT -5)
Ok, so here is my honesty. I have been diagnosed with UC for 2 weeks. So, I have tried to start SCD a couple times, but first off, I can't eat many of the intro foods. Also, I am SO sparatic that following something strict to a tee is very tough for me to keep my attention on. So my question is, has anyone found success by eating what their body tells them to? Does that make sense? Instead of being on a strict regiment, just eating what feels good? Basically, is it necessary to keep this condition in order only by a strict strict diet? I can completely understand things like starches, grains, etc being rough, but again, on these forums I see so many opposite things, like some can eat rice some can't, and Its just very confusing. Any advice helps! Thanks so much
Posted 7/5/2012 11:56 PM (GMT -5)
If a [strict] diet doesn't work for you for whatever reason (like compliance) then sure, go with what feels good. I suppose that would in any case mean trying to avoid foods that upset the bum when you can.

Plenty of the folks on here find relief with some sort of diet modification, plenty don't. You're definitely right in that there's no cookie cutter thing that works for all. Trial and error.

Good luck!
Posted 7/6/2012 1:06 AM (GMT -5)
That's how I eat....I don't like food rules unless it makes me sick every time I eat it.

My perspective is that food doesn't create/cause flares, but it's easy to figure out what foods that can exacerbate some symptoms...such as gas and discomfort.

What do you normally eat in a day? One should, however, use common sense and eat as balanced as possible.

q
Posted 7/6/2012 3:28 AM (GMT -5)
Quincy, I have been confused on that one! So far I work with a naturopath, for now he suggests white meats, fish, small amounts of fruits, cooked veggies, brown rice, gluten free oats, etc. small meals. He wants to do some blood allergy testing but first I have to be off prednisone for it to be accurate. He also has me on probiotics, and Folic acid. I currently take 40g pred, 4 pills Lialda, vancomycin ( I have c diff again :(, iron.
Posted 7/6/2012 7:48 AM (GMT -5)
Chrissy, I stuck with the SCD diet for a couple of months and it was harsh, I felt that it was difficult to stick to only because I wasn't eating enough food, having enough variety, not maintaining weight and not having energy or unable to avoid cravings.

Everyone craves certain foods when on a diet, but when the low energy becomes a factor, it usually means your body isnt getting enough of what it needs.

Whatever reasons that keep you from adhering to a strict diet, ask your doctor about.

For me, I started the SCD diet, but didnt get rid of potatoes for 2 weeks. Little to no results, but after stopping potatoes and fully adhering to the diet, I found great results!
Posted 7/6/2012 7:55 AM (GMT -5)
So my question is, has anyone found success by eating what their body tells them to?

I have an ongoing battle with what my body/brain wants me to eat and most of it is very bad for my colon. You would think after all this time and knowing what makes my gut worse that my brain would co-operate, but it does not.

Every day it wants caffeine and sugar and ice cream, every day it wants chocolate. All these things cause increased symptoms for me.

My brain writes checks that my colon can't cash. My brain wants caffeine and chocolate because it makes my brain feel good and the hell with what happens later to my poor colon.

You know those hokey movies where the little devil sits on the person's shoulder and whispers stuff and the angel sits on the other shoulder? That's exactly what it feels like only the little devil seems to be much more powerful than the angel (and I'm not a religious person BTW).

So the question for you is: is the price you pay for going off the wagon worth it?

For me some days it is worth it. No one dies from having a cup of coffee or 2 or 3. Heck I just read that drinking 6 cups of coffee a day is therapeutic, less of certain types of cancer in heavy coffee drinkers.

When my gut is doing great I can eat almost anything, I just can't keep doing that for a long time.

Once I knew for a fact that certain foods caused symptoms (and for me they do) I started to become aware of how many things I ate unconsciously that were not good for my gut. Now when I choose to go off-diet I do so consciously.

You are in charge of your body. You get to make the decisions. Don't ask us what to do, ask your colon and try to ignore your brain because it will say anything to get what it wants lol.
Posted 7/6/2012 8:24 AM (GMT -5)
I keep a food journal. If my body can digest it and I have no issues, I keep eating it. If not, I stop.
Posted 7/6/2012 8:50 AM (GMT -5)
     I tried the SCD too when I suffered with UP, but it had no effect whatsoever.  I can tell you what did NOT aggravate my condition....eating rice cereal with Silk instead of milk, tuna or Activia yogurt for lunch and baked salmon with sweet potato and spinach for dinner.  Boring yes, and it did NOT cure me by all means but the diet was gut friendly.

     My former GI doctor (I say former because I had surgery in 2010 and never returned to him smilewinkgrin ) always said diet had nothing to do with this disease.  I do agree with him on that, but I know fiber really did a number on my condition, as did eating red meat.

     The best of luck to you.  Isn't the prednisone helping yet?

Posted 7/6/2012 9:02 AM (GMT -5)
Yes the prednisone has helped. The vancomycin has too. Yeah, I like the idea of scd etc, but I feel that if I struggle to do it 100% at this time, the benefit isn't going to be there. Interesting red meat also gets me going. Fish is great for sure, I absolutely love halibut and salmon with a little lemon :)
Posted 7/6/2012 9:03 AM (GMT -5)
Christine, (that's my name too!) when you tried scd, were you vigilant? How long did you try and why do you think it failed?
Posted 7/6/2012 9:58 AM (GMT -5)
I was diagnosed about 18 months ago and it's been a process. Cut yourself a break and take it slow. Just work on eliminating the things that bother you little by little. You will slowly figure out what bothers your colon. It's taken me this long to adhere to SCD. I am still not doing it 100%, but I have learned a lot along the way. I think you will learn to customize your diet the longer you are dealing with UC. My advice is don't force it...it will come naturally. You will learn what foods make you feel your best.
Posted 7/6/2012 10:02 AM (GMT -5)
Mad potter, I totally agree. I think just seeing what your body likes is great. It's definitely not a secret when you eat something your body doesnt like. I know the meds can block things though I'm sure. I do love probiotics/supplements though it seems to be very helpful
Posted 7/6/2012 10:41 AM (GMT -5)
Last night my mouth and my brain wanted a raw salad at Whole Foods called Mediterranean Crunch.  It had Kale and squash and garbanzos, all chopped small and tossed with a yummy vinagraite.

I believe I have a stricture and I've been trying to eat low residue foods.  This salad was absolutely the very opposite of low residue.  I bought it anyway and ate it up yum.  The other thing I bought was carrot ginger soup.  So that was my toll on the low residue road, ha.  I'm feeling some pain where I think my stricture is this morning but I do not regret that salad one bit.

The SCD is an effective treatment, I think, but if you cannot follow it then it is not for you.  However, the OP said she'd been diagnosed two weeks ago.  It is a big adjustment to learn you have a chronic illness.  I don't think 2 weeks is long enough to get to the right mental state where adopting a strict diet is possible.

Take your meds, start to feel better, figure out what you want your life to be like and then make a choice about SCD.

Posted 7/6/2012 2:37 PM (GMT -5)
crissy...you can only punish yourself so much. Your naturopath has given you good food advice...the small meals and enough protein, well balanced, etc..perfect.
Remember that many have chosen to totally stop eating, doing juicing only or protein drinks, etc. It won't help to stop eating..it may relieve some symptoms such as how many bms, but it won't heal.
One needs to eat, and keep the digestive tract functioning as well as possible while it's healing...

Common sense, let yourself off the hook. Rules, rules...not all are meant to function that way. I'd not do it with food, but I do know what makes me feel crappy or uncomfortable and I make choices of what to eat and what not.

You're new at the game and don't have the experience yet to even recognise what your symptoms mean. Focus on that, keep a journal if you like, but don't do knee-jerk reactions and create yourself more stress.

And if you're not on rectal meds, get on them asap...or at the very latest when you're tapering off the pred.

Oh, and throw in the c.diff...more reason to give yourself a break!

q
Posted 7/6/2012 3:41 PM (GMT -5)
on these forums I see so many opposite things, like some can eat rice some can't

That is because everyone is different and you need to discover what works and what does not work for you. It isn't long before newbies discover that doctors can be fallible. And they will eventually learn that alternative gurus such as SCD's Elaine Gottschall and Jordan Rubin of the Maker's diet do not have all the answers either.

Even the most ardent supporters of the SCD eventually need to modify it to fit their individual body chemistry. Instead of plunging full bore into the SCD why not try to keep a food diary to see how individual foods affect you. Avoiding gluten foods for 2-3 weeks is a good start. I personally believe that many have found some success with the SCD because it is gluten free.

Then you can try avoiding dairy. Gluten and dairy foods are probably the most popular of the triggering foods. And it helps to determine which foods are positively safe for you to eat. Apple sauce and chicken broth are common examples. After you have discovered what is safe then you can gradually add new foods and see their effect via a food diary.
Posted 7/6/2012 4:00 PM (GMT -5)
Babeinthewoods I love that. That is great advice. Scd tends to stress me out for some reason. I love your idea :)
Posted 7/6/2012 5:57 PM (GMT -5)

ChrissySoul said...
Babeinthewoods I love that. That is great advice. Scd tends to stress me out for some reason. I love your idea :)

And on the other side of the medal, you can do those diet and nothing will work. I'll tell you a story. My dad friend''s had severe trouble with his stomach way way back in the 1970s. The poor guy tried everything to make himself feel better. He had stomach ulcers. All of young adult life was a major diet. Some days he would feel better, some days worse.

Eventually, it was discovered that the cause was h.pylori, a bacteria living in the stomach. He eventually did the treatment and felt better. Now he is in his late 60ies?!, funny enough he's still on diets cause he got used it after doing it all these years. Some habits die hard...cause he smokes also.

Anyways, take everything you hear or read with a grain of salt. Maybe some day in the distant future, it will be discovered the cause of IBD...and maybe, it's not even related to what we eat.

With that said, I am also on gluten free and dairy free diets, cause I don't have any better treatments....oh well. It is what it is in 2012.
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