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Going Gluten Free/Dairy Free

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/8/2011 12:38 PM (GMT -8)
My friend wants me to go Gluten Free/Dairy Free since he believes a lot of the symptoms I'm having with UC will be alleviated with that. His fiance has to be gluten/dairy/soy free and she does a lot better that way (although she never had an official diagnosis as to what was wrong with her). Not to mention she is in killer shape and healthy as an ox!

I am curious to know for those of you dealing with UC, if you've made dietary changes with GF/DF that have made substantial difference and/or put you in remission? I am aware of the SCD which is too extreme for me. But I think I can manage GF/DF if it would make my symptoms go away. Just curious if anyone has had luck with that.
Posted 8/8/2011 1:16 PM (GMT -8)
I changed my diet somewhat before I was diagnosed and there wasn't rhyme nor reason for my symptoms (except to say probably UC but not yet bleeding).
I was so grossly underweight from the constant diarrhea that most of whatever I ate seemed to cause me problems regardless. I kept a food diary for 2 years, and for sure noticed more gut discomfort from lactose, whole grains, fruits, nuts, etc.

After diagnosis I was elated to be under the care of a GI and on meds. I didn't get a LOT better immediately, but once I had the c-scope and on rectals...I improved slowly. I started eating a lot more, but limited what I ate during the day to no milk/fruit and had rice bread with eggs for breakfast. I ate whatever might bother me later in the evening...to gain the weight I needed to, because I was going to poo it out anyway the next day.


I think if you're wanting to do gluten/dairy free it's worth the effort. I personally don't believe it'll improve your UC symptoms, but might help regarding comfort/stool shapes, gas, etc...that some may confuse with UC symptoms.

There are many on here who can help with the process.

All you can do is try.

Keep us posted.
q
Posted 8/8/2011 1:48 PM (GMT -8)
Many people are intolerant of lactose and gluten and I am one of them (had the tests and the tests were dead wrong). It took me a looong time to figure out that those two caused many symptoms but when I eliminated them my UC began to improve. For me gluten-free made an immediate visible difference-bleeding stopped.

After that I began the rest of SCD which also gave me more improvement but slower. Although homemade yogurt and aged cheese is allowed on SCD it took me quite some time to learn that almost all dairy is bad for my gut.

You don't need to do SCD in order to learn if lactose and gluten removal helps you. But give it 30 days. If you have no improvement after that time you haven't lost anything and you've learned something. I would also suggest limiting sugar if you can. Good luck.
Posted 8/8/2011 2:45 PM (GMT -8)
Gluten free and dairy free helped me with urgency -- I also avoided things that were high in fructose and more obvious things like onions and beans. I mostly followed the fodmap diet, out of Australia. It's less restrictive than the SCD, and contradicts it in places (with the fructose especially, but also the dairy).

The diet changes helped me have fewer accidents and I felt a bit better, but I wouldn't say they helped my disease overall. I didn't go into remission from them, and I had all kinds of complications that they didn't stop (at the time they thought I probably had crohn's, now my doc leans toward uc, but is still not sure).

I think if I'd had a milder course of the disease, they might have helped more, though, and I encourage you to try.

I ended up having surgery, and now I am eating tons of wheat and dairy (and lots of smoothies) to make up for lost time -- and I'm doing fine.
Posted 8/8/2011 4:55 PM (GMT -8)
No "special" diets helped me. I eat whatever i want. My meds have helped me.
Posted 8/8/2011 5:37 PM (GMT -8)
Well for myself I didnt go completly gluten or dairy free.
I decided to go wheat free only and it helped. As for dairies its limited to special treats.

I noticed less bloating for sure. But going wheat free even though you arent intolerant (though im sensible to it) as many advantages.
Most of western food is made with wheat. And most fast food uses wheat too. So without noticing I end up avoiding pizzas, cakes, muffins, pastas, pies, everything deep fried and so on name it!
So at the end of the day you are avoiding most food that is bad for you cause not only they contain wheat but the wheat is mixed up with refined sugars, bad oils and so on.
I didnt have to do the gluten free route but only the wheat free route gave me lots of benefits (especially on the gas) and was less frustrating.
The only challenge I had was finding a nice moist bread for breakfast but after a few search and shops i found some bakers use speltflour, kamut, rye flour or sunflower flour to do their bread and its amazing.
But honestly i dont miss the rest.
good luck
Posted 8/8/2011 5:43 PM (GMT -8)
I did Gluten Free and had no luck, Dairy Free was minimal relief. If you do it, I would do one at a time. This way you will know which helps instead of doing them both together.
Posted 8/8/2011 5:57 PM (GMT -8)
I have been limiting lactose for a long time, but not worrying about dairy free. So I eat hard cheeses and foods containing casein without concern. I recently decided to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks because my meds were not covering my bowel symptoms all that well (no bloody diarrhea, but lots of crampy bms and urgency, interspersed with days of no bms and lots of bloating). The gluten free trial was really surprisingly successful, so I've stuck with it. I do not believe I have celiac, but instead have become gluten sensitive.

I would suggest that you try one of the options first, and then try the other. With gluten, you really need a few weeks to see if things are changing. In sensitive peopel, gluten can damage the cillia in the small bowel, and healing that damage takes time.

Dairy sensitivity - lactose intolerance is something you can determine quite easily by drinking a big glass of milk on an empty stomach. If you have gas, belching, cramps and perhaps diarrhea following this, you can be certain that it is because you are not making enough lactase, the enzyme you need to digest lactose.

Milk allergy sensitivity I guess would be to the proteins in dairy, the casein. That one I don't know much about.
Posted 8/9/2011 4:52 AM (GMT -8)
tiesto81,

I think it's a great idea.

You're right SCD is very restrictive, but many find it very helpful.

I think you'll be surprised to see how many of your symptoms will wean once you go dairy and wheat  and gluten free (there's a difference between wheat free and gluten free, you'll have to google it to get the nuances).

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Posted 8/9/2011 6:49 AM (GMT -8)
I tried SCD Diet for about 3 months and saw no improvement at all. I was in a severe flare up at the time and I was not on any medication - it was easy to deduct that the diet was not helping.
Posted 8/9/2011 8:15 AM (GMT -8)
I have been dairy intolerant for most of my 61 years, but back in the day, it was undiagnosed for many many years. When I was diagnosed with severe Colitis, IBS, Hiatal hernia, Gastro-Paresis and GERD I didn't connect gluten with all my woes. Almost 3 years ago, even though I tested negative for gluten, I went completely gluten free and of course have been dairy free for 25 plus years. I finally started feeling better.

Recently my GI told me that other than a slightly low iron count, my blood tests are completely normal. This is after many years of having such bad blood tests I was put into the hospital once in a while to pump what I needed into me.

Gluten free and dairy free is definitely a difficult way of life. You research everything thing you eat and stopping and grabbing some fast food is no longer an option in most cases. But you have to weigh one way of life over the other. In pain and sick, or just missing a hamburger or fried chicken. At 61 I feel somewhat cheated to have made it to this age with all these issues, but on the other hand, I made it!

I agree with the people above who suggested you try either gluten free or dairy free rather than stopping both. If you have found that everytime you drink milk, eat ice cream or a creamy soup and have gotten sick then you can stop the dairy and gluten. It would be obvious that the dairy bothers you.

I have to say that the avoidance of these foods combined with my Remicade has given me a pretty normal way of life. I have a DH who understands and supports me. I do miss some foods, but I don't miss feeling ill.

Good Luck.
Posted 8/9/2011 10:03 AM (GMT -8)
Eliminating or greatly reducing gluten and dairy is helpful to me. However, I will make this qualification: if you're in an active and moderate to severe flare, you may not notice much difference when making dietary modifications alone. Conversely, I've found the longer I'm in remission, the more latitude I have to eat problem foods.

I would highly recommend a quality probiotic be added to your dietary experimentations, if you're not already on one.
Posted 8/22/2011 12:21 AM (GMT -8)
I have had to eliminate gluten and lactose from my diet as part of investigations into UC and low B12 levels. It is quite easy to do, but the important thing is to work with a nutritionist for a healthy eating plan to make sure you still get a balanced diet. Cutting out dairy means cutting out calcium and gluten means you might just cut out on carbs and miss out on fibre and b vitamins. There are ways to achieve a properly balanced gluten and lactose free diet.
Posted 8/22/2011 12:41 AM (GMT -8)
Unfortunately I have tried so many diets and nothing seems to make a difference. The problem is you get sick so slowly and get better even slower. That makes is hard to know what makes a difference. My new motto is just to keep weight on. I have lost so much weight that I am all head!!
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