recent picture of me with a big smile:)
Introduction:
I am 20 years old and a college student in the United States. My family has always eaten very healthy foods, increasing in “healthiness” over time actually. Since my boyfriend lives with me and was recently diagnosed as diabetic about a year ago, I stopped eating high glycemic foods (potatoes, sugar of any kind, wheat, etc.). Anyway, about 2 months ago I started getting blood in my stool… then eventually diarrhea. I haven’t had a solid stool since. The doctors tested me for the standard bacterial infections, parasites, ova, and worms but nothing came up, so they jumped to Crohn’s or UC and threw a bunch of drugs at me. I took prednisone only for about 6 days to see if it would get rid of my diarrhea (I really hate prescription drugs) but it did not help. I tried a few diets but they didn’t work, so now I am starting the SCD with high hopes! :)
Some more about me:
Before this problem, I enjoyed being outdoors, cooking, and mostly just the freedom (which I took for granted) of being able to go anywhere without worrying about where the nearest bathroom is. I am studying chemical engineering, so if this diet does not work (or even if it does) I am going to graduate school to figure it out. Note: that does not mean I will be creating prescriptions, I want to solve the actual problem.
My Colitis Symptoms:
diarrhea that is most severe in the morning, decreasing throughout the day
bowel movements 8-15 times a day I would guess
blood
NO pain (ever, thankfully)
erythema nodosum AKA red bumps on my shins (prednisone sort of helped)
My Diarrhea Is Not Subsiding!
So after I came down with the diarrhea and blood I went to an urgent clinic for testing. Nothing. Then I went to a GI specialist who pretty much blew me off and said “oh, it is not ulcerative colitis, here take these antibiotics for 12 days and come back in 3 weeks. We will do another stool culture.” He started to walk out of the room and I was like “woah, you are BLINDLY giving me antibiotics BEFORE the stool culture. Are you going to call me to see if they are the right antibiotics when the stool results come back?” He responded, “You can call the office.” So you can imagine I was pissed.. I mean.. this is a specialist! So then I proceeded to see an internist who ran a few more tests, C diff and H pylori.. no results. They ran a CT scan and my colon was completely inflamed. She said, “Have you thought about Crohn’s disease?” First of all, you don’t ask a patient that. I am paying you for your expertise. Anyway, my mom and I checked out the CT scan results and it said it could be an infection or a Crohn’s-like disease of the colon. So basically the doc jumped to a conclusion because that was easier than running more tests. I am trying to get into a different GI specialist who has great reviews, but of course the waiting time is 2 months… I don’t care what anyone says, this medical system SUCKS. But really, it does not matter because I have HIGH HOPES for this diet and it makes sense microbiologically and anatomically, which is apparently something doctors no longer learn in medical school.
Okay, so I started the SCD diet on Tuesday, it is now Thursday. So far no improvements. Actually my stool is a little more watery and I have gas. I started the “cream cheese” yesterday and I will be able to get dry curd cottage cheese tomorrow. The diet says to do the introduction for 5 days only… then to move on to add cooked vegetables and then to cooked fruits. However, the book also says you cannot eat cooked vegetables until your diarrhea has subsided. What??! What if my diarrhea is not gone after the 5 days. What do I eat? It also says you cannot add eggs until the diarrhea is no longer “brisk.” What exactly does that even mean? Also, when is cheese supposed to be added? When can I put legal spices and herbs on my meat? When can I add other meats? The diet in the book seems so very vague..
If anyone could please answer my question I would so greatly appreciate it! I feel like I am in the dark. I am 100% committed to the diet – I need to get better!
Medications:
I don’t want to take prescriptions unless it is vital for me to stay alive. Since I don’t have any pain, I would rather have diarrhea than the side effects of drugs.
written by Paige
submitted in the colitis venting area
I am 20 years old and a college student in the United States. My family has always eaten very healthy foods, increasing in “healthiness” over time actually.
