Re: Frustrated... How long before you see improvement

[Guest guest]

Everyone is different.  As adults it seems to take longer than the kids to have improvement.  Have you had any small signs of improvement?

 

I started December -05.  I didn't stop having straight (all the time) 'd' until the middle of last summer.  I can tell pretty fast now if there's a problem.  I can eat outside the diet also to a certain extent--some things more than others.

 

They say at 3mos, 9mos, 1yr, etc. you'll have adjustments (flares or die-off) but they don't last long then you get over that and see more improvement.

 

As for drive-thru's, I used to get mad and drive through someplace, not see anything 'remotely' legal and drive on.  It was bad until the one time I was nearly crying--crazy carbs.  So from that point on, I decided to view food as medicinal no matter what anyone says or thinks or how I feel.

 

I had very limited options (financial, health, etc.) to do anything other than SCd.  That may make a difference.

 

You can do it as long as you see light at the end of the tunnel or as long as you see some type of improvement.

 

Lemon curd is eazy and goood!  So is acorn squash baked cut side down, add a mix of legal plain yellow mustard and honey whipped together and bake it awhile longer--don't add honey mix to the scooped part (scooped side up) until it's tender enough to poke with a knife.

Add dripped half n half yogurt on top and it's really good.

 

Just avoid peanut butter and pork rinds and maybe baked goods six months or so.  You may eat that to extreme (some do) to make up for the carb crazies or the sugar screamers.  (That's what they say anyway).  I had my first bag of pork rinds last night without any ill effects today.  It's hard to imagine.  Not that I'm back where I started before CD but it's better than since I got ill in 2002.

 

Debbie 41 cd houston--living life on the net ;-)

 

I'm still suffering from flare ups (even though this is the first three weeks of the diet). This is graphic: but lots of gas (although the 14-16 trips a day is cut in half.But it's embarrassing, and frustrating. I haven't cheated on the diet yet (no sugar, starches, dairy with lactose, chocolate, gluten, etc;) but it seems like my stomach is still upset.

I'm whining, I know but I feel extremely frustrated. Instead of throwing in the towel (like I've done in the past and head straight to cheer myself up with a fast food meal) -- turned to making a fritata instead and checking in here for some answers.

How long does it take to see some significant progress on the diet? What should I do until then?

[Guest guest]

I'm still suffering from flare ups (even though this is the first three weeks of the diet). This is graphic: but lots of gas (although the 14-16 trips a day is cut in half.But it's embarrassing, and frustrating. I haven't cheated on the diet yet (no sugar, starches, dairy with lactose, chocolate, gluten, etc;) but it seems like my stomach is still upset.I'm whining, I know but I feel extremely frustrated. Instead of throwing in the towel (like I've done in the past and head straight to cheer myself up with a fast food meal) -- turned to making a fritata instead and checking in here for some answers.How long does it take to see some significant progress on the diet? What should I do until then? SCD is is natural healing - not the kind of healing practiced in western medicine whereeverything magically happens immediately after you take the pill. It can take weeks andmonths and years to heal properly and the trajectory is usually not linear. Patience is a necessity. So, in order to heal well on this diet, you have to change your expectations that fullhealing will take place on some accelerated schedule. True, that happens for somepeople, but for most people it doesn't.In light of the above, congratulations - your major symptom has already reduced by half during the rocky initial period when your entire gut ecology is being changed around. But the mental adjustment to this method of healing can take quite a while. But after awhile it will make lots of sense to you. If you are having that much gas, it means that you have a lot of pathogenic bacteriastirring things up - and part of the reason you are experiencing cravings, if you are, is because they are tinging your brain really hard to feed them before they croak. Have you tried epsom baths and activated charcoal? Are you eating tons of bone broth? what else are you doing? Also, if you cheat, while it may taste good while the food is in your mouth for 30 seconds, not to mention the brief afterglow, you'll probably get noticeably increased symptoms forhours, days or even weeks afterwards. Kind of an incentive not to cheat, becauseyou will experience first hand that they only harm you.Mara

[Guest guest]

Maybe I tried to speed up use of the baked goods too much. (Ate baked goods with

Almond Flour over the weekend.)

[Guest guest]

It took me a long long time to tolerate nut flour. I still hardly ever eat them.

Start with baked goods with nut butter first. 3 weeks is still really early

though. Go slow...

PJ

>

> Maybe I tried to speed up use of the baked goods too much. (Ate baked goods

with Almond Flour over the weekend.)

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks I will cut them out for now. I notice that my tummy symptoms are

beginning to improve a little bit now that I stopped eating the goods with the

almond flour in them.

Will stay with the pureed veggies and the meats (and some fruits/fruit juices)

and the yogurt (just a teeny tiny bit) for now.

> >

> > Maybe I tried to speed up use of the baked goods too much. (Ate baked goods

with Almond Flour over the weekend.)

> >

>

[Guest guest]

At 06:34 PM 4/27/2010, you wrote:

How long does it take to see

some significant progress on the diet? What should I do until then?

You said, " This is graphic: but lots of gas (although the 14-16

trips a day is cut in half). "

If that isn't " significant progress, " what is?

How long have you been ill?

As for what you do: stick religiously and fanatically to SCD.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle

[Guest guest]

I haven't been eating tons of bone broth (unfortunately). I have started eating

cheese again, (which may be part of the problem.)

Besides the cheese, I had been eating chicken, lamb, red meat, zucchini (with

the skins off -- which I seemed to do well on), green beans and spinach.

This week, I also introduced the pureed cauliflower (but I notice I have a

reaction to the cauliflower too (it contains a little bit of pressed garlic in

it.)

I'm restarting the intro diet this weekend, and plan to stick with it as long as

feasible (last time, I got really weak and hungry on it.) I discontinued eating

yogurt because of the bad reaction, but plan to purchase some goats' milk from a

local producer to see if that helps.

I have activated charcoal, but I would like advice about how to take it (and

when), and bought some epsom salts (but haven't done but one.)

>

> > I'm still suffering from flare ups (even though this is the first three

weeks of the diet). This is graphic: but lots of gas (although the 14-16 trips a

day is cut in half.

> >

> > But it's embarrassing, and frustrating. I haven't cheated on the diet yet

(no sugar, starches, dairy with lactose, chocolate, gluten, etc;) but it seems

like my stomach is still upset.

> >

> > I'm whining, I know but I feel extremely frustrated. Instead of throwing in

the towel (like I've done in the past and head straight to cheer myself up with

a fast food meal) -- turned to making a fritata instead and checking in here for

some answers.

> >

> > How long does it take to see some significant progress on the diet? What

should I do until then?

>

>

> SCD is is natural healing - not the kind of healing practiced in western

medicine where

> everything magically happens immediately after you take the pill. It can take

weeks and

> months and years to heal properly and the trajectory is usually not linear.

Patience is a necessity.

>

> So, in order to heal well on this diet, you have to change your expectations

that full

> healing will take place on some accelerated schedule. True, that happens for

some

> people, but for most people it doesn't.

>

> In light of the above, congratulations - your major symptom has already

reduced by half

> during the rocky initial period when your entire gut ecology is being changed

around.

>

> But the mental adjustment to this method of healing can take quite a while.

But after a

> while it will make lots of sense to you.

>

> If you are having that much gas, it means that you have a lot of pathogenic

bacteria

> stirring things up - and part of the reason you are experiencing cravings, if

you are,

> is because they are tinging your brain really hard to feed them before they

croak.

>

> Have you tried epsom baths and activated charcoal? Are you eating tons of

bone broth?

> what else are you doing?

>

> Also, if you cheat, while it may taste good while the food is in your mouth

for 30 seconds,

> not to mention the brief afterglow, you'll probably get noticeably increased

symptoms for

> hours, days or even weeks afterwards. Kind of an incentive not to cheat,

because

> you will experience first hand that they only harm you.

>

>

> Mara

>

[Guest guest]

Me too! 3 days of antibiotics turned into what is now 3 months of flaring for me. Damn! Still on lots of steroids and i've made a small dent in getting better but right now it's not making much of a difference what I eat. Which kinda sucks. I'm going to be filling out that packet of info soon from the same place you used in Colorado. Hopefully that will get me to turn the corner and get on track to healing a little quicker.-UC - 1+ yearsSCD - 8 months 100% strict and 4 months restricted diet.Asacol - 12 pills a day Prednisone 40mg entocort With vit E mixed inBack to intro/stage 1 for now.To: BTVC-SCD From: smdsmom2008@...Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:40:28 +0000Subject: Re: Frustrated... How long before you see improvement

Hi ,

I wish you have not had such a hard time. You have really been a trooper learning to cook SCD and stick to the diet. I know for a young single guy this is hard. I am hoping for you to turn the corner.

PJ

>

>

> How long does it take to see

> some significant progress on the diet? What should I do until then?

>

>

> You said, "This is graphic: but lots of gas (although the 14-16

> trips a day is cut in half)."

>

>

> If that isn't "significant progress," what is?

>

>

> How long have you been ill?

>

>

> As for what you do: stick religiously and fanatically to SCD.

>

>

>

> —

> Marilyn

>

> New

> Orleans, Louisiana, USA

>

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

>

> Darn Good SCD Cook

>

> No Human Children

>

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

>

> Babette the Foundling Beagle

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> __________________________________________________________

> Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox.

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[Guest guest]

You're probably the first person whose actually asked me that Marilyn.

I've been ill for 19 years with IBS, and it's profoundly impacted my life. When

you suffer from a chronic autoimmune illness, like IBS, where you're able to

function (sort of) few people believe you. My own family called me a

hypochondriac for years. And back in the day (in the early 1990s) some

internists (like the one I had) believed that IBS was psychological in origin. I

was told to cut down on my stress and see a psychologist.

I saw one, thinking my symptoms were just an overreaction to stress as a college

student. I went on psych meds, but they didn't seem to help. After graduation,

my IBS was debilitating. I could only manage working a part time job at the

time. I searched for answers by going to a GI doctor, only to be told there was

nothing wrong with me. That, of course, sent me through another round of

psychologists and psych meds for " anxiety attacks " . My stomach issues persisted.

I was housebound for nearly four years because of IBS, (frequent trips to the

bathroom, gas, etc;). All the while being called lazy and a hypochondriac, and

not being taken seriously. I finally got a full time job (which I surprisingly

still managed to keep -- ) but the round robin trips to the bathroom and the

" accidents' throughout the day have made me a literal laughing stock at the

office.

It was only by happenstance that I found out about SCD. A GI doc said gas could

be caused by a high carbohydrate diet with a list of foods to avoid. (He never

told me about the SCD). I just happened to Google carbs and gas, and found out

about the SCD. I ordered it.

IBS has nearly ruined my life.

I think I know part of the reason I'm having a severe flare up (it's

hormonoal-related). But, it still sucks, though.

I'm going to stick with it, but I'm probably going to redo the basic diet for

now, and skip out on the cheese for a while.

> >How long does it take to see some significant

> >progress on the diet? What should I do until then?

>

> You said, " This is graphic: but lots of gas

> (although the 14-16 trips a day is cut in half). "

>

> If that isn't " significant progress, " what is?

>

> How long have you been ill?

>

> As for what you do: stick religiously and fanatically to SCD.

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> Babette the Foundling Beagle

>

[Guest guest]

I did add garlic to the cauliflower. And I noticed my symptoms increased after I

ate the pureed cauliflower, so I'm going to skip on that for a while too.

I didn't realize that cauliflower was an advanced food. I thought since it was

pureed it would be simple to digest. I was doing well just eating zucchini,

chicken, green beans, spinach, (meats)... and a little applesauce/pearsauce for

dessert. I think I'm going to go back to the basic diet (the chicken soup) then

start from scratch with the zucchini.

I guess I sped up a little because I was getting a little impatient.

>

> Have you tried the basic recipes in the BTVC book? Also the stages on

> pecanbread.com may help.

>

> Did you add the garlic to the cauliflower? Cauliflower may be considered

> advanced to some. Garlic also depending on the amount. Almond flour is

> also advanced.

>

> All vegetables and fruits should be cooked, peeled and deseeded until you

> see improvements in symptoms.

>

> Make intro foods you tolerate like gelatin, chicken soup with carrots,

> hamburger patties, broiled fish, cheesecake, yogurt, DCCC if you can find

> it, add steamed or baked zucchini--see how it goes, add pumpkin pie filling

> and see how it goes--go a day or two (maybe four) in between adding each new

> food. Lemon curd is easy--no crust on the cheesecake or lemon curd for

> now. Meringues. Try small amounts of legal medium cheddar cheese off the

> bar--not pre-grated. Bone broth with a cap of apple cider vinegar to leach

> the minerals out is great also to alternate with chicken soup. Winter

> squash, french cut green beans, etc. Check out the book and the stages.

> Wait to try anything other than very basic foods. You can roast whole

> chickens with lemon and salt. Chicken livers, lamb, steak, shrimp, broiled

> fish. There's no reason to go hungry even on the intro. There's no limit

> on foods, just types of food. Don't try any raw salads. salsas, etc. right

> now. Dilute all juices by at least 50% with filtered water. No seltzer for

> now.

>

> Some of the recipes you are seeing are tempting right now. Just look at it

> like medicine. We all have emotional value in food. For now, it's here to

> make you healthy. Avoid even legal junk food like pork rinds.

>

> Nut butters soon but probably not yet.

>

> Just make sure it's all cooked, peeled and deseeded. Cuts of meat are

> better than ground meat because they add a lot of fat to the ground meat.

> Avoid OJ for now until you are better. The book says avoid eggs until 'd'

> has really improved.

>

> As for the yogurt, you could try acidolpholus caps for now then check later

> with like 1/8t. to see how you react. At least you'll know if it's the

> dairy or die-off.

>

> Good luck, the book really does have good beginner (and advanced) recipes to

> get you started. I ate the same thing basically rotating for four days for

> months and months--and months adding or trying one thing at a time. I

> couldn't eat garlic for a long time. Tomatoes, winter squash (still iffy on

> that one but it doesn't kill me now).

>

> The above is imho. If it seems familiar, Kim M. and Marilyn were very

> patient and helpful with me the entire time (no idea why!). It was hard

> finding anything vegetable or fruit I could eat. It's doable.

>

> Debbie 41 cd houston

>

[Guest guest]

Congratulations on one year! I'm just starting so your post is encouraging to

me. I'm very lucky that the D stopped right away for me - pretty much on Day 2.

Things certainly aren't " normal " but I'm hopeful.

> > > >

> > > > Maybe I tried to speed up use of the baked goods too much. (Ate baked

> > goods with Almond Flour over the weekend.)

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

At 09:22 PM 4/29/2010, you wrote:

IBS has nearly ruined my

life.

I think I know part of the reason I'm having a severe flare up (it's

hormonoal-related). But, it still sucks, though.

I'm going to stick with it, but I'm probably going to redo the basic diet

for now, and skip out on the cheese for a while.

Trust me, I understand. Take a look at my signature: " Undiagnosed

IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001. "

Mine started about two months after I went on birth control pills.

No doctors listened to me.

In 1976, I had normal digestive function, and weighed 130 pounds. I was

to be married in July, and Harry and I did not want to start a family

immediately, so I visited a recommended gynecologist who prescribed birth

control pills. I questioned the fact that “the Pill” would force my

system to a 28 day cycle instead of my normal 35 day cycle. I was told

airily that “my system would adjust to the new cycle.”

By the time I saw the gynecologist six months later, I had on-going

diarrhea and urgency which made it very difficult to work as a special

education teacher. Days lost to diarrhea were a factor in my not

continuing as a teacher. I had also gained around 50 pounds. The

gynecologist’s comment was that I could lose the weight if I wanted to,

but clearly, now that I’d snared a husband, I didn’t see any reason to

maintain myself. He also threatened that if I couldn’t stop stuffing my

face, I would have to have surgery to remove part of my gut. That

comment, BTW, was why I never saw a gynecologist again until 2008, and

why the endometrial cancer became cancer -- it could have been caught

before it was cancer if I'd had regular Pap smears, but I refused to

subject myself to that kind of emotional abuse. My questions about the

onset of the diarrhea and the weight gain being related to “the Pill”

were dismissed as irrelevant. “Take a little lomotil if it bothers you,”

I was told.

I never went back to that gynecologist, or any other.

By the time my weight hit 225, I was feeling desperate. I paid for an

endocrinologist out of my own pocket. I had explosive diarrhea as a

result of the glucose tolerance test (though I didn’t know at the time

that that was what caused it), I was told that everything was normal, and

that I could lose weight if I wanted to, by getting a little exercise,

like pushing myself away from the table. I was accused of cheating when I

gained weight on his high carbohydrate, low fat diet.

I never went back to that endocrinologist.

The following year, I was introduced to a program called Diet Workshop. I

bought cook books, and prepared my own food. Using a stationary bicycle,

and 4 miles of walking five days a week, I peeled 90 pounds off. I kept

it off for three years. The diet was remarkably similar to SCD, except

that it did allow processed foods and grain products.

In May 1982, I fell and injured my back and knees. Between May and

October, I regained 68 pounds, thanks to a complete inability to

exercise. Over the next seven years, my weight steadily crept up, back to

225 and beyond. No matter how little I ate of real food, I couldn’t lose

weight. I was also in a fair way to becoming a prescription addict

because the only thing which gave me relief from my back and knee pain

was codeine. I was told, of course, that my back issues would clear up,

if I’d just lose weight. All I had to do was discipline myself and stop

stuffing my face.

In 1988, I found a partial solution to the back pain issues with an

alternative product containing GLA, gamma linolenic acid. At least I no

longer needed the codeine, but I still had to limit activity or I would

end up throwing up from pain.

In 1989, I learned of the Optifast program (one of Oprah's many attempts

to lose weight and keep it off), and embarked on a diet which features

five 80 calorie “shakes” a day that were so sickeningly sweet with

artificial sweeteners that I was ready to kill for something savory. I

lost 50 pounds. Seventeen of it in the first week thanks to diarrhea. By

program standards, I should have lost 100. If, of course, I wasn’t

cheating. I wasn’t, but, hey, everyone knows that the real reason

fatties are fat is because they just won’t stop stuffing their faces and

are too lazy to get a little exercise. As always, when I asked what

exercises I could do when walking hurt, and so did everything else, I was

told, “You’ll think of something... if you want to.”

I managed to keep my weight mostly stable for around seven years, but I

was never able to loose any more weight, and I couldn’t afford to redo

the Optifast program. Insurance, of course, wouldn’t pay for it because

weight loss is merely a cosmetic issue. Besides, everyone knows that

fatties are fat because they just won’t stop stuffing their faces.

In 1999, around the time I began to hit menopause, my weight went

completely out of control. The less I ate, the more weight I gained. I

was depressed and miserable. But hey, I had the solution for that – if I

could discipline myself – all I had to do was get a little exercise –

like pushing myself away from the table.

Of course, the fact that the diarrhea and urgency I’d suffered with for

23 years was also out of control had no relation to my weight issues. The

fact that I was tempted to wear adult diapers when we went out to eat

because I could count on not making it home without a blowout wasn’t a

real medical issue. If I mentioned the problem to a doctor – any doctor –

the response was, “Just take a little lomotil if it bothers you.”

I will never forget the morning in 2000 when I opened the Waldenbooks at

Oakwood (Gretna, Louisiana, closed in 2001). I was the only employee in

the store. Around 10:30, I had explosive diarrhea – and could not leave

the sales floor to clean up. I had to call another employee and beg them

to come in – and they took an hour and a half to get there. Meanwhile, I

hid behind the cash register, feces running down my legs, continuing to

ring out customers and pray I didn’t have to leave the register. When the

other employee arrived, I tied my sweater around my hips to hide the

brown stains all over my trousers. I took paper towels and cleaned up the

mess on the carpet behind the register. I walked out, hoping no one would

notice it was me dribbling all over the tiles on my way out of the

mall. The response when I called for medical help? “Take a

little lomotil if it bothers you!” Bothers me?!

Fortunately, I had on-line access. After significant research, I found a

book called Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall. I

read it – a diet which was a solution for Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative

Colitis, diverticulitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. I have followed it

for the last nine years. The only time I have difficulties if is I eat

out and my food gets contaminated with “illegals.” We cut a full hour

from our travel time on a trip to Atlanta because we did not have to make

bathroom stops every two hours for me. There is no way I will ever go off

it for any reason.

So yes, I do understand. It's one of the reasons I dedicate as much time

as I do to this list. BTW, my issues always got worse around the time of

my menstrual cycle. SCD does heal -- but it also takes time. I was

sick for 25 years. <wry grin> Be kind of silly of me to have

expected I would get well in a couple of months.

SCD is a healing diet, and improvement does happen. It's like the day I

went shopping at a mall, and realized I wasn't hunting for every

restroom, so I could sprint to it when the urgency hit. Or the month that

I realized I'd had " trophies " all month -- and hadn't had to

change my underwear three times a day.

Keep in mind that this list exists to help. I think you knew you'd seen

improvement, but all of us want to be better instantly. We get frustrated

when it doesn't happen. But it will. Two steps forward and one step

back.... over and over and over.... and one day, you will know that

you've improved, without a doubt.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle

[Guest guest]

Hey, I'm sorry for what you've been through, but I wanted to say I understand too.I've had digestive problems for 12.5 years now.You have no idea the abuse I endured as result the neurological problems I experienced from neurotoxins and _severe_ malnourishment from extremely bad malabsorption.

The years I've lost completely.. including at least one where the majority of the time I spent lying on my stomach on my parents family room floor. No one helped. I would go to the doctor - " well, you have depression... " I took every anti-depressant under the sun. SRRIs, tri-cylics, lithium, cylert, combinations, etc, they even gave me an anti-psychotic out of desperation at which point I walked away. Nothing helped

Granted, I did have depression, but I had had that for awhile, and I did have PTSD (which they did not identify).However, they did not identify that I had a stomach problem despite me telling them I had pain, and I had obvious bloating. My pain started after I took zoloft. After they took me off it, it stayed. I told them " my stomach still hurts. " My psychiatrist said " That's not possible. "

WTF am I supposed to do with that? He was implying it was in my head, and not real.They did not identify that my immune system had started to attack my already comprised adrenals. They did eventually find it was attacking my thyroid, and put me on tons of unnecessary meds for that (I got off when I went SCD). What I was eating was poisoning me, and my adrenals were getting their asses kicked.

But the years lost on and off in my parents house, sick, alone, were actually the better years. You don't want to know what happened to me as the neuro symptoms got worse.You are very lucky you had a safe place to live for 4 years not working. I did not. I struggled trying to take care of myself, sick, alone, for years. I spent a year living in youth hostels in NYC, very ill.

Eventually, in short, my health degraded until I had to move back in with my mother again. Thank God I had found SCD at that point, was trying to implement it. unsuccessfully with her. In short, she got fed up, refused to help me get my own housing, literally threw me out and with my neuro symptoms  and forced me to go to a residential psychiatric facility. I had no where else to  go - I could not return to a homeless shelter, as there would have been nothing I could eat. None of my friend's had enough money to support me, and though they might have giving me shelter, at least short term, I could not work and would have no way to buy food.

Unfortunately, she sent me to a very bad facility, where almost immediately I became subject to very bad physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse. They don't like to let people leave - it's bad for their reputation and statistics if they still have symptoms. I was held completely illegally and against my will, for 1.5 years. They cut off my contact with the outside world,illegally. I was not even allowed to speak to my mother for 11 months. I was not sick enough to be there - my insurance wouldn't pay for it, the government wouldn't pay for it. my mother had gotten money out of selling the house in the divorce (silicon valley had skyrocketed property values in my town). she paid out of pocket. I had no recourse. In my efforts to get out, they threatened to take me to court and have me court ordered there. They lied about me and symptoms, I knew it was hopeless. That was their standard operating procedure anyways. I was not psychotic - I have never had a psychotic symptom in my life. Soon, they forced me to take 2 anti-psychotics and misdiagnosed me as schizoaffective. Worse, some symptoms I were experiencing from physical health problems made me look weird (which actually was quite socially awkward on the outside, beyond what I would like to talk about. Anyways, I suffered actually quite horrible embarressment, shame and humiliation). No one I met for a few minutes, like a judge, would believe me. I'd studied those court cases in school anyways. The average case lasts 5 minutes. They are shams. All you need is 1 MD to say you're crazy, and your done. And with no contact outside world - I would have no way of getting someone to testify for me, or a second opinion.

Another patient, (who had less to lose.. he was already enmeshed in the court system, for drug conviction. Once you're court ordered into treatment, you lose rights, and those people can F*** with you further. If I had been court ordered, they would have killed me. They probably wouldn't even give me the little bits of somewhat SCD legal food (and stage inappropriate) they were giving me. They had threatened to take that away before) my friend, did go to court with them. They F******* with him. He pushed the legal as best he could. They fooled him. Eventually, the judge told him best they could do was blah blah blah hold hospital. Somehow, they had managed to scare him. My friend didn't understand - I told him, you blew it, you could've gotten to a hospital, and gotten out after a hold or maybe transferred. But he had no where to go outside either. It was hopeless.

Anyways, even when I got out, into their satellite case management program, I was still in terrible trouble, subject to abuse from their staff, sick, medicated out of my mind. And they were forcing me to go to college, and then get work part time. I struggled horribly, and was unable to even properly do the diet even when I finally had more of a chance. I continued to suffer badly from neurotoxins. Years went by.

Their policy was to punish people for symptoms, into compliance. They bizarrely consider that some sort of behavioral correction. That doesn't work. For being sick, tired, weak, everything, I was punished. All day, every day.

The office of mental health, after I got out, got wind of some of the stuff they were doing. They said stuff they were doing that I didn't even know was illegal was illegal. They revoked their license, fined them, eventually reissued them a lesser license. They can't do to anyone what they did to me now, but they still do bad stuff. OMH is now trying to revoke their license completely, last i heard it was still in court. OMH interviewed me. I'm trying to join a class action suit started by other patients. It's being stalled by the court system in that county.

Now, my physical health (inevitably) crashed. after missing days of work on and off, my boss finally gave me spring break off and told me to stay home and get better. I finally, for the first time, would have a chance to try intro again. Already sick and desperate, terrified of how weak and incapcitated I might become, with no choice I tried it. Contrary to my expectations, I was not as incapcitated as I was afraid, in fact my head cleared for the first time in 12 years, and my neuro symptoms got better. I struggle with anger - I had known about the diet for 6 years, I had tried to get the help I needed to implement it. 6 years, completely lost, for no good reason.

Anyways, i'm glad you've started SCD, and best wishes for your recovery

 

You're probably the first person whose actually asked me that Marilyn.

I've been ill for 19 years with IBS, and it's profoundly impacted my life. When you suffer from a chronic autoimmune illness, like IBS, where you're able to function (sort of) few people believe you. My own family called me a hypochondriac for years. And back in the day (in the early 1990s) some internists (like the one I had) believed that IBS was psychological in origin. I was told to cut down on my stress and see a psychologist.

I saw one, thinking my symptoms were just an overreaction to stress as a college student. I went on psych meds, but they didn't seem to help. After graduation, my IBS was debilitating. I could only manage working a part time job at the time. I searched for answers by going to a GI doctor, only to be told there was nothing wrong with me. That, of course, sent me through another round of psychologists and psych meds for " anxiety attacks " . My stomach issues persisted.

I was housebound for nearly four years because of IBS, (frequent trips to the bathroom, gas, etc;). All the while being called lazy and a hypochondriac, and not being taken seriously. I finally got a full time job (which I surprisingly still managed to keep -- ) but the round robin trips to the bathroom and the " accidents' throughout the day have made me a literal laughing stock at the office.

It was only by happenstance that I found out about SCD. A GI doc said gas could be caused by a high carbohydrate diet with a list of foods to avoid. (He never told me about the SCD). I just happened to Google carbs and gas, and found out about the SCD. I ordered it.

IBS has nearly ruined my life.

I think I know part of the reason I'm having a severe flare up (it's hormonoal-related). But, it still sucks, though.

I'm going to stick with it, but I'm probably going to redo the basic diet for now, and skip out on the cheese for a while.

> >How long does it take to see some significant

> >progress on the diet? What should I do until then?

>

> You said, " This is graphic: but lots of gas

> (although the 14-16 trips a day is cut in half). "

>

> If that isn't " significant progress, " what is?

>

> How long have you been ill?

>

> As for what you do: stick religiously and fanatically to SCD.

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> Babette the Foundling Beagle

>