Help! Day 8 and bloody stool.

[acouchy]

I will apologize now... this is not a fun topic.

 

I am on day 8 of the autoimmune whole30. Up until now, everything has gone extremely well. I thought my biggest challenge would be breaking my sugar addiction. In reality, my first week without sugar was much easier than I ever thought it would be. I was so happy last night when I reached a week. Then this morning happens... bloody stool. Bloody stool has been my biggest fear.

 

Background story...

I have been wheat free for several years. When I went wheat free, I replaced wheat products with rice products. A year and a half ago I decided to ditch the processed rice products and replace them with salad and that is when I first experienced bloody stool. After an emergency trip to see my doctor he suggested a fiber drink. In the end I gave up and went back to rice bread.

 

My current meals...

Breakfast is usually a pork patty, grated fried yam, a piece of fruit and a date.

Lunch is usually a kale salad with carrot and cucumber with some sort of meat.

Dinner is meat with some veggies, a piece of fruit and a date.

I drink about 5-6 glasses of water and have 3-4 cups of tea per day.

In the last few days out of fear of this happening, I have also started eating a few prunes every day.

 

I have not had any beets either. It is definitely blood.

 

I am thinking this is a fiber issue but I seriously do not think I can eat much more than I already am. Then again, I have also had the thought that it could be a intestinal bacteria issue. 

 

I really do not want to have to stop my autoimmune Whole30.

 

Any ideas and/or advice would be appreciated.

[ladyshanny]

Yikes, that sounds scary! First off I don't think you are eating nearly enough volume of protein, fat or veggies...which would contribute to not having enough volume in your system to be moved through your body.

 

If you are feeling full before eating the larger volume of veggies that you need, I would suggest ditching the apple and the date in favour of veggies at both meals. 

 

Someone on another thread also recommended cooking your veggies so that you can eat a larger volume of them.  You need between 1 and 3 CUPS of veggies at each meal....and that does not include salad greens.  Salad greens you need a LOT more because once you have chewed them, they are basically disintegrated down to nothing.

 

Whole30 recommends half an ounce of water per pound of body weight.  Tweak that depending on what you weigh and drink MORE until your body sorts its intestinal issues out. 

 

I don't have experience in it but people here also take digestive enzymes which you may find helpful, hopefully someone with experience there will chime in for you.

[Carlaccini]

I cannot specify where this comes from, but I know when my FIL had huge digestive issues after a operation I remember delving into this a lot.

 

When you eat vegetable - any vegetable you should cook it.  Well.  Now that may sound very unappetizing (I agree) but it could be that any fiberous veggies are causing distress on your intestines. So want you may want to do is back away from cruciferous veggies (ie: kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage) for a bit and just stick with well cooked veggies such as squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots, basically veggies that are easy on your digestive system and see how it goes.  

 

You might experiment with adding soups using homemade bone broth (very helpful in helping to heal gut issues).  

 

Also stay away from the dates.  Yes they are fruit but they are also known for causing digestive problems.

 

Also you either are not consuming fat or you are not listing it.  Start consuming some fats. Olives, olive oil, anything coconut.  I would personally stay away from nuts.  They cause distress and inflammation for many.

[acouchy]

Thank you for the advice... I really appreciate it. Definitely given me some good ideas.

 

Definitely a frustrating problem. My boyfriend has been eating pretty much the same meals as me. He eats a different salad and meat for lunch. He has not had any issues. He exercises a lot (always training) and he has a huge appetite and eats 4x what I do. Volume must be a big part of my issue. I have been ill for 16 years and because I am unable to exercise my appetite is not very large. I have always been a snacker. So eating enough in 3 meals a day is an issue with me. Water is probably also an issue. Because I don't exercise I find that I am never thirsty. I always plan my water intake. My GP told me that I do not need 8 glasses. This experience makes me wonder. Maybe I should up it 8 plus my teas.

 

I have been adding fats into my meals. Forgot to mention that part. Cook most of my veggies and meat with either olive oil or coconut oil. I made beef bone broth on day one. I drank 1/2 cup of some one day with my lunch and I found it revolting. So I decided to hide it in some shepards pie and used it in my onion gravy for my pork roast. I drink coconut milk in my black teas and cook a lot with it... used it in a chicken casserole last week. Thank you for the olive idea... I love them and keep forgetting to pick some up. I will consider giving up salad at lunch and having some kind of cooked veggies.

 

I believe I also suffer from IBS although I have never received an official diagnosis. My GP only calls my issues cranky bowel. I have experienced a lot of undigested foods in the past. I found that adding rye bread, goat cheese and blue cheese to my diet solved my undigested food issues in the past. I don't know if this is playing a part in my current issue.

 

Definitely given me some good ideas and a lot to think about.

 

Finding it funny that I thought no sugar was going to be my main problem.

[Carlaccini]

If you have IBS symptoms then definitely cut out the cruciferous veggies.  If you must have them have them overcooked in a blended soup version. (You can hide your bone broth in there)  

 

For water the recommended dosage is 1/2 and ounce for every pound you weigh.  Even if you are not that active.  I too am not terribly active either (with the exception of taking walks) but I do need water.  And just FYI tea does count towards your daily liquid intake (coffee does not though)

 

Onions and garlic may or may not cause problems as well.  Some people who have IBS symptoms have issues with them as well.  You might want to experiment with that. 

[acouchy]

I like the soup idea. For my lunch anyways... my boyfriend is not a soup eater. I have been trying to please both of us on this nutritional adventure. Turns out he is the picky eater... not me.

 

Thank you for the 1/2 oz water per pound. I haven't come across that anywhere. I weigh 127lb... so 63.5oz or 7.9 cups. My water and tea intake cover that. That is good to know.

 

It sounds like I should also follow the low FODMAP shopping list. Oh boy...

[Carlaccini]

What we recommend around these parts is do a regular whole 30.  If you feel you need to follow AIP or low FODMAPS then do one of those after.  It's a little overwhelming to get into it right in the beginning.  Although we definitely encourage tweaking your whole 30 to fit your needs.

 

Your whole 30 is about you.  It is very good and nice that you are trying to cook for you and your boyfriend but he's a grown up and can do his own thing.  If he doesn't like soup that's more his problem then yours.

 

My BF (whom I live with) does eat more SAD than Paleo.  He is too attached to pasta and cheese to completely eliminate it.  But we mostly always eat the same meal together.  For instance we both love Butter Chicken.  I have it served over roasted squash, and he has it over rice.    That means I'm in charge of making sure I have squash on hand specifically for my side, and he is in charge of cooking rice for his.  What are your BF's reasons for doing a whole 30?  Is it because he wanted to do this with you or you asked him to do this with you?  There is a big difference.

[acouchy]

Update... things are looking better on day 9. No blood. I drank extra water yesterday and forced myself to eat more veggies. I nuked my salad until the carrots were soft. I am hopeful it was just a little blip on this journey.

 

My boyfriend has been fantastic. A few years ago my specialist recommended that I try a paleo diet. My boyfriend loved the idea and was totally in to it. He really encouraged me to keep with it and really wanted to do it with me. So we did a very strict paleo diet for a month and both of us were very happy with the results. Both of us lost a little weight and loved not being so bloated. So we kept wheat free and continued to eat paleo meals more often.

 

The Whole30 was my idea. Read a little about it a few months ago and thought it was the logical next step. Ordered the book, it arrived on a Wednesday and I started it on Monday. My boyfriend was planning on starting it mid January but I wanted to start it now because I did the math and there was just enough time to sneak it in before Xmas parties and our vacation. He liked my reasoning and decided he was all in. We both want to try it for different reasons. I am ill with a possible autoimmune disease and he trains for triathlons. I found that going wheat free greatly helps my digestive tract issues and he has found that the weight loss and less bloating helps with his triathlon training.

 

Probably doesn't sound this way but our paths are a little different. His problem is that he gets home at 9:30 pm on most week nights (he trains after work) and that is too late to make his own dinner. So I do my best to create dinner that we will both enjoy. He makes his own lunch. I make our main breakfast (pork breakfast patties and yam hashbrowns) but he still eats eggs so he makes his own. My illness is a strain and I figure healthy eating is my gift to him for dealing with so much.
 

I works out pretty well as long as I have everything made ahead of time and ready to go. This stool issue has made me have to rethink and replan some meals. A challenge when you are ill and suffer from energy problems. He is going grocery shopping this morning to get items for me to make soup so I can rest a little.

[Carlaccini]

Good to hear that things are a little better today!  

 

Awesome to hear that you have some good support too! That is very important.  Even if it is just the support from the forums sometimes (but yes it is much better when you get it home)

[jess_ar]

I am so glad I found this thread, I am on day 12 of my whole 30, and I had been feeling great until yesterday. I had beef, brussel sprouts and broccoli for lunch and same for dinner. It was a bad idea to combine them or maybe I over ate them but gosh, today I am feeling gross, gassy and bloated!! I didn't know about the FODMAPs, but I might give it a try once i finish my whole 30. Meanwhile, I am planning on cutting down on broccoli and banning brussel sprouts from my diet!! Dont wanna feel like this again. I have also experienced bloody stool, hoping whole 30 will help me cure that or at least stabilize my collon problems. Carlaccini you mentioned some examples of veggies that are easy to digest, like carrots and sweet potatoes. I actually love these, they are my staples. Can u give me some more examples please? Now that I won't have broccoli in my life for a while , cabbage and brussels, I am running out of ideas.