Travels to South Africa on the SCD Diet

Hello All,

Just wanted to keep you posted on my crazy life!
Two days before my trip to South Africa I was experiencing some serious anxiety! My colitis was acting up and I started seeing some blood, I was still having solid bms but the blood was worrying me. After a particularly stressful day, I decided it would be nice to take a jacuzzi bath in my basement! So I put some epsom salts in and relaxed for half an hour in the tub. When I got out I was feeling very dizzy and thirsty. I asked my mom for a glass of water and was going upstairs to my room to lay down! Next thing I know, My parents are around me telling me we have to get to the hospital. Turns out I fainted, fell and split my forehead open! 8 stitches later, I looked like Frankenstein just in time for Halloween!
They say things always happen at the wrong time, this couldnt have been more true! I was pretty upset bout it, but it could have been worse. Two days later I left to South Africa for my business trip.

South Africa is a beautiful place, although I was working most of the time, I still have evenings and weekends to enjoy the country! I got to see alot of interesting places, things and wild animals! Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Rhinos etc! It was amazing! I also visited the Indian Ocean in Durban as well as the World Cup Stadium! I got to watch a Rugby game for the first time! It was a fun time overall!

Obviously being away from home and being on SCD was not easy! I would say that I followed the diet 98% of the time while I was away. I ate alot of red meat, chicken and a lot of vegetables, especially butternut squash! There were some things I ate that I wasn’t sure about for example curry sauces. I ate those in moderation. I also had a couple of drinks for the first time in 4 months! Alot of wine! South Africa is known for their wine. I always drank DRY wine since it is legal on SCD. The wine seemed to sit well and didnt give me any problems the next day. I also had some vodka with soda water. The days after the Vodka were not so pleasant, gassy, bloated and D with blood and mucus. I think I will stay away from Vodka from now on. Its just not worth it.

Well I am both happy and sad to be back. I had a great trip and great memories. My colitis behaved well until my last day in South Africa when I started having D with blood and mucus. The journey home was not fun, I was very uncomfortable on the plane. I am hoping this flare I am experiencing is just temporary and may be from the illegals I ingested over the past 2 weeks. I am pretty upset bout all of this and it is stressing me out! I know I need to remain calm and have faith that continuing on the SCD will eventually heal me.

I am going back to basics with the SCD diet. I will be making the chicken broth soup to eat tomorrow and only easy to digest, cooked veggies. Hopefully with this plan I will be back to solid stools without blood in no time! Flare be gone! Keeping the positive thoughts flowing!

Wish me luck!