CaitlinI Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I have Ulcerative Colitis, controlled by meds with an occasional flare-up. My first Whole30 was in October. I loved how it made me feel but I was very disappointed to have my UC flare up in the final days. I took December off, eating mostly Paleo but pretty much everything over the holidays. I started my second Whole30 January 1st and my UC has flared up again today, Day 27. I had hoped that this would be my answer and that I could avoid the occasional flare by eating this way all the time, but now I feel totally deflated. I think I'm on my way to AIP next time around. Any words of wisdom? It's so upsetting to come to the end of this challenge with such an obvious signal of defeat… twice. Boo hoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted January 29, 2015 Administrators Share Posted January 29, 2015 Super odd, because we have a couple other participants who have also experienced stomach distress out of the norm in their last week of Whole30. And in one case it was someone who had the same thing happen two W30's in a row. http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/24945-stomach-problems-at-the-end/ Some of the reasons this could be happening: * you aren't eating enough which can leave your digestive system prone to irritation. Your systems can't all fire as designed if they are not getting enough fuel * you are eating a lot of FODMAPS which can cause digestive distress and of which the effects can actually be cummulative. * you are eating too many nuts or too much raw veggies (especially including cruciferous like brocoli, cauli, bsprouts) * you eat a lot more of a particular item when you are on Whole30 than you do in your regular life, thereby provoking a sensitivity Do any of these sound reasonable? These are just my guesses, hopefully someone else will weigh in also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaitlinI Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thank you ladyshanny. Yes, I think (hope) you are right. And some of your suggestions could be what's going on. Except not eating enough, I'm definitely not doing that! However, I am eating many more eggs than usual, and I am wondering if that could be a cause. I do eat a lot of nuts, but fewer than I do when not on Whole30. I also eat many of the foods on the high FODMAP list with frequency, but not that much more than in "real life." Eggs are the one thing that I think have grown exponentially. The only other unusual event was after I made "chocolate chili" I had terrible stomach distress, before the flare. I'm not sure if that was just incidental or if that distress is what caused the flare. I don't know whether or not AIP is the answer. I think it just may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Some people have strong reactions to cocoa/cacao and coffee, something to keep in mind since the chocolate chilli contains cocoa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaitlinI Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 The more I think about it, the more I think I might be a candidate for low FODMAP. A day or two before the flare I had a huge pile of mushrooms in a restaurant. I'm not sure what kind of mushrooms they were, but nothing like I'd ever had before. And many things on the list are things I eat a lot of; avocado, prunes, cashews, apples, dates, onion, garlic, and the list goes on. I wonder if this is my answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinfowler2 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hmm. This is curious. My UC was so severe that two years post-diagnosis (and the second of those years was stronger and stronger steroids and other horrible meds), I ended up getting surgery to remove colon/rectum. So the organs are gone, along with the disease, but the autoimmune/inflammatory potential is there. I'm basically just one big inflammation; my whole body is immune compromised. I confess that I am shying away from AIP yet. It is super restrictive, but I'm beginning to think that I will have to suck it up and do that protocol. Here's my question: is following the AIP protocol intended to be a reset, after which (30 days, or 60, or however long) one might expect to be able to add in, say, the eggs or the restricted veggies/fruits, and manage them ok? Or is AIP going to end up being how I need to eat 364 out of 365 days, lest the symptoms of inflammation take hold again? Eating AIP for any amount of time is a big commitment, and eating it pretty much exclusively is even bigger. So the question I will have to answer is: is this worth the potential of reducing (if not eliminating) inflammation forever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted February 17, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 17, 2015 Hmm. This is curious. My UC was so severe that two years post-diagnosis (and the second of those years was stronger and stronger steroids and other horrible meds), I ended up getting surgery to remove colon/rectum. So the organs are gone, along with the disease, but the autoimmune/inflammatory potential is there. I'm basically just one big inflammation; my whole body is immune compromised. I confess that I am shying away from AIP yet. It is super restrictive, but I'm beginning to think that I will have to suck it up and do that protocol. Here's my question: is following the AIP protocol intended to be a reset, after which (30 days, or 60, or however long) one might expect to be able to add in, say, the eggs or the restricted veggies/fruits, and manage them ok? Or is AIP going to end up being how I need to eat 364 out of 365 days, lest the symptoms of inflammation take hold again? Eating AIP for any amount of time is a big commitment, and eating it pretty much exclusively is even bigger. So the question I will have to answer is: is this worth the potential of reducing (if not eliminating) inflammation forever? It's usually recommended to do a regular Whole30 first -- I know you're partway through one now, definitely finish that up, see if you notice any changes from it -- for some people, even some with autoimmune problems, it makes a big enough difference that they're happy with that. AIP works the same way as Whole30 -- you do it for at least 30 days (some resources I've seen say 60 is even better) and then you start doing reintroductions in a very systematic way to determine your reactions to different foods. Then you use those results to determine how you eat going forward. Here's a book review of a book specifically about reintroductions on AIP. You can google Whole30 AIP or Whole30 forum AIP to find more previous discussions as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinfowler2 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 ShannonM816, thanks so much for the encouragement, and for the links! I'll check them out. I recall seeing something (maybe on the W30 FB page?) about an autoimmune-specific book/nutrition plan endorsed by W30. I will probably do some of that reading while I do my full 30 days on W30 and then decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted February 17, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 17, 2015 ShannonM816, thanks so much for the encouragement, and for the links! I'll check them out. I recall seeing something (maybe on the W30 FB page?) about an autoimmune-specific book/nutrition plan endorsed by W30. I will probably do some of that reading while I do my full 30 days on W30 and then decide. Might have been this article about Sarah Ballantyne's book that you saw. Also, if you decide to go that route, Mel Joulwan of The Clothes Make The Girl did an AIP Whole30, links to each day's meals are here -- you might get some recipe ideas from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinfowler2 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Shannon, I totally adore Mel Joulwan! I've been almost exlusively following her recipes and meal suggestions. Yes, I absolutely will connect with her AIP blog posts and menu ideas. Thank you. Ditto on the Sarah Ballantyne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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