Carrie,
I'm glad that Rick is OK, but his experience certainly proves that any diseases that involve food intolerances, are pretty much "off the radar" at most hospitals.
Barbara wrote:Guess the hospitals cant be ready to feed peoples that need specials diets~~~which U would ASSUME that would be one of their PRIORITIES-
When you stop and think about this, it's pretty worrisome. If the hospitals don't consider food intolerances to be important enough to prompt them to automatically ask if a patient needs a special diet, they obviously don't consider it to be a problem. It's no wonder the general public doesn't consider it to be significant, if the hospitals aren't even concerned about it.
Like Mary, I was lucky when I had surgery a couple of years ago. When the "resident" advised me that they were going to try to re-start my digestive system, (when he made his early morning rounds), and that I would be receiving breakfast in about an hour, I whined about being intolerant of gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and most sugars. He said he would send the head dietitian around, and sure enough, in about half an hour, there she was, asking me what I wanted to eat. Surprisingly, (well, it was surprising to me, at the time, anyway), she had never heard of MC either, and, as Katy mentioned, she had no suggestions as to what I should eat. Fortunately, though, she did know what ingredients were in
most foods, so I was able to pick apple juice, eggs, and bacon for breakfast, and baked chicken, green beans, and plain rice, for dinner. She checked with me at least twice a day, and everything went fine. I learned that there was no such thing as a menu for celiacs, or any other food intolerances - it was every patient for him/herself, but, as Mary pointed out, I was able to order anything that they offered, and they were very considerate, once they were aware of my needs. There are probably a few hospitals with special menus, but my experience was with the biggest one in this area, and they only had one menu.
Since then, I've wondered what would have happened if I would have said that I was
allergic to gluten, casein, soy, etc., when filling out the obligatory forms that one always has to fill out at hospitals. Since those questionnaires are usually directed at medications, I wonder if they would even pay any attention to food items that were listed. I noticed that their menu didn't include anything with peanuts, or shellfish, for example, but still, some people have anaphylactic reactions to other foods.
And, since the average doctor doesn't savy MC, obviously, the average nurse can't be expected to know which items are safe, and which are not, either. Your only hope in that situation is to have access to the hospital's dietitian.
You know, since you mentioned a suspected TIA, that reminds me of my greatest fear, way back before I had any clue as to what was wrong with me. I kept getting sicker and sicker, and more and more run down and weaker, and I kept wondering how bad it could get, and how much longer I would last, before I eventually had a heart attack, or stroke, to put me out of my misery. Looking back, apparently that virtually never happens, but at the time, it definitely crossed my mind, more than a few times. LOL.
Hugs,
Tex
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
it was soggy stale chips and overcooked egg..god that would have made me sick...cant believe they dont even think of the food they serve you especially when you are in a gastro ward cos your ill with your gut......unbelievable.. 
