Post Whole30 with IBD?

[Jaxxie]

I completed my first Whole30 yesterday and today kicks off my reintroduction. I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD not the same as IBS) 6 years ago and this is one of many elimination diets I’ve tried.

I’m happy to report that I’ve seen a reduction in the number of times I had to go to the bathroom (dropped from 7-10 times daily at the onset to 3-4 as of yesterday). However, I’ve had an increase in gas pain and bloating for an obvious reason. I’ve been able to consume more cooked roughage than before but my body tolerated it fairly well. 

When I was first diagnosed I couldn’t have anything with fiber in it, which made eating anything a painful nightmare. My GI tract was so inflamed that drinking water and Boost or Ensure were tearful experiences. I’m grateful that I was able to tolerate cooked veggies and roughage so well on this as that wasn’t typically the case in the past. 

A few other highlights for me are that the redness on my face has cleared up a bit, skin has improved overall, and I lost 10 lbs. I think this was a good choice for me because I had a solid idea of what made my IBD symptoms worse and the Whole30 reaffirmed that better than some of the other elimination diets I did previously. 

I looked through the forum a lot before starting the Whole30 and throughout my elimination diet. I know that not everyone has the same IBD symptoms but I would love to hear from more IBD folks regarding how they felt about the Whole30 and how it impacted them.

Also, I was taking VSL3 before with mixed results. I stopped taking it leading up to the Whole30 and now I’m not sure if I should resume it or switch to something else. Any insights and recommendations would be appreciated!

[Kay47]

Hi Jaxxie,

This is a very belated reply so I hope you have been feeling well and managing your IBD symptoms since April. I have ulcerative colitis (IBD) and completed my first Whole30 a year ago. The past year has taught me so much about my gut and how foods affect me. Before my first round, I had major digestive issues. Scopes showed it wasn't a colitis flare, and every other test I had was negative. This left me so discouraged, because without knowing what the problem was, I couldn't find a solution. After all the research I've done, I believe I had leaky gut syndrome. I am SO happy I turned to Whole30 to truly heal my gut. I still take medications for my ulcerative colitis, but I now know how different foods affect me.

After my first round I had symptoms from most food reintroductions (stomach pain, eczema, bloating, frequent bathroom visits), most likely from the leaky gut not being healed yet. I did my second round 6 months later and had a much easier time reintroducing foods. I've tried to eat mostly whole30 over the last year to continue to heal my gut. That being said, I do indulge and I've learned that quantity/frequency is huge for how my stomach feels. Last week I had a banana bread muffin one day and an ice cream sandwich the next, I felt fine. But a few weeks ago I had a bagel, bread, and 2 beers in 2 days and I paid for all the gluten.

As far as the VSL3 goes, I also was taking that for about a year. I didn't notice a drastic difference when I stopped it. I now use MegaFood probiotics with turmeric. They have clean ingredients and it's cheaper than the VSL3 (and free, quick shipping from their website). I would check with your GI doc about changing probiotics, but I found I felt the same on both of them. It sounds like you had a ton of great benefits from the Whole30! Do you think you'll do another round? How have you been feeling since your first round? Good to hear from a fellow Whole30-er with IBD

Kay