How weird - one side to the other.

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:19 pm

Hi all,

Good to see everyone again.

Well, my MC has been pretty good for a while now - in fact back in July the doc said I no longer met the diagnostic criteria. Anyways, despite being basically in remission and sticking to my gluten and dairy free diet, I have continued to have a tendency towards the odd soft stool, and occasional brief D (usually easily attributable to something I ate).

In January I started moving my diet towards a more paleo style of eating. In practice, this meant cutting out the white rice with my stir fries, having butternut pumpkin instead instead of potato, and cutting out the ballooning amount of junk food I was eating - any form of gf bar around, gf bread, gf commercial dips and processed meats, lollies and peanuts. This was going well, lost a bit of weight but not dramatic, and found I was less hungry (obviously I am one of those folk sensitive to insulin).

Then I started having problems with C. Not the can't go for days kind, but the pooping roo pellets only with effort kind. This is a rare experience for me. I have also been having some problems with minor cramping in the calves and hands. So, obvious thing is to try magnesium. My tablets are 145mg. So I started with one tablet a day, then 2 then three (which puts me at the recommended limit for supplementation). This has helped a bit (less effort, but still not normans).

So I am puzzled as to why the change. I have tried adding some of my old junk food back in - marginal impact. I have made sure I am drinking heaps as evidenced by urine colour. I looked up magnesium foods, and I don't think they have changed significantly. I have even eaten some butter and

yogurt!. Yogurt and magnesium tablets should have caused a strong reaction, but nope.

Now, I am not desperate here (thinking of you, Lesley). It is just the switch from 'tendency to D' to 'tendency to C' which has surprised me.

I don't have any pain or discomfort. Less flatus than normal. I don't feel like I am having a C flare. I wonder if I have stopped consuming something that irritated me on a micro level, and my body has reacted to that.

Maybe the next thing to try is no fibre!!

Post by **tex** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:25 pm

Hi Lyn,

It could be too much fibre, but it's also possible that you might need more animal fat in your diet, especially if you're going to eat a significant amount of fiber. Not only will fat help to lube the gut, but I find that I have problems with hand cramps and stiff fingers, if I don't have enough fat in my diet.

I have to say that comparing a C issue with roo pellets is a refreshing change from what we normally see here in the States.

Only in Oz, would someone come up with that unique terminology.

Tex

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:53 pm

Good thinking Tex,

I wonder if there were animal fats in the junk food. Definitely possible. I do much prefer lean meat, so that will require a bit more thought.

Roo poo seemed about right to me as a description. As you might know, it is a bit larger than Wallaby poo.

Lyn

gluten · Post by **gluten** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:50 am

Hi Lyn, I was getting muscle cramping in my legs and when they checked my potassium level it was way below normal. My PCP put me on a supplement immediately and the cramping stopped. Jon

Post by **tex** » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:59 am

Lyn,

I think that we should adopt the term "roo poo" as the "official" term used on this site when discussing what more formal folks refer to as"Type 1 on the Bristol Scale".

It has a nice rhythm to it, and the descriptive correlation is right on target.

Tex