Holiday food and colitis

I used to look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas because of all the great food  my mom would make. But that was then and this is now—colitis rules my body and decides what I can eat.

Not being able to eat everything I want to eat has made me feel depressed and sometimes I avoid going to these food fests. Thankfully, family gatherings are mandatory and I would rather take a chance on the food rather than make my family feel slighted.

So instead of focusing on what I can’t eat, I try to focus on what I can eat. At Thanksgiving I was excited because I could eat turkey and mashed potatoes, without the gravy of course. I even made an awesome sandwich with my dinner roll, some turkey and mashed potatoes. I had to avoid any dishes like stuffing that contained onions, but I’m not a fan of stuffing anyway so that wasn’t a problem for me. For desert, I had small pieces of chocolate pie and cream cheese pie. I came away from the gathering without a stomach ache.

Now Christmas is coming up and I have to choose my food carefully again. My mom said she is having different types of soup. I can do soup as long as it isn’t spicy. I’m sure there will be other side dishes and deserts that I will have to choose wisely.

I’ve discovered since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis that the one thing I have to avoid is stuffing myself. It has taken a lot of will power and lots of memories of having horrible stomach aches to convince me to not over eat.

The holidays can be difficult for those of us that have to watch what we eat, but with a little caution and discipline, the holidays can be a joyous time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, Happy eating!

Colitis Chick

My mad colon

 

 

Chronic fatigue and colitis

What I don’t understand is I feel tired all the time even when it seems like I am in remission, but I’m not even sure I know when I’m in remission. I thought a flare = blood in the stool, but that’s not always the case with me. The other thing is, I don’t have a severe case of colitis. Mine is in the lower part of my colon and compared to other colitis sufferers, my case is mild. So why am I tired all the time? I’m not anemic. It could be because people with colitis don’t absorb nutrients and that could make me tired. But all my blood tests are normal and my doctor checked my thyroid and that is normal. Also, my hormones are normal. So what’s up with me?

I feel so frustrated because I feel like crap and the doctors can’t find anything really serious, but I’m scared. Who wants to feel tired and crappy all the time? I wonder if it’s a combination of things that are making me feel so sick—colitis, arthritis and moderate allergies (that cause chronic sinusitis) can all cause a person to feel crappy. It’s to the point where I can’t work anymore and I HATE that. I’m even having some mental problems that are freaking me out. Am I depressed? I have no idea. I suppose I could be depressed. I have good cause to be depressed having to deal with not one, but several medical conditions.

I don’t think I eat well either. I keep reading that a person should eat at least nine servings of vegetables a day. Nine? I don’t even eat that much in a day. How am I supposed to get in nine servings of vegetables? Most days I don’t want to eat much at all. Is that the same for most colitis sufferers? I’m trying to make my lunch more nutritional. I told my doctor what I was eating for lunch—crackers with cream cheese and her response was that it wasn’t very nutritional and was more like a snack rather than a meal. Hmm. She’s probably right. I’m trying to make improvements to my lunch by adding some tuna salad instead of cream cheese to the crackers. Crackers feel better on my tummy. The thought of eating nine servings of anything a day makes me feel queasy.

What do people with colitis like to eat?

Colitis Chick

My mad and tired colon

 

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To Eat or Not to Eat

This is one of the most important decisions when dealing with ulcerative colitis because eating the wrong foods can really suck. Lately I was wondering if it was normal to feel as if I was trying to pass a boulder every time I had a bowel movement. It got to the point where I was afraid to eat. Then I had a big DUH moment doing a search on fiber and how it affects people with colitis. I learned that there are two kinds of fiber. Never knew that. Soluble fiber is good for colitis; insoluble fiber is very bad for people with colitis. All along I had been eating whole wheat because I thought it was good for me, but guess what? It's an insoluble fiber. No wonder I was having so many problems. Since making some adjustments to my diet, things have been better, but not ideal. I suppose having colitis means that things will never be ideal, but it's better than trying to pass a boulder. Believe me.

This site has a list of soluble fibers: http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber1.asp

Having colitis means having to experiment and see which foods work and which foods cause pain, bloating, diarrhea and/or bleeding. Some of the most common offenders for colitis sufferers are dairy products, greasy foods, sugar, raw onions, raw vegetables and red meat. Those are the worst foods for me to eat.

I discovered that Ginger Ale is something I can't live without. It soothes my upset tummy and I drink it every day. White crackers are another food that I can eat and know that it won't make me sick. I call it my comfort food. Some of my favorite soluble fibers are any rice-based foods, bananas, avocados, flour tortillas, pasta and baked potatoes.

It might take some painful experimenting to find the foods that make having colitis a little bit easier to deal with, but it's worth the effort. Just watch out for that nasty insoluble fiber.

Cheers and good health!

Colitis Chick

My mad colon