Re: newbie here

[Guest guest]

I'm still struggling with the mental shift from vegan to carnivore, but hey, I'm highly motivated. Same thing happened to me, though I was only vegan for about a month and vegetarian for 6 months =) It sounds like you already have a lot of the important info and the mindset to really do well with the diet; I think the mental part of it is half the battle! I'm not sure if I can help you about being undiagnosed, but at this point I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you see improvement in your symptoms, the diet's probably what your body needs. Plus, NOT having a diagnosis might be a good thing...it might keep the doctors/insurance company off your back if your tests come back "normal"! Since I have UC, the doctors were always horrified that I wasn't taking any 'maintenance meds' and we really had to tiptoe around with the diet approach to healing.Good luck, and welcome! Peace =)Alyssa 16 yo UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per dayPrednisone 30 mg 1x per day

[Guest guest]

> I'm brand new to this board and SCD. Just started last Wednesday, April 21,

2010. I'm grateful to find this group. I apologize for the length of this

message.

>

> I have been dealing with ongoing and escalating symptoms for years, but

remained undiagnosed. Over the years, I've moved a lot, so I've had access to

various doctors. Even though I've presented with symptoms to multiple doctors,

no one has ever said to do anything other than stop stressing, eat more fiber,

and drink more water. A couple suggested medications, but I never followed

through. (No insurance during that time was a huge factor in that decision.) I

really was clueless and remained kind of disconnected, never putting all my

symptoms together and my idea of a " healthy " diet was eating lots of complex

carbs with a little bit of meat, if any, and not much fat. I was diagnosed with

lupus in 1991, but I've been in remission for 15 years following 2 years of

acupuncture and lots of self-care. I have psoriasis, too, but am lucky that it's

isolated to one area right now. Overall, I'm pretty healthy and don't take any

maintenance meds for anything else, so I consider myself to be very lucky.

>

> But then… right after Thanksgiving, I decided to lose a few pounds and try to

get my stomach problems in order (which in my mind surely must have been caused

by eating too much), so I joined a popular weight loss group, admittedly in a

moment of insanity. I started eating more low-fat foods and " franken " cheeses,

etc., lots of diet foods. Of course, my symptoms escalated, but I was still

clueless. I went to my newly selected Nurse Practitioner for the symptoms and

she told me to increase my fiber and to do it by drinking a commercial powdered

fiber mix. I decided that if I was going to eat a high fiber diet, that I should

do it with foods instead of a powdered mix, so I went totally vegan and starting

eating soy yogurt and cheeses and meat subs, high fiber grains and brown rice,

pistachios, etc., getting 35 to 40g fiber per day. As you already know, I got so

much worse and although my life was already so small because of my need to be in

the bathroom all the time. I became basically isolated, having 12-14 episodes of

explosive diarrhea per day. I still didn't make the connection to my diet

because my NP kept saying to eat more fiber. I've missed several days of work

since January 5, usually two or three days at a time. During my last sick leave,

my NP finally ordered blood work to check for celiac (maybe Crohn's? is that

detectable through blood test?) and fecal tests to check for bacteria. I was

dehydrated so the blood draw took forever. The NP still didn't suggest any

dietary changes. My blood work and fecal tests all came back normal, and on the

paperwork, it basically said you're normal so don't come back.

>

> Thank goodness a co-worker figured out that I was having a problem. She

quietly left BTVC plus a couple of other books on my desk, but BTVC was the one

that made the most sense to me. The next day, I started SCD and even in this

short period of time, I feel so much better. I'm still struggling with the

mental shift from vegan to carnivore, but hey, I'm highly motivated. (I'm

mourning some of my fave foods.) My biggest concern is that I'm still

undiagnosed. Even though I've already seen improvement, I'm scared that my

self-diagnosis is wrong. My question is… is there anyone else who remains

undiagnosed? I don't have a lot of faith in the medical profession about this

disease anyway,

yeah - join the club.

> but still, I'd like to know what is really wrong. Looking back, I've been

dealing with this in various stages since I was 14 or 15 and my Mom also had the

exact same problems, which were also undiagnosed. Thanks for listening/reading.

I'll be lurking around the board reading as much as I can.

For a complete diagnosis, you pretty much need a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.

Celiac can

be diagnosed through a blood test if you have been eating gluten. I'm not sure

about Crohn's

however. And you can't diagnose UC that way either - though you can diagnose

whether your

C-Reactive protein's are elevated, indicating inflammation. But a number of

people on the list

have undiagnosed IBS - or their doctors give them the bit about eating more

fiber which

rarely works. You'd think they would understand cause and effect a bit better

by now. But the

conventional wisdom on nutrition is really below par.

What, besides diarrhea, are your symptoms?

Yeah, it's hard giving up some favorite foods, but in a short while you will

acquire new

ones that you like just as much.

What should we call you?

Mara

[Guest guest]

Thanks! I hadn't thought about a lack of diag being better. I appreciate the

encouragement and info.

>

> > I'm still struggling with the mental shift from vegan to carnivore,

> > but hey, I'm highly motivated.

>

>

> Same thing happened to me, though I was only vegan for about a month

> and vegetarian for 6 months =) It sounds like you already have a lot

> of the important info and the mindset to really do well with the diet;

> I think the mental part of it is half the battle! I'm not sure if I

> can help you about being undiagnosed, but at this point I wouldn't

> worry about it. As long as you see improvement in your symptoms, the

> diet's probably what your body needs. Plus, NOT having a diagnosis

> might be a good thing...it might keep the doctors/insurance company

> off your back if your tests come back " normal " ! Since I have UC, the

> doctors were always horrified that I wasn't taking any 'maintenance

> meds' and we really had to tiptoe around with the diet approach to

> healing.

>

> Good luck, and welcome!

>

> Peace =)

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 30 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

At 04:05 PM 4/24/2010, you wrote:

My question is… is there anyone

else who remains undiagnosed? I don't have a lot of faith in the medical

profession about this disease anyway, but still, I'd like to know what is

really wrong. Looking back, I've been dealing with this in various stages

since I was 14 or 15 and my Mom also had the exact same problems, which

were also undiagnosed. Thanks for listening/reading. I'll be lurking

around the board reading as much as I can.

Ayup. Been there, done that. Though I had my first bout of the explosives

when I was 18, and then it went away for a few years.

If you read the science in BTVC, you'll understand " what's

wrong. " You have a mixed up bunch of unbalanced gut bacteria.

Other research suggests that problem gut bacteria mixes can be passed on

from mother to child, so you may have literally inherited the

problem.

SCD works. Welcome aboard. Glad you found us, though sorry you needed

to.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

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