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hospital visit
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
hospital visit
hi, thanks again for the support, went to see the consultant a lot wiser than last time and she agreed not to put me onto imuran for a few months and was reasonably happy to keep me on 9mg endocort, she booked me a scan of my gut as I still have some abdominal pain, not all the time and she says some people do withM.C. I have been taking questran for 9 days now and feel sure it helps, also cutting out gluten seems to stop the bloating or perhaps its coincidence!!! had a sore throat bug thing last week and am so fatigued although better from the bug, never been so tired in my life! a question, is it ok to drink wine?????? I am part italian and wine has been part of me all my life( after milk that is)!!!!!, also any advise about holidays and diet, we go self catering but part of a holiday is eating out, if a resturant dosnt list gluten free choices what do you guys choose???? tips on that would be very welcome, thanks again Beni
Beni, I can still enjoy wine and I think you'll hear from others here that can as well. When I go to a restaurant that I don't know, I usually have a broiled/grilled meat or fish (first verifying any seasoning), a baked potato, and vegetable/salad, again verifying seasonings and dressings. I don't appear to have multiple food intolerances so I think it's a little easier for me. Deb
Hi Beni,
It sounds as though your specialist is understanding and willing to work with you, and that's a big advantage.
Gluten is the number one cause of bloating, and casein, (the main protein in all dairy products), is probably the number 2 cause of bloating.
As Deb mentioned, wine should be perfectly safe, unless you happen to be sensitive to sulfites, (some of us are). Beware of products known as wine coolers, (at least that's what they're called in this country), though, because they are blended back with products that contain gluten. Whiskey, scotch, brandy, vodka, rum, etc., are all safe, (except for a few blended products), but beer contains gluten. There are gluten-free brands of beer available in many locations, however, (actually, they're low gluten, rather than gluten free, but they should pass the 20 ppm labeling requirement).
Ireland has the highest rates of gluten-sensitivity in the world, so I would think that you should be able to find plenty of restaurants that offer gluten-free menus. If the wait-staff doesn't know what gluten-free means, then you are probably in the wrong restaurant, because eating there would be very risky for someone with food-sensitivities.
If the abdominal pain doesn't go away, you may need to cut dairy products out of your diet, as well, because casein is notorious for causing cramps and bloating. It also tends to cause what we refer to as "battery acid" diarrhea. Most of us here are sensitive to both gluten and casein.
Tex
It sounds as though your specialist is understanding and willing to work with you, and that's a big advantage.
Gluten is the number one cause of bloating, and casein, (the main protein in all dairy products), is probably the number 2 cause of bloating.
As Deb mentioned, wine should be perfectly safe, unless you happen to be sensitive to sulfites, (some of us are). Beware of products known as wine coolers, (at least that's what they're called in this country), though, because they are blended back with products that contain gluten. Whiskey, scotch, brandy, vodka, rum, etc., are all safe, (except for a few blended products), but beer contains gluten. There are gluten-free brands of beer available in many locations, however, (actually, they're low gluten, rather than gluten free, but they should pass the 20 ppm labeling requirement).
Ireland has the highest rates of gluten-sensitivity in the world, so I would think that you should be able to find plenty of restaurants that offer gluten-free menus. If the wait-staff doesn't know what gluten-free means, then you are probably in the wrong restaurant, because eating there would be very risky for someone with food-sensitivities.
If the abdominal pain doesn't go away, you may need to cut dairy products out of your diet, as well, because casein is notorious for causing cramps and bloating. It also tends to cause what we refer to as "battery acid" diarrhea. Most of us here are sensitive to both gluten and casein.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Beni,
I eat out quite a bit, and some places are easier than others. My highest confidence level is when I'm in a restaurant that I frequent semi-regularly, so I kind of know the menu; the place isn't crowded or crazy, so I know there's a chance my "special request" is being heard and tracked from table to kitchen and back again; and it's generally more 'home cooked' than places that get a lot of prepared ingredients (many commercial frozen french fries, I heard, are dusted with flour to keep them from sticking... yikes).
Some chains offer a gluten-free menu, which is wonderful (even though I still have additional sensitivities to navigate). But we don't have a lot of chain restaurants around here. I have eaten in some posh-ish places, and also in some pretty low-key unfancy ones, and been very impressed that the level of knowledge and understanding is increasing, in the restaurant business generally.
I hope you have the same luck. And I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, too! It seems weird that I can enjoy coffee and wine but not bread and butter, but that's how it is...
Sara
I eat out quite a bit, and some places are easier than others. My highest confidence level is when I'm in a restaurant that I frequent semi-regularly, so I kind of know the menu; the place isn't crowded or crazy, so I know there's a chance my "special request" is being heard and tracked from table to kitchen and back again; and it's generally more 'home cooked' than places that get a lot of prepared ingredients (many commercial frozen french fries, I heard, are dusted with flour to keep them from sticking... yikes).
Some chains offer a gluten-free menu, which is wonderful (even though I still have additional sensitivities to navigate). But we don't have a lot of chain restaurants around here. I have eaten in some posh-ish places, and also in some pretty low-key unfancy ones, and been very impressed that the level of knowledge and understanding is increasing, in the restaurant business generally.
I hope you have the same luck. And I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, too! It seems weird that I can enjoy coffee and wine but not bread and butter, but that's how it is...
Sara
eating out
thanks to all who replied, delighted to know wine is ok,Tex my query on eating out dosnt refer to Ireland, you are quite right resturants here are savy about gluten, generally, my real concern is in regard to when I am abroad, I really think I will have to wait and see but be prepared to be hungry now and then, in the past the tropics has only been a real concern with salads etc not being clean, now I will have to eat more salads!!!!!! To be honest I do realise this is a very small issue in the scheme of things, we may not even go this year if I cant get a handle on this bloating and nausia, yesterday morning I felt ok ,no D, lunch was advocado, balsamic vinigar, smoked salmon with mayo which was gluten and dairy free, within one hour I was bloated and felt nausius till I went to bed, any ideas???????? I hope I am not being a bore, just SO glad to have someone to share this with, Beni
Hi Beni,
I have no problem with wine either!
Hooray!
With MC, it is possible to have a sensitivity to any food. Fortunately, most here do fine with foods other than gluten, dairy, and soy. But some also have a problem with, for example, citrus, eggs, yeast, corn, nightshade veggies, etc. Also, many of us have problems with legumes. So ANY food can be suspect. I cannot tolerate avocados, much to my disappointment.
The best way to learn what your particular sensitivities are is to keep a food diary. Each day list everything you eat and note any problems - D, bloating, nausea, muscle/joint aches, brain fog, etc. Over time patterns will become obvious to you.
Keep us posted on your progress, please.
Hugs,
Polly
I have no problem with wine either!
Hooray! With MC, it is possible to have a sensitivity to any food. Fortunately, most here do fine with foods other than gluten, dairy, and soy. But some also have a problem with, for example, citrus, eggs, yeast, corn, nightshade veggies, etc. Also, many of us have problems with legumes. So ANY food can be suspect. I cannot tolerate avocados, much to my disappointment.
The best way to learn what your particular sensitivities are is to keep a food diary. Each day list everything you eat and note any problems - D, bloating, nausea, muscle/joint aches, brain fog, etc. Over time patterns will become obvious to you.
Keep us posted on your progress, please.
Hugs,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I can't eat mayo (eggs), but do tolerate avocados... as Polly says, it can be almost any food. BUT - there are "likely suspects" after gluten and dairy. Your mayo may also have contained soy oil, or some other soy product, as they are often used to stabilize or emulsify commercial sauces.
Soy is the next most likely culprit after those Big Two, but it could also be the eggs in the mayo - or it could be that you're just under the weather enough right now that you are easily made queasy, which happens a lot.
You may tolerate all of those things when you are more healed. Almost everything seemed to make me sick in the beginning, but I am now eating a pretty wide variety of foods. Sticking with homemade *everything* for a week (or more) will help you get things calmed down. (Homemade chicken soup was my lifesaver - plain boiled chicken broth, and gradually I added well-cooked veg to that, one at a time.)
Hope this helps. Avoiding processed foods and relying on homemade (as much as possible) helps with Polly's suggestion of keeping a food diary, too - so often we don't really know what's in packaged/processed foods (or restaurants) without a magnifying glass to read every label. Tex proposed a rule of thumb - if there are more than 5 ingredients listed on the package, then it's a risky food. I like that!
Feel better,
Sara
Soy is the next most likely culprit after those Big Two, but it could also be the eggs in the mayo - or it could be that you're just under the weather enough right now that you are easily made queasy, which happens a lot.
You may tolerate all of those things when you are more healed. Almost everything seemed to make me sick in the beginning, but I am now eating a pretty wide variety of foods. Sticking with homemade *everything* for a week (or more) will help you get things calmed down. (Homemade chicken soup was my lifesaver - plain boiled chicken broth, and gradually I added well-cooked veg to that, one at a time.)
Hope this helps. Avoiding processed foods and relying on homemade (as much as possible) helps with Polly's suggestion of keeping a food diary, too - so often we don't really know what's in packaged/processed foods (or restaurants) without a magnifying glass to read every label. Tex proposed a rule of thumb - if there are more than 5 ingredients listed on the package, then it's a risky food. I like that!
Feel better,
Sara
Beni,
Don't worry about being a bore - you're not. One of the reasons why we're here, is to help people sort out their diet problems. It's often difficult for us to see a problem food in our own diet, but someone else may be able to spot the problem immediately.
Regarding the meal that made you sick, it might possibly have been the avacado, but the odds point to the mayo. As Polly and Sara suggested, you may be sensitive to either the egg or the soy that was probably in the mayo.
If you're concerned about eating while traveling, one of our members, Ant, developed a great "To the chef" card that he uses when traveling. He has a friend translate it into the language of the country that he is planning to visit, and he makes copies of it and whenever he visits a restaurant, he tells the waiter or waitress that he has food "allergies", and he asks them to give the card to the chef. What makes this card so much better than all the restaurant cards offered by celiac sites, and other sources, is the fact that it lists the foods that he can eat, not just the foods that he cannot eat. It makes the chef's job so much easier, and they appreciate such a considerate gesture. Here's a copy of one of his posts about it, from his response to another member back in July:
Incidentally, until you get your food sensitivities sorted out, the foods that Ant mentions on this card as safe for him to eat, are usually safe for most of us, (though not all of us, of course). In addition, the foods that he lists as "Cannot Eat" foods, are off limits to many of us. IOW, these guidelines should work for all but a few people who have MC, so they are a good starting place, until you can get your own diet fine-tuned. I notice that Ant can't eat potatoes, but most of the rest of us can safely eat potatoes.
Tex
Don't worry about being a bore - you're not. One of the reasons why we're here, is to help people sort out their diet problems. It's often difficult for us to see a problem food in our own diet, but someone else may be able to spot the problem immediately.
Regarding the meal that made you sick, it might possibly have been the avacado, but the odds point to the mayo. As Polly and Sara suggested, you may be sensitive to either the egg or the soy that was probably in the mayo.
If you're concerned about eating while traveling, one of our members, Ant, developed a great "To the chef" card that he uses when traveling. He has a friend translate it into the language of the country that he is planning to visit, and he makes copies of it and whenever he visits a restaurant, he tells the waiter or waitress that he has food "allergies", and he asks them to give the card to the chef. What makes this card so much better than all the restaurant cards offered by celiac sites, and other sources, is the fact that it lists the foods that he can eat, not just the foods that he cannot eat. It makes the chef's job so much easier, and they appreciate such a considerate gesture. Here's a copy of one of his posts about it, from his response to another member back in July:
Quite a few members here have made their own copy of this card, customized to show their own diet requirements, and they've had excellent results when traveling. It saves a heck of a lot of time, and it takes most of the hassle out of dining out in a "new" restaurant.I hear you. I am in the consultancy business and am supposed to 'wine and dine' on occasions...
Luckily I can drink dry wine (not beer or sweet drinks). So when the client orders a beer I order a wine and it looks all "normal". Food.... a bit more difficult ....that is when I bring out my official looking laminated "To the chef" card.
This is what it says and by claiming 'celiac' everyone seems to understand it is 'important' and I am not just a 'food crank'.
You may find this useful,To The Chef…. I suffer from Celiac & Microscopic Colitis causing multiple food intolerances.
CAN EAT:
• (Unprocessed) meat, fish, shellfish - grilled, roasted, fried or baked.
• Rice – boiled, steamed or fried in olive oil, rice noodles. Rice or water chestnut flour.
• Salt, pepper, herbs, garlic, onion, dried coconut.
• Vinegar (EXCEPT NO malt vinegar).
• Olive oil (not other vegetable oils), pure coconut oil, pure balsamic oil (not artificially coloured since that contains gluten).
• Well-cooked peeled vegetables (EXCEPT NO: bean, pea, tomato, potato, bell pepper and corn).
• Mushroom, banana, olive, avocado, nuts (EXCEPT NO peanuts and cashew nuts), cooked fruit.
• Wine, spirits, coconut milk (no guar gum added), green tea, pure coco, black coffee, tea.
CAN EAT IN SMALL AMOUNTS:
• Cane Sugar, glucose, fructose, pure maple syrup, honey, raw fruit.
CANNOT EAT
• Gluten (and similar) – wheat, rye, oat, corn, semolina/tapioca – that is in flour, bread, cake, biscuit, wheat pasta, cuscus, tapioca, beer, malt vinegar.
• Soy, Soya/Tofu, Soy lechtin, Worcester source or MSG.
• Dairy – milk, cream, butter, cheese.
• Bean, pea, guar gum, peanut or cashew nut
• Egg
• Potato, tomato, eggplant, bell pepper
• Raw vegetables (e.g. salad)
• Cashew nut and peanut.
• High fructose corn syrup, aspartame.
• Vegetable oils – except Olive Oil, which is fine.
Best, ant
Incidentally, until you get your food sensitivities sorted out, the foods that Ant mentions on this card as safe for him to eat, are usually safe for most of us, (though not all of us, of course). In addition, the foods that he lists as "Cannot Eat" foods, are off limits to many of us. IOW, these guidelines should work for all but a few people who have MC, so they are a good starting place, until you can get your own diet fine-tuned. I notice that Ant can't eat potatoes, but most of the rest of us can safely eat potatoes.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Joefnh
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Beni that's great news about the new specialist, I certainly agree that working with diet and entocort for a while is the best way to go. The one cautionary note would be the salads. It seems that many if not most of us have a hard time with raw vegetables. I love my salads and miss them and am hoping that after things have healed further that I can enjoy them again. I believe the issue with raw vegetables is that the uncooked fiber can be irritating to the colon, so its more of a 'mechanical' issue not a food reaction.
Joe
Joe
Joe
uncooked fiber - the reason I find some juices easier to drink than eating raw veggies (which I LOVE!). The fiber goes right through me. I seem able to absorb be nutrients from the juice.
I have discovered that Kale and beets, and some other strongly flavored veggies DEFINITELY don't like me. OTOH some sprouts, spinach, carrots, apple and celery appear to be fine.
If I then use the pulp to make a cooked soup I can get the fiber without passing it through as it goes in.
I can't eat bananas. Just the name makes my GERD kick in.
I have discovered that Kale and beets, and some other strongly flavored veggies DEFINITELY don't like me. OTOH some sprouts, spinach, carrots, apple and celery appear to be fine.
If I then use the pulp to make a cooked soup I can get the fiber without passing it through as it goes in.
I can't eat bananas. Just the name makes my GERD kick in.