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Courtney
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Post by Courtney »

Hi All,

Actually, I got back home on Sunday afternoon a week ago, but I started a summer course on Monday, and we had major thunderstorms on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday that left us without power for about two days total. I've been trying to catch up on reading posts and have realized I never will. :lol:

Welcome to all the newbies and happy birthday to all the birthdays I missed!

My trip home went well, and I didn't have any sort of dizziness at all after the initial episodes I posted about a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, after the prednisone and entocort wore off, I was right back where I started, both with the D and with the tooth and jaw pain. I am doing the best I can to keep a detailed food diary, and I am thinking of finding a new dentist! I'm afraid this one will never admit if he made a mistake and will just keep grinding away. Unfortunately, the food diary is very time consuming, and I don't have a lot of time right now bc this course is so intensive. I have figured out that Almond Dream causes problems for me. I guess I'll be making my own rice milk if I want milk. Cheaper, anyway, if not as convenient.

It's good to be back.

Love,

Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
Polly
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Post by Polly »

Welcome back, Courtney!

We missed you!

UGH, dentists who make mistakes. I can relate to that. It was a dental prodedure that started all of my one-sided sinus problems, resulting in MONTHS of antibiotics (a nightmare for us MCers) and 2 surgeries. Even my ENT doc finally agreed with me about this. FWIW, I have changed dentists.

I can't do Almond Dream either - I think it's the carrageenan.

Check out Dee's new food blog - all recipes are GF, DF, and SF!

Love,

Polly
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barbaranoela
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Post by barbaranoela »

Well come home Courtney----glad the trip was enjoyable---

I know the dreaded Pred. :yikes: the pants off one----but with me it was part of what got me back to normal--GI. prescribed--

And when I was taking the PRED. my GP---told me *WALK WALK* every day---cus the pred. sorta puts everything to sleep (organs wise) and one has to keep *them* awake by walking---and that I did----
Hope that makes sense to U cus thats the best way I can Xplain it---

MY GI---who was another *god sent person* slowly lowered me on the Pred.

Take care---and hope your weather eases up too--

:bigbighug:
Barbara
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Courtney - Welcome back!

I'm sorry to hear that the final key/s to remission is/are still a mystery, but I'm glad your trip went smoothly. You know, I hate to praise a drug, but if I'm not mistaken, the only members who have ultimately been unable to achieve remission, (after a dedicated effort), are those who are unable to find a diet combination that works, and who are also allergic to, (or intolerant of), Entocort. :sigh:

I haven't come across any Almond Dream yet, so I've yet to try it, but after reading about your and Polly's experiences with it, I'm not so anxious to locate any, now. How about coconut milk? Is that not an option for you?

Love,
Tex
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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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Courtney
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Post by Courtney »

Polly,

The ingredients in Almond Dream are: Almond Base, Organic evaporated cane juice, tricalcium phosphate, natural almond flavor and other natural flavors, sea salt, gellan gum, Vit. E, Vit. A palmitate, Vit. B12, and Vit.D. Have you tried this one? I thought it would be safe bc it has no carrageenan, but I don't think so anymore. It caused me almost the same type of reaction as dairy, although not as quickly. I'm wondering if it's the evaporated cane juice or the Vit. E--although allegedly it does not contain soy. Any thoughts?

I had a real Paleo experience the other day when we lost power. We cooked our entire meal (steak, potatoes, and very well-cooked asparagus) on the grill outside. I'm really thinking the Paleo diet may be for me, but I'm concerned about the fruit/veggie fiber component and the fact that so much of what is allowed on the diet turn out to be irritants for some people. What do you think?

Barb,

When I was diagnosed with osteopenia in April, I got a treadmill so that I could walk everyday. I've been doing really well so far. And yes, your explanation of keeping the body "awake" makes total sense!

Tex,

I'm keeping my chin up about achieving remission through diet! It doesn't look like I have much choice :lol: ! While I know I'm nowhere near remission, the enterolab results have made such a difference for me regarding accidents, which is a big step in itself. I can tell I am better than I was a year ago. It may be that I just need more healing time.

Love,

Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
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tex
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Post by tex »

Courtney,

Frankly, I believe that modern day paleo diet fans have misinterpreted the original paleo diet, to suit modern tastes/lifestyles/trends. I'll grant you that the original paleo people did indeed eat fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, etc., when available, but outside of certain perennial root plants, most of those items were very seasonal, and there was plenty of other mammalian and reptilian competition to help "harvest" the available supply, plus hordes of insects, of course. In most cases, those food items were individually available for only a few weeks each year, (or less), IOW, if you look at that statistically, they were available maybe 5% to 10% of the time, at best, which is statistically rather insignificant. Collectively, of course, the seasonal availability was much longer, but still it was mostly limited to the late spring, and early summer time frame. Remember, that humans had no practical ways to store food back in those days, especially considering their mostly nomadic lifestyle.

Therefore, I contend that fiber was, generally speaking, a somewhat minimal part of the diet of most paleo tribes, (unless they were starving, of course, and when you're starving, you will eat virtually anything). They may have pigged out on it when it was available, because they recognized that it would soon be gone, but existence during much of that time probably tended to be a feast or famine situation, depending on the season, and the luck of the hunt. The paleo people almost surely obtained most of their nutrients from meat, (on a year-round statistical basis), and I have no doubt that for long periods of time, their fiber intake was virtually nil, in many environments. Outside of a few residual nuts, and roots, during wintertime, dry seasons, etc., meat almost surely dominated the menu. I suspect that you would have been hard pressed to locate a vegan example during paleolithic times. A high protein diet is what allowed homo erectus to develop the larger brain that separated them from the other primates in the first place, and the best source of protein, (and vital amino acids), has always been meat.

Sooooooo, what I'm trying to say is, IMO, I think you should go lightly on the vegetarian components of the paleo diet, until after your gut has healed. Then, you can slowly phase in a "modern" paleo diet. :lol:

Incidentally, I realize that you're pressed for time reading posts, but did you happen to see my posts in this thread?

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10005

That research report, showing that fully half of all celiacs, (in the study referenced), still had the same level of villus damage that they originally presented with, after two years on the GF diet, bothers the heck out of me. Since you're a diagnosed celiac, I'd like to "hear" your thoughts on that issue, if you have time to consider it. It doesn't surprise me that the serum tests were worthless in detecting the problem, but why do so many celiacs still show no healing, two years into the diet?

Incidentally, I apologize for the way I worded my response in my post above - I didn't mean to imply that you would never be able to achieve remission without Entocort. Obviously, that's not true. It does appear to make the task much, much more difficult, though, when Entocort is not an option.

Love,
Tex
:cowboy:

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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Post by Polly »

Hi Courtney,

AHA! I was thinking of Almond Breeze. I haven't tried Almond Dream. Is it certifed GF (am wondering about those natural flavors)? My guess would be the cane syrup - all that sugar, which is known to feed the "bad" bacteria in the gut.

You know, it's funny, but I will react to processed foods that contain none of my known intolerances but rarely have a problem when eating whole, unprocessed foods. Another plus for paleo! The irritant phase isn't so bad......and the reactions don't seem to be as severe as with the major foods. Also, I think rotating the irritant foods really helps....keeps you from eating tomato products 3 days in a row, for example.

Love,

Polly
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Courtney
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Post by Courtney »

No problem with your wording, Tex. I knew what you meant, and I know that I've probably got a long row to hoe going it by diet alone. Your comments are very interesting. I was sort of an accidental vegetarian before--never liked meat, so I didn't eat it, and then I found it made me sort of sick when I did. But now I've found that I like it fine and it certainly doesn't make me any sicker than anything else. :lol: I just really like fruits and veggies, though, so I'm looking forward to being able to eat more of those again.

That celiac vaccine sounds pretty sketchy to me. I wouldn't trust it, and there's no way eating gluten would be worth having repeated small bowel biopsies. Call me crazy, but I think there's a lot we don't understand about how gluten affects those of us who are sensitive to it. There's not a food in the world I'd be willing to knowingly risk my longterm health for.

Love,

Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
LC/CC 07/08
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Courtney
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Post by Courtney »

Polly,

Yup, Almond Dream is GF, CF, and SF. My guess was the evaporated cane juice, too. There is an unsweetened version I haven't tried, so perhaps I should give that one a chance.

Your comments on whole vs. processed foods make a lot of sense. I'm really thinking that paleo may be the way to go for me. There are only a few processed products I can think of that I wouldn't like to give up, but as my DH said (in the nicest way possible), "If we stop spending $6 a pack on those Nana's cookies, we can buy more meat!" So true. And as I said earlier, no food is worth being sick over. Thanks for your thoughts.

Love,

Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
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Post by Gloria »

I've been drinking the Almond Dream - I mix it in a 1:1 ratio with my homemade rice milk to save on the expense, but still get some calcium. I take calcium capsules at the same time to get enough calcium. I haven't noticed any extra problems due to drinking it, but then I'm not in remission, either. I'd gladly go back to Rice Dream if I thought it was OK, but that's too risky right now.

I've been drinking the unsweetened version, but recently purchased the sweetened to see if it tastes any better. I haven't tried it yet. I hope it doesn't give me problems. My rice milk has 2 tablespoons of sugar per each 32 oz. Any less than that and it doesn't taste good.

Gloria
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