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Mandy
Boy, am I full of questions today!
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Boy, am I full of questions today!
My GI told me not to take digestive enzymes. That they don't do any good. Really? Do any of you here take them? Also, he nixed the omega fish oil but would not say why even though I questioned him. I though fish oil helped with inflammation? If you guys could suggest what I should be taking with LC, I would be so grateful! I just don't know what would beneficial to me right now.
Mandy
Mandy
Mandy,
I love supplements. However, if you are not feeling fabulous, the chance they will make things worse is just not worth taking. I do take fish oil now, but it would have messed me up pretty significantly back when I was reacting. There are many different types of digestive enzymes, and some here have had pretty awful experiences. Your #1 priority right now is to stop the inflammation, by eliminating anything that might possibly be causing it (if necessary, with the help of medication - but if you keep consuming something that prevents healing, medication is just delaying the inevitable relapse).
It is hard to believe - it was very hard for me to believe - that you will feel better faster by what you remove from your plate (and supplements list), than from what you may add. But it's true, and you will be much better to judge the efficacy and tolerability of supplements when you get to a baseline of feeling good and relatively symptom-free, more days than not.
I can't believe I'm about to say this - but I agree with your GI doc
What will benefit you right now is more mileage on GF/DF diet. I was pretty impatient, so I also dropped soy and almost all other grains. (I didn't think to drop eggs, which I learned from Enterolab I needed to do - but I got such a huge leap forward from GF/DF/SF, it was amazing.)
How are you feeling?
Sara
I love supplements. However, if you are not feeling fabulous, the chance they will make things worse is just not worth taking. I do take fish oil now, but it would have messed me up pretty significantly back when I was reacting. There are many different types of digestive enzymes, and some here have had pretty awful experiences. Your #1 priority right now is to stop the inflammation, by eliminating anything that might possibly be causing it (if necessary, with the help of medication - but if you keep consuming something that prevents healing, medication is just delaying the inevitable relapse).
It is hard to believe - it was very hard for me to believe - that you will feel better faster by what you remove from your plate (and supplements list), than from what you may add. But it's true, and you will be much better to judge the efficacy and tolerability of supplements when you get to a baseline of feeling good and relatively symptom-free, more days than not.
I can't believe I'm about to say this - but I agree with your GI doc
What will benefit you right now is more mileage on GF/DF diet. I was pretty impatient, so I also dropped soy and almost all other grains. (I didn't think to drop eggs, which I learned from Enterolab I needed to do - but I got such a huge leap forward from GF/DF/SF, it was amazing.)How are you feeling?
Sara
Sara, I am curious. You stated that fish oil would have messed you up pretty bad while you were reacting. May I ask why? How did you know fish oil would bother you? I am getting to understand the concept that less vitamins/irritants is better when in MC mode, yet I am so reluctant to let anything go, due to my blood work. Low in this, low in that. Since I was diagnosed with a dysfunctional gallbladder too, I am basically scared which is going to give me more trouble. I so don't want to get a vitamin deficiency and have that added to the mix.
Mandy
Mandy
Mandy,
Most added oil is problematic for most of us, when we are reacting. (I certainly proved that to myself, unfortunately.) You cannot improve your nutritional status while you're having significant diarrhea - because you're not absorbing those valuable supplements any better than you're absorbing food, until your gut gets a break, starts to heal and can absorb nutrients better. I had to change many of my supplements, because of some inactive ingredient that messed me up. I think the first goal is to figure out what to eat
If you are taking a supplement that messes you up, you'll have no idea whether diet is working.
This was my experience, and lots of other folks' as well. I am, of course, not in charge of you I am not talking about giving supplements for months or years - many (perhaps most) of us take certain supplements and find them beneficial.
Most added oil is problematic for most of us, when we are reacting. (I certainly proved that to myself, unfortunately.) You cannot improve your nutritional status while you're having significant diarrhea - because you're not absorbing those valuable supplements any better than you're absorbing food, until your gut gets a break, starts to heal and can absorb nutrients better. I had to change many of my supplements, because of some inactive ingredient that messed me up. I think the first goal is to figure out what to eat
If you are taking a supplement that messes you up, you'll have no idea whether diet is working. This was my experience, and lots of other folks' as well. I am, of course, not in charge of you
I am not talking about giving supplements for months or years - many (perhaps most) of us take certain supplements and find them beneficial.
Mandy,
FWIW, I agree with Sara, fish oil has been shown to cause D, especially if taken in significant amounts. This can be true of virtually any oil, to varying degrees. What did our grandmothers give as a remedy for constipation? - castor oil, of course. (OK, in your case, it may have been your great-grandmother, but anyway, you get the point). Oil is a lubricant, and that makes it a mild laxative. Normally, the fish oil, flax seed oil, etc., shouldn't be a problem, (I take them both), but when we are in the healing phase, we have limited tolerance for many things that we will be able to tolerate just fine, after our gut has healed.
I am one who had a bad experience with enzymes. I was doing fine in my recovery, and had the bright idea to try a good enzyme blend supplement. I took one pill just before I started eating breakfast, and in about 2 hours, I was vomiting up vile, bitter, green-looking stuff. That was repeated every few hours, for the rest of the day, even though I didn't have anything left to vomit up, after the second episode. For a couple of days, my stomach felt as if it were on fire, and it took me about 4 days to feel well enough to get up the courage to try some solid food, again.
That was enough to satisfy my curiosity about enzyme supplements. YMMV, of course.
Tex
FWIW, I agree with Sara, fish oil has been shown to cause D, especially if taken in significant amounts. This can be true of virtually any oil, to varying degrees. What did our grandmothers give as a remedy for constipation? - castor oil, of course. (OK, in your case, it may have been your great-grandmother, but anyway, you get the point). Oil is a lubricant, and that makes it a mild laxative. Normally, the fish oil, flax seed oil, etc., shouldn't be a problem, (I take them both), but when we are in the healing phase, we have limited tolerance for many things that we will be able to tolerate just fine, after our gut has healed.
I am one who had a bad experience with enzymes. I was doing fine in my recovery, and had the bright idea to try a good enzyme blend supplement. I took one pill just before I started eating breakfast, and in about 2 hours, I was vomiting up vile, bitter, green-looking stuff. That was repeated every few hours, for the rest of the day, even though I didn't have anything left to vomit up, after the second episode. For a couple of days, my stomach felt as if it were on fire, and it took me about 4 days to feel well enough to get up the courage to try some solid food, again.
That was enough to satisfy my curiosity about enzyme supplements. YMMV, of course.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.
Hi Mandy
I am new to this MC also. I am not as knowledgeable as the rest of the folks here, but I can tell you that what they say happens to really work!
I can only speak from my experience. I, like Sara love my supplements because I thought I was getting enough with the food I was eating. Here is what they suggested for me and it really did work. Start by eating Gluten free, Soy free and Dairy free (I also went sugar free) for about 2 weeks and see if your D disappears or at least gets a little better. Then when that happens start by trying ONE of your supplements for a few days and see what happens. After a couple of more days then try to introduce another one. And so on. If your belly is having a hard time with digesting lets say chicken soup it will not tolerate much of anything else. My Gastro told me if the gut is inflamed nothing you put in your mouth will be absorbed, it usually makes things worse. So it much easier on you start with just a FEW foods as possible then introduce things one at a time so you yourself can tell what those things are that make your belly feel better or worse. In the beginning I STOPPED ALL of my supplements (I knew I wouldn't die with out them) and just focused what I could and could not eat. Keeping a journal of everything you put in your mouth is a must in the beginning. Every night before I go to bed I write what I have put into my mouth and how it made me feel(some people here it might take a day or two for them to have a reaction)I am like Tex, I put it in and with in 2 hours I will react to it.
I have to say that with out this forum I do not know where I would be except maybe living in the bathroom the rest of my life. I fought very hard not to take Entacort. For 2 months I followed a very strict diet(with out any D either) and then over night I had a relapse of all of the symptoms I had had before being diagnosed with MC. But I recently found out that I now have diverticulitis and ulcerated colitis so its very important to get the inflammation in your gut to calm down with food before adding supplement.
Sorry so long, but I feel your frustration. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!
Hope your feeling better soon
Robin
PS I also took a lot of digestive enzymes (for years)and I can say from experience that when your gut is inflamed its like put gas on a raging fire. They wont work they will make things worse. When you are having problems with digesting foods the enzymes wont aid in anything because of the inflammation, so if I were you (only suggesting) I would not take them at this point, maybe in the future.
I am new to this MC also. I am not as knowledgeable as the rest of the folks here, but I can tell you that what they say happens to really work!
I can only speak from my experience. I, like Sara love my supplements because I thought I was getting enough with the food I was eating. Here is what they suggested for me and it really did work. Start by eating Gluten free, Soy free and Dairy free (I also went sugar free) for about 2 weeks and see if your D disappears or at least gets a little better. Then when that happens start by trying ONE of your supplements for a few days and see what happens. After a couple of more days then try to introduce another one. And so on. If your belly is having a hard time with digesting lets say chicken soup it will not tolerate much of anything else. My Gastro told me if the gut is inflamed nothing you put in your mouth will be absorbed, it usually makes things worse. So it much easier on you start with just a FEW foods as possible then introduce things one at a time so you yourself can tell what those things are that make your belly feel better or worse. In the beginning I STOPPED ALL of my supplements (I knew I wouldn't die with out them) and just focused what I could and could not eat. Keeping a journal of everything you put in your mouth is a must in the beginning. Every night before I go to bed I write what I have put into my mouth and how it made me feel(some people here it might take a day or two for them to have a reaction)I am like Tex, I put it in and with in 2 hours I will react to it.
I have to say that with out this forum I do not know where I would be except maybe living in the bathroom the rest of my life. I fought very hard not to take Entacort. For 2 months I followed a very strict diet(with out any D either) and then over night I had a relapse of all of the symptoms I had had before being diagnosed with MC. But I recently found out that I now have diverticulitis and ulcerated colitis so its very important to get the inflammation in your gut to calm down with food before adding supplement.
Sorry so long, but I feel your frustration. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!
Hope your feeling better soon
Robin
PS I also took a lot of digestive enzymes (for years)and I can say from experience that when your gut is inflamed its like put gas on a raging fire. They wont work they will make things worse. When you are having problems with digesting foods the enzymes wont aid in anything because of the inflammation, so if I were you (only suggesting) I would not take them at this point, maybe in the future.
Robin,
Good for you - well said, and hope you're increasingly reaping the benefits of your efforts.
When I first joined, I kept a food/symptom journal (maybe we've stopped talking about that quite as much)... I have gotten more lax, because I'm feeling good, but you are absolutely right that it can be the magic research tool. (You may find, in time, that your reaction time slows down - but I believe you will figure that out, as you go.)
Hmmm, I'm looking at a nice notebook on my desk - maybe it needs a job!
Good for you - well said, and hope you're increasingly reaping the benefits of your efforts.
When I first joined, I kept a food/symptom journal (maybe we've stopped talking about that quite as much)... I have gotten more lax, because I'm feeling good, but you are absolutely right that it can be the magic research tool. (You may find, in time, that your reaction time slows down - but I believe you will figure that out, as you go.)
Hmmm, I'm looking at a nice notebook on my desk - maybe it needs a job!
I would just caution anyone who, like me, has a little bit of OCD-ish tendency, to be careful with the food/symptom diary. I tried keeping one last winter around my initial diagnosis, and only succeeded in driving myself crazy. Kind of similar to how frustrating the Weight Watchers point system was for me when I tried that some years ago.
Suze
I would lose the diary at least once a day. Not on purpose, but because I lose things. The only way I could do it is on the computer, and then I would forget half of what I mindlessly put in my mouth, and I do it all the time. Like tonight. I was peeling apples (something I NEVER did before MC - I made cakes, pies and crumbles etc., with the peels on) and mindlessly ate the peel of one whole apple before I realized what I was doing.
Bad results? We'll soon see, because I seem to react as soon as the food reaches my stomach.
I WISH I could go sugar free, but I have to suck candy to keep the GERD at bay. Between sugar and PPIs right now, sugar is the lesser evil for me.
Bad results? We'll soon see, because I seem to react as soon as the food reaches my stomach.
I WISH I could go sugar free, but I have to suck candy to keep the GERD at bay. Between sugar and PPIs right now, sugar is the lesser evil for me.
I have been maintaining a food diary for nearly five years now. I am probably OCD about it because that's my personality - I'm a detail person. It's much easier for me now because I eat the same meals every three days. I even print the meals on a calendar and just check them off as I eat them. If I test something, I add it to the day's menu and circle it.
I convinced DH to maintain a food diary because he has diabetes and his numbers have progressively gotten higher. The doctor has warned him that he is looking at shots if he doesn't control it. He's finally getting in the habit of writing down what he eats, but I notice that he doesn't write down everything, like chocolate, cookies, all of his no-nos. It drives me crazy because I calculate his carbs and calories and I know that it's not an accurate picture. I'm ready to throw my hands up in the air, but even with his cheating, his numbers have improved. Once the leftover Halloween candy is gone, he should be back on track.
Gloria
I convinced DH to maintain a food diary because he has diabetes and his numbers have progressively gotten higher. The doctor has warned him that he is looking at shots if he doesn't control it. He's finally getting in the habit of writing down what he eats, but I notice that he doesn't write down everything, like chocolate, cookies, all of his no-nos. It drives me crazy because I calculate his carbs and calories and I know that it's not an accurate picture. I'm ready to throw my hands up in the air, but even with his cheating, his numbers have improved. Once the leftover Halloween candy is gone, he should be back on track.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
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draperygoddess
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 558
- Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:49 am
- Location: Tennessee
I found the food diary to be very helpful, as I'm forgetful, and I also have a tendency to stick something in my mouth without thinking. It helped me make some important discoveries about my food intolerances. I was much more cognizant of when I was having D than some of my other symptoms (gurgling, pain, gas, bloating, headache).
I actually STARTED eating sugar again when I changed my diet (I eliminated artificial sweeteners). Despite this, my weight is back to normal, and I'm not hungry all the time. I think my problem all along was not carbs or sugar, but gluten.I WISH I could go sugar free, but I have to suck candy to keep the GERD at bay. Between sugar and PPIs right now, sugar is the lesser evil for me.
Cynthia
"Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!" -Bob the Builder
"Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!" -Bob the Builder
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draperygoddess
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 558
- Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:49 am
- Location: Tennessee
Lesley,.
What I meant to say was, keeping a diary makes me think more about what I'm eating because I know I'm going to write it down, so I'm less likely to "graze" while I'm cooking (although I did catch myself recently popping a piece of cupcake or something in my mouth as I was cooking for the rest of the family! )
What I meant to say was, keeping a diary makes me think more about what I'm eating because I know I'm going to write it down, so I'm less likely to "graze" while I'm cooking (although I did catch myself recently popping a piece of cupcake or something in my mouth as I was cooking for the rest of the family!
)Cynthia
"Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!" -Bob the Builder
"Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!" -Bob the Builder
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
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- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
The food diary helped me alot, it helped me figure out what ingredients i could eat at the same time, (carrot and cauliflower will not share a meal)
noting down the symptoms also helped me to understand what my body was telling me. ie Pain in the lower left side means a BM in 20 mins - go find a toilet.
nowadays I dont keep a full detailed food diary, but i do make occaisional notes of anything new or different.
ie the reactions to anesthetic, that i can not have a big meal late in the day and too close to dinner time,
like most things with MC, you get what you give, if you have the time to note down and monitor what is going on you will get benefit. If filling out the food diary is a stress then dont do it.
noting down the symptoms also helped me to understand what my body was telling me. ie Pain in the lower left side means a BM in 20 mins - go find a toilet.
nowadays I dont keep a full detailed food diary, but i do make occaisional notes of anything new or different.
ie the reactions to anesthetic, that i can not have a big meal late in the day and too close to dinner time,
like most things with MC, you get what you give, if you have the time to note down and monitor what is going on you will get benefit. If filling out the food diary is a stress then dont do it.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama