Has anyone achieved remission with diet alone

[irisheyes13]

Has anyone experienced remission of symptoms with diet alone or is it necessary to use a combination of medication and diet?

[Gabes-Apg]

Kelly
there quite a few that have had the patience and tenacity to use diet as the main management tool. I am one of those, i was inspired by others like Polly who took this approach.

there is a post that i put up just before you joined, 'guage of my progress ' where i had a meal with some of my trigger foods and the reaction was not that bad.

I am very very diligent with the diet, used the diary to track all reactions, from this i have figured out that i have every day foods that are safe, sometimes foods that i can have once twice a week at most, avoid foods that cause reaction and NEVER foods that cause a bad bad reaction.
As others have mentioned over time the cravings or the want for certain food items fades. I also focussed on a diet that a) did not include my triggers and b) was aimed at healing the digestion system namely the leaky gut.

I also used Acupuncture and natural supplements/homeopathic sprays, to help my system, as i had adrenal fatigue symptoms and a few other things that were causing pressure on the digestion process. i have found that i can only tolerate liquids or sub lingual delivery of items.

hope this helps

[Gabes-Apg]

I should also add;

one of my main triggers was stress, namely work stress.

Prior to being diagnosed i had half pondered a move to a regional town as I am a country girl by heart but had spent the last 20 years capitcal city based. Post MC this became a very viable requirement if i wanted to reduce stress and optimise wellness, and be able to work and support myself.
For 9 months i monitored and applied for jobs and late 2010 the universe blessed me with a great job, in the regional town. this meant moving house, new job, new town.

the job only has about 1/4 of the stress that the previous one had
my lifestyle is great, the commute is 1/4 of the time, as it is a regional town there is not the intensity and chaos of a capital city.
this location is also not as hot and humid as where i was, this has helped me alot.

[irisheyes13]

Thanks Gabe. This is the info I was hoping for. Glad to here you stress level has gone done considerably.

I see that there are many on the forum who are controlling their MC with diet alone but it isn't clear without going back and reading from the beginning of posts to see if there is any hope in achieving remission with diet alone without the aid of medications to begin the healing.

I'm considering going back to my GI and discussing Prednisone again to stop the chronic D. Just a short run of only a week or so but would prefer to do it with diet alone.

Everything feels so inflamed and irritated that I didn't know if it was even possible to do and if so how long it would take. I also suspect that I may have LGS as well.

I will go back and read some of your posts to see your progress.

I'm curious as to how the acupuncture and homeopathic supplements have helped. Are these details in some of your posts as well? I don't want you to have to explain the details again if you have it posted here somewhere.

I envy your warm weather right now... it's 20 degrees with 45 mile hour winds and snowing here.

[tex]

Kelly,

According to an informal poll that was taken about 15 months ago, at the time, 16% of the people responding to the poll were in remission by diet alone. Of course, once someone votes in that poll, they cannot vote again, (if they go into remission later), so that poll is simply a snapshot of the situation at the moment.

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10632

Of course, over the long term, most people who achieve remission, soon ride off into the sunset, so their input is only available for the short time that they are here posting, while their disease is still active.

Yes, I am also one who reached remission by diet alone. Back when I started searching for answers, I didn't even realize that there were any meds available for treating it. A few of us here have been dealing with this disease since about the time that the last dinosaur disappeared.

Tex

[Gloria]

there quite a few that have had the patience and tenacity to use diet as the main management tool.

Hold on -- I hope you're not implying that people who do use medication along with diet don't have patience and tenacity to use diet as the main management tool.

Most of the people who claim to have used diet as the main mangagement tool actually have used medication, such as Pepto Bismol, Asacol, Lomotril, Imodium to help them along their way to remission. The distinction usually seems to be that some of us use Entocort, or another steroid, many times because we've struggled to use diet, but have been unsuccessful. Steroids in my case have been the last resort.

I think I have exhibited a great deal of patience and tenacity over these past four years of trying to reach remission. My diet is extremely limited, as others here who are also using Entocort.

I really hate to see this board separate into two groups like the old board did, between those who use diet, and those who struggle mightily using diet and medication and still can't achieve remission by diet alone.

Gabes, I know you don't feel that everyone should use diet alone; you're the one who proclaims "there is no right way or wrong way, there is your way." But I know I speak for others here when I say that those who have been fortunate enough to manage without Entocort seem to tout their method as somehow superior and more praiseworthy than those of us forced to use it. We are not less patient and we do not have less tenacity.

Gloria

[tex]

I envy your warm weather right now... it's 20 degrees with 45 mile hour winds and snowing here. feeling

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger - I live in Central Texas, so that I don't have to deal with that sort of weather, and dang if we aren't having similar weather, anyway, except that yesterday morning, when that front blew through, we had freezing rain, instead of snow. It was about 60 degrees when it blew in, (about 3 am), and by daylight the temperature was in the 20s, and the temp continued to drop all day and all night. The wind was in the 60 to 70 mph range when it came through here, and then it gradually slowed down to the 25-30 mph range by nightfall. The chill factor last night was below zero, and the forecast shows that we won't see temps above freezing until at least Friday afternoon. It's 24 degrees here, right now, (-4 degrees C), and cloudy, during the warmest part of the day. This "global warming" really sucks.

Tex

[harma]

I agree with you Gloria, I also do both, diet and entocort. Although I have never considered the option of doing diet alone, maybe because I first started with medication, and than found out about this board, than did the entorolab testing, and after that (about 6 weeks after finding this board) started a complete diet. Entocort is the short term solution to control the D. Diet must be my long term solution to control my MC with diet alone. Only it takes a bit longer than I expected. I do my best to take as little of the meds as I can, I am on 2 mg a day now. So no miss understanding, choosing medication is not an easy way out or something like that.

An even so, I somebody chooses to eat anything he or she likes and control symptoms with entocort, what should be wrong with that? As long as you know what you are doing, you are behind your choice and take responsibility for it.

But still with entocort it is a struggle. Not controlling the symptoms of the MC, that goes fine. It's the diet itself, it is so extremely basic, the things I still can count on both my hands.

[Bifcus16]

I should balance the responses here!

I have never taken any prescribed drugs. Immodium when I need it, but that isn't often. I find dairy is my worst trigger. Gluten is less of an issue, causing joint pain, gas, brain fog and I now suspect some looser stools, but not actual D. I avoid both fairly strictly (DH does have bread in the house and that is my greatest risk of cross contamination).

I routinely get mr perfects (norman's fussier brother), but do get minor symptoms of what I suspect is either gluten contamination or some other intolerance. It doesn't bother me enough to make much effort to sort out the cause! Too many other things to do.


Lyn

[Zizzle]

I am managing with diet alone, in part because I think I have a fairly mild case (LC - with no more than 8D/day at the worst times), and because I usually react badly to medications of all kinds. I also experienced such amazing results shortly after cutting out gluten and dairy, it gave me hope I could reach remission without meds. I've since realized how fleeting remission can be, and haven't met norman more than once or twice in the last 6 months, but I do have my life back. My normal now is usually a "soft pile" once or twice a day, never painful or gassy, so I can't complain. However, I think I often get trace amounts of gluten and dairy through cross contamination(restaurants on weekends, travel, etc), so I flare up for a couple of days in response. When I'm very stressed, I flare again, but I'm finding Pepto tablets to be very helpful in calming things down. I never take Immodium because it stops me up too much and leads to gassiness and cramps.

So I rely on diet, some supplements when I remember to take them, and occasional Pepto for flare-ups.

[TooManyHats]

I wonder if there are factors in why some can seem to get things under control with just diet and why some need the medications along with diet. I wonder weather the length of time it took from when symptoms began full force (explosive diarrhea and many trips to the bathroom) to when you get a diagnosis is a factor. I thought the 3 months it took me was a lot, but now see that's nothing after reading here. Like Zizzle said, whether the colitis is mild (like mine was) at the time of diagnosis. And, whether there are co-diagnoses along with MC, i.e. Grave's, Crohn's, etc., which might complicate treatment. Then there are factors such as how quickly a person heals in general. Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with patience or tenacity. I think there are other factors going on that are very individual to each person.

I feel fortunate that I seem to be holding my own with just diet alone. Everyday I seem to notice another mistake I've made with soy. It's in everything! I still haven't managed one full day without at least a small dose of soy. So far so good though and I've only used Immodium 2 times since my colonoscopy (after my lipstick mishap). But, I know that could change in a heart beat. I can only hope to reach a point where I feel confident enough to leave the house for long periods of time for things like working full time. We're skipping the boat show this coming weekend because I'm just too afraid to spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the car each way and then walk around the convention center knowing that I can't eat outside the house for fear of finding myself in need of a bathroom quickly. What's that saying about the monkey?

[Zizzle]

I was diagnosed 6 months after the onset of major D, and started the GF/DF/mostly SF diet almost a year after that. I started the diet after ordering Enterolab tests, but before I received the results, when a "stomach bug" lasted 8+ days...I was eating nothing but crackers, toast and pasta to settle my stomach! Duh!! I almost went to the hopital multiple times that week - I often wonder if it was a "celiac crisis".

I seem to have little trouble when I go out in public unless I'm shopping...the smells of the stores, the lighting, the crowds, it all causes instant D! But most of my D happens when I'm at home, first thing in the morning or late at night. So I guess I should say I have my public life back...

[natythingycolbery]

I'm one of the odd few that has gone into remission without diet changes or medication, although I was on meds for about 3 months, when i came of them I stayed the same, I often wonder though if this is due to the fact that my colitis was caught within 8 weeks of the inital symptoms and therefore I am in the ealry stages of MC...

Of course, over the long term, most people who achieve remission, soon ride off into the sunset, so their input is only available for the short time that they are here posting, while their disease is still active.

I haven't done this yet, I do still hang around and read the odd post! I just dont often reply...

[MaggieRedwings]

In the early stages and up until about 2.5 years ago I used diet and medications but medications as a last resort and that is mainly due to my belief of not wanting to do meds. Since then it has been diet alone. However, I must state here, that not everyone can go this route. For many it is the combination of the 2 - meds and diet - that work for them. There is not one way to get this disease under control. It is the way that works for you as Gloria said.

Love, Maggie

[irisheyes13]

Well it's clear that nothing is consistent with MC as far as what works to achieve remission based on the responses above. I have no problem with taking medication if there was a medication that cleared the symptoms without causing new problems or symptoms which are worse than the ones experienced by MC already. For me, the only luck I have had is with Prednisone. Entocort and any of the other typical meds have failed for me personally.

It's fascinating to see all the variations which work for some but not others. There is so much more to learn about this disease and how MC correlates with other autoimmune diseases as well. The more I read the more questions I have.

I'm having a bad day and can't seem to form full thoughts which makes an intelligent post next to impossible ...bad brain fog with pain everywhere today, but the good news is I received my Enterolabs package yesterday. Based on the instructions I will have to wait until Sunday to get samples and submit on Monday. Hopefully there will be some answers that will help determine where my sensitivities lie. In the meantime I will continue to stay gluten free and hope that this is leading me in the right direction.

Tex, you can probably blame the unusually cold, snowy weather arriving to your fine state on the influx of Green Bay & Steeler players and fans. They probably brought the weather with them.