SCD Diet - Days 15-16

Day 15 - Mon
Breakfast - SCD banana bread
Lunch - Banana, cheddar cheese
Dinner - Mince Meat Bolognese, Maize Pasta* (I've since found out that Maize is corn and is illegal. I didn't particularly like it anyway, so I'd rather go without)

Dessert - strawberries, melon

Bowel Movements - 3 - A bit of M and a bit of B.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet), Pred Enema
Weight - 62.5 kgs(137.8lb s)
Other - After all the gas yesterday, everything seems to have calmed down a bit now in that department.
I'm not going to try carbonated water for at least another week now and then we'll see if the same thing happens. I am going to use a pred enema for the next week or so as I think the mucus is building now that the pred tablets are dropping. It's hard to really tell, but I'm not taking the risk and ending up in the same state as last summer.

Day 16 - Tue
Breakfast - SCD Banana Bread
Lunch - Chicken, Cheddar Cheese
Dinner - Omelette (3 peppers Green, Red & yellow, tuna and cheddar cheese)
Dessert - Melon, Strawberries, kiwi Fruit, Pears, 1/2 SCD Raspberry Muffin

Bowel Movements - 3 - A bit of M, but it does appear to be decreasing and no B visible today as far as I could see.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne, pred enema
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet), Pred Enema
Weight - 62.1 kgs(136.6lb s)
Other - Feeling normal-ish today. Still a little bit out of sorts, but definitely not as bad as over the weekend.

Thoughts / Problems on SCD diet

• Day 15 - Seriously over this diet, I can see why people quit. I'm going to try and hang on in there though. I really don't want to give up yet. I'd hate to look back and realise this was my last hope and I failed myself.
• A fellow SCDer send me a link today and from it I found out that when you start this diet there could be some Temporary Initial Symptoms. Last week I developed a rash, which I originally put down as pollen or heat related. But, as the days have went by, I now realise it might have something to do with the SCD diet. Hopefully it will be gone within the next week or two.
  
• Decreasing the preds to 5 mg on Wed for 5 more days. One thing I can say, is that I didn't get this far last time without a heap more blood and mucus, but this time I'm also using an enema when things look like going the wrong way. Time will tell.
• For anyone thinking about doing this diet, I'd really recommend clearing out all the 'illegal' stuff from your fridge and cupboards. I can't do this at the moment as I'm the only one on the diet in this house and I'd prefer to allow the kids threats still even if I can't eat them anymore.
  
• Day 16 - I seem to swing back and forwards on this diet...today was manageable. That doesn't mean to say I didn't have a bit of a wobble....but I wobbled myself away from the wheat and sugar temptations.

SCD Diet - Days 12-14

Day 12 - Fri
Breakfast - banana, cheddar cheese
Lunch - tuna, chicken
Dinner - fish (sauce made with milk*, butter and honey dijon mustard*)
Dessert - strawberries, melon

Bowel Movements - 1 - Not really not sure is there was much B or not. I didn't check properly. It did feel a bit flubbery though...sorry to gross anyone out.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.5 kgs(137.8lb s)
Other - No idea what is going on with the bowel movements. There is no rhyme or reason for why one day I have 4 and then the next day 1. Something that I haven't mentioned though is that I am yet again in a menstrual cycle. Not a heavy one, just a very light one that basically started a few days after I started this diet and it shouldn't have been due for another 2 weeks. No idea if it is to do with wheat, glucose or sugar withdrawal or all of the above.

Day 13 - Sat
Breakfast - Banana, 2 eggs
Lunch - Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, Coleslaw
Dinner - Mince Burgers, Broccoli, carrots, 2 eggs, cucumber, glass of dry white wine
Dessert - Melon, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 3 - A bit of M & B visible today.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.4 kgs(137.6lb s)
Other - Felt a bit sick today

Day 14 - Sun
Breakfast - SCD Banana bread
Lunch - Currents
Dinner - Pork chops, boiled carrots, fried shredded carrots
Dessert - No Dessert

Bowel Movements - 5 - A fair bit of M & a bit of B visible today. Lots of gassy toilet stops today, with little substance...just mucus.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.4 kgs(137.6lb s)
Other - Felt a bit sick today

Thoughts / Problems on SCD diet

• Day 12 - I have to admit that I broke the SCD diet today with piece of cake that an acquaintance brought over. I honestly can say that I didn't want to eat it, but I felt obliged. Do you know what I mean? It would have been rude not to. The 'illegal' was flour and possibly the cottage cheese. I cut myself the smallest slice possible and ate 3/4 of it, but felt really guilty while doing that, but said how nice it was. So the problem is, how do I not get myself into these situations again while I'm on this diet? In 6 months time, I'm off the opinion that if does work, that I'm going to give myself a break from the diet if we are at peoples houses, but I think it is way too soon to be doing that now. I should have been honest and said that I couldn't eat it. I'd made SCD Banana cake and it was bloody good too, but I felt the need to try her cake as she had went to that effort. I think I'm a people pleaser sometimes and I don't like to be rude. Maybe I need to just say in future. Tomorrow night I'm going out, but I plan to take all my own food with me anyhow. These are my friends though and they know the score. I'm already missing a 'farewell' night out with them at a restaurant in a couple of weeks as it's way to early to risk a full illegal meal. There are so many leaving France in the next couple of weeks to head back to their home countries that it's quite sad to say good bye anyway :(
  
• I made pizza for the kids tonight and can honestly say I had no interest in it. Now saying that though, when they had ice-cream for dessert, I had to walk away. Now that was a killer. I went and got strawberries and melon instead. Not quite the same without ice cream though.
• I seem to put myself through hell everyday when I look in our fridge. There's chocolate and proper jam and sweets that the kids have bought. OMG, it's killing me, but I need to see if this bloody diet will work...so "Step away from the fridge"
• While the kids were at school today I did Wii Fit for 1 hr on Day 12. I really haven't done anything much in the last 2 years. I wonder how long the fitness 'thing' will last. The last time I was really really fit and toned was just before I got UC. I used to train 4 nights a week for 80 mins. I was obsessed with it. It used to play on my mind that I stressed my body so much that I got UC...but who knows..I was probably going to get it one way or the other anyway. No point in saying, if only....if is such a small word that can cause all sorts of guilt.
• On Day 13 I went to the party and felt slight out of sorts as I couldn't eat most of the food they put on the table. I'd taken my own little container of things and a fruit salad dessert to share. To be honest, since I've been on this diet I've felt out of sorts some days, but then again, ever since I got UC I've had plenty of "out of sorts" days. Will life ever get back to normal?
  
• On Day 14 I noticed that carbonated water was giving me gas. I drunk a fair bit of it last night, but it was only this evening, that I clicked onto the fact that it was making me go to the bathroom.
  

SCD Diet - Days 10-11

Day 10 - Wed
Breakfast - SCD raisin muffin
Lunch - salad, chicken, SCD muffin, cheddar cheese, coleslaw, cucumber
Dinner - scramble eggs (made illegally with 30ml skimmed milk), SCD muffin, Cheddar Cheese, glass of dry white wine
Dessert - No dessert

Bowel Movements - 4 - Bit of M and possibly a bit of B. Urgency of the last one after a bit of gas. Not sure why.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.6 kgs(138.0lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning with a few minor stomach pains. The pain was relieved after the 1st Bowel movement. As I had beef and mince last night, it might be that is causing my damaged intestines pain in the pushing process thorugh. I'll keep an eye on this next time I have beef or a 'heavy' meet dish.

Day 11- Thur
Breakfast - Banana, 1x Danone Actimel*
Lunch - Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, Coleslaw
Dinner - Wheat and Gluten free spagetti (probably illegal), mince in bologne sauce, Raisin muffin
Dessert - Melon, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 3 - A bit of M visible today, but still no sign of B. Not sure what is causing me to go to the bathroom today after meals. We'll see how tomorrow goes. Something is not agreeing with me. But is could also be a virus as my boy is off sick today...
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 10mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.4 kgs(137.6lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning feeling a bit out of sorts

Thoughts / Problems on SCD diet

• On Day 10 I felt really gassy, but I'm not sure what has caused this except for maybe the small portion of coleslaw
  
• The stomach / intestine gurgles seem to be very much lessening. Looking back over the last 6 months, they seemed to be at their height at Christmas when I seriously stuffed myself with sweets (lollies) and cake.
  
• Summer has arrived in the South of France and I was slight pink at the end of the day. You'd think at my age (and the fact that I live in Australia normally) that I'd know better!
• On Day 11, I really wanted to give up on the diet and go and stuff myself with bread and sweets. This isn't like giving up smoking, where the craving only last for 30 secs. But I'm still hanging in there. Someone once told me that it takes 3 weeks for the brain to change to a new way of thinking :( .... oh well, half way there.
  

SCD Diet - Days 8-9

Day 8 - Mon
Breakfast - Banana, boiled egg, SCD raisin muffin
Lunch - Cheddar Cheese, SCD raisin muffin, avocado dip, mince meat burgers (SCD legal), boiled egg
Dinner - Roast Beef, Carrots, Broccoli
Dessert - No dessert..I forgot tonight

Bowel Movements - 2 - 1st M, 2nd M & a bit of B.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.3 kgs(137.3lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning with ..wait for it....NO pains!!!!

Day 9 - Tue
Breakfast - SCD Muffin
Lunch - 2 x Boiled Egg, Chicken, left overs (beef and baby burgers), Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & pepper, tomato, Slice of SCD Cheese bread
Dinner - Lamb kebabs with onion & green Peppers, SCD Muffin
Dessert - Raisins

Bowel Movements - 1 - less M and no B today (that I was able to spot anyway)
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.5 kgs(137.8lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning with very few stomach pains.

Thoughts / Problems on SCD diet

• Having a roast with no gravy or potatoes was a bit hard
• If I buy shelled peanuts, cover with a bit of olive oil and salt and shove then in the oven to roast is it SCD legal...and will they taste good?
• Had a really bad craving for sweets / lollies....substituted with raisin...not the same :(
• Was surprised that my weight increased by 200g on Day 9
  

UC linked to stress and food

I had to share .... this is an excerpt of something that I have found to be very interesting and confirm what I'm thinking

http://flog.cookingforceliacscolitiscrohnsandibs.com/diet-questions/specific-carbohydrate-diet-scd-and-beyond/
"The SCD diet is an essential part of the process for controlling and reaching remission for almost all inflammatory conditions within the body.

For people with inflammatory bowel conditions there is almost always a history of excessive carbohydrate intake and a period of intense or sustained emotional stress. The combination of these two factors causes the large bowel to become too acidic and this also lowers the pH of the lower small intestine (jejunum and ileum). The acidity in the small intestine reduces the effectiveness of the digestive enzymes from the pancreas and creates an environment where undigested carbohydrates and other food ferments and parasites thrive. The region that is often most effected is the iliocecal valve which is the junction point between the small and large intestine in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. This area is always tender to pressure when this region is too acidic and often corresponds with tenderness of the right sacroiliac joint in the pelvis. People with chronic low back pain that does not respond or is aggravated by manual adjusting will often have an inflamed iliocecal valve.

It is important to note that lactic acid producing bacteria including streptococcus, lactobacillus and bifidus all may contribute to the acidity if the diet contains excess carbohydrate. For each molecule of glucose these bacteria produce two molecules of lactic acid which then lowers the pH of the bowel. Symptomatically you will often experience a burning sensation when passing a bowel motion when this situation is present. Therefore taking any probiotics exacerbates the situation unless the SCD program is in place."

Well, who knows if the SCD Diet will work or not...but as far as I'm concerned this is just another re-enforcement on what I'm thinking now is the cause of my UC. I had asthma (common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways inflammation of lungs) as a kid which didn't run in my family and also I've always had lower back pain...not chronic, just niggly. The good news is my asthma went away when I was about 30 and I hadn't had a full om asthma attached since I was 18, so maybe the SCD diet will do for me as it did for others an get rid of my UC....here's hoping.

SCD Diet - Days 6-7

Day 6 - Sat
Breakfast - Banana, boiled egg, SCD raisin muffin
Lunch - Prawns, chicken, Cheddar Cheese, 2 SCD muffins
Dinner - Salmon, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli
Dessert - Fruit Salad - Pear, Melon, Kiwi fruit, Mango, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 3 - 1st M, 2nd M & a bit of B and an urgency to go on the second one. I might have eaten something the day before that disagreed...I'm not sure, 3rd A bit of B
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.4 kgs(137.6lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning with just the usual few stomach pains.

Day 7 - Sun
Breakfast - Banana
Lunch - Mince Meat & Onion Burgers, Cheddar Cheese, Salad Leaves, Slice of SCD Cheese bread
Dinner - 2 Raisin muffins with butter
Dessert - Fruit Salad - Pear, Kiwi fruit, Pineapple, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 4 - More M visible today, but no sign of B. Not sure what is causing me to go to the bathroom today after meals. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)
Weight - 62.4 kgs(137.6lb s)
Other - Woke up this morning with very few stomach pains. I ate salmon yesterday and although it tasted OK, I have had problems with that in the past.

Thoughts / Problems on SCD diet

• I'm thinking today that I probably shouldn't be eating salad leaves just yet, but as I'm only have a few, I think I might be OK
  
• It's actually pretty easy to make the SCD bread and muffins. I'm wondering if I should invest in a yogurt marker...might have to leave that until the end of the 30 day trial.
• I tried to make Cauliflower "potatoes" as per the SCD receipt...let's just say it turned out like mush as I stuck it in the blender..it did taste OK though
• I was slightly pissed off and alarmed on Saturday at having such an urgency to run to the loo, but it could also be part of the 'cleaning' out. The rest of the day went fine though. I really didn't think about the toilet today when we were out and about up at the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. We'd never been there before and that is one cool place.
  
• It was my husband birthday today and I made a proper chocolate cake for them. I can't deny that I was dying for a bit, but as having only been 7 days on this diet, it's way to early to cheat, even with a little bit.
• Still too early to say whether this diet is having any affect.
  

SCD Diet - Days 4-5

Day 4 - Thur
Breakfast - 1x Danone Actimel*, Banana, boiled egg
Lunch - Poached Egg, Tuna, Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & pepper, tomato
Dinner - Chicken, Brocilli, Carrots, grated cheese

Dessert - Fruit Salad - Pear, Melon, Kiwi fruit, Pineapple, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 1 - M and a bit of more B than yesterday

Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne

Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)

Weight - 63.0kgs (138.89lbs)

Other - Woke up this morning to a few stomach pains...defo less than the previous days, though was slightly pissed off at the sight of more blood than the previous day. Can't believe how much weight I have lost so far...I think in future I will need ot watch for weight gain as a sign of the UC getting worse...there seems to have been a pattern to weight increase then onset of UC...now if I can just get into remission I'll be happier.

Day 5 - Fri
Breakfast - 1x Danone Actimel*, Banana
Lunch - 2 x Poached Egg, Tuna, Prawns, Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & pepper, tomato, Slice of SCD Cheese bread
Dinner - SCD Raison Bread with butter

Bowel Movements - 2 - less M and no B today (that I was able to spot anyway)

Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 15mg Prednisolne

Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)

Weight - 62.6kgs(138lbs)

Other - Woke up this morning with only a very few stomach pains...actually hardly worth mentioning

Thoughts so far on SCD diet

• I can't believe how much weight I have lost so far
  
• Someone told me that after about 3 weeks I wouldn't crave bread and carbs...we'll see
  
• I found Almond Flour today, easy when you know where to look
  
• Found several blogs where people with UC seem to be sympton free
• I'm surprised at how unstressed I feel, even with the extra work of this diet, but that's not to say that I still don't get stressed...now I just don't seem to explode like I used to
  

Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) Diet - Week 1 (Days 1-3)

"The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ has proven to be highly successful for many who suffer from various bowel disorders as well as the many related problems which actually stem from imbalances in the intestinal tract" - http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/ So, time to give another thing a go....I've bought the book, looked up what is 'legal' to eat and am going to give it a go for a month...no harm in trying I say...so here goes.

Day 1 - Mon
Breakfast - 1x Danone Actimel*, Boiled Egg
Lunch - 2 x Boiled Egg, chicken, 3 slices Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & pepper, Lettuce**, Tomato
Dinner - Fish (sauce made with milk butter and honey dijon mustard***) , Cauliflower, Broccoli

Bowel Movements - 3 - Mucus(M),Blood(B) and a bit loose on the last one.

Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 20mg Prednisolne
Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)

Weight - 64.2kgs (141.53lbs)
Other - No noticeable rumbles / gurgles in the stomach / intestine area after eating Dinner

Day 2 - Tue
Breakfast - 1x Danone Actimel*, Banana, 3 very small slices of Cheddar Cheese
Lunch - scrambled eggs (2 eggs, milk****, butter), chicken, 3 slices Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & pepper, tomato
Dinner - Mince burgers (mince, egg & onion), carrotts
Dessert - Fruit Salad - Pear, Melon, Kiwi fruit, Pineapple, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 2 - M and a bit of more B than yesterday

Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 20mg Prednisolne

Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)

Weight - 63.5kgs(139.99lbs)

Other - Woke up this morning to a few stomach pains...nothing too painful...could be part of the colon clean-out....but way too early to say for definite. Heard a few gurgles this morning in the intestine area, but only small and nothing like what I was hearing last week on a 'normal' diet. Went to BIO shop to look for Almond Flour, but no luck there. I have found out however that I should be able to get it in Avignon..so just an hours drive away. God, I miss bread...we have a visitor at present staying with us and he had toast this morning.... :( ... I love toast... :( ... A few gurgles after dinner... a few minor little pains on the left side of the intestine.

Day 3 - Wed
Breakfast - 1x Danone Actimel*, Banana
Lunch - scrambled eggs (2 eggs, milk****, butter), chicken, 3 slices Cheddar Cheese, Avocado with lemon juice & p boiled eggs, chicken, grated cheese, tomato
Dinner - Lamb kebabs cooked on the BBQ with pepper and onion, Broccoli, Cheese Bread(made as per the SCD recipe)
Dessert - Fruit Salad - Pear, Melon, Kiwi fruit, Pineapple, Strawberries

Bowel Movements - 1 - M and B, but of less amounts than yesterday

Meds - 4 x Salazopyrin, 20mg Prednisolne Vitamins - Magnesium with Folic acid and Vit D (combo 1 tablet)

Weight - 63.2kgs(139.33lbs)

Other - Again woke up this morning to a few stomach pains...nothing too painful. Gurgles are down today in the intestine area. Felt a bit sluggish in the morning, but after 1hr or so that went away

Couple of possible problems
*So I found out on Day 3 that Actimel is a big NO NO under the SCD diet, but I am going to continue to use it for another 2 weeks...
** I sprayed balsamic vinegar on the lettuce and don't know if this is an illegal item or not
*** Honey Dijon mustard - it is an illegal SCD item, it contains sugar...but as I boiled it in the milk, I'm hoping that some of the refined sugar was lost....
**** Milk is illegal, but it was heated..and it was only a little bit...say 30 - 40ml

Thoughts so far on SCD diet

• I'm eating pretty well so far
  
• I really wanted bread and potatoes on Day 1 & 2 - I didn't realise I would have withdraw symptoms
• Can't find Almond Flour in France, but will keep looking
• Missing chocolate and treats - I wonder how long that craving will last
• I wonder if this is similar to some detoxes

I'm going to document the next month on the SCD diet, with posts every few days, just so I can have a complete record of this trail.

Washing Powder - Spanish style - oh if only

On a recent holiday, I came across this washing powder...ahhhh, if only life was so simple and we could wash away the UC ...

In saying that though, I have started to make a change with my diet ...I'm going to attempt to do a full month on the SCD diet and see what happens. Now, this has actually taken me a whole year to reach this point as when I first bought the book entitled "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" I took one look at it at went..NO WAY! TOO HARD.

Basically it's a book that deals with what might cause us to have such a crappy disease - Intestinal Health through Diet - but with everything else not working, well what the hell says I....I can give it a months go and see what happens...it will only cost me time preparing stuff from scratch, but who is to know, this might finally sort me out. Some serious alarm bells went off in my head while reading this again and what we though was good for us, could actually be part of the problem...bang goes potatoes, bread, rice, ice-cream and chocolate(along with loads of other things...bugger and I love them....oh, but in comes dry wine and other things that I'm sure I can survive on. The down side is that if I do see results within the first month, then I really will have to commit to this diet for 2 years to get finally get rid of UC and off all the drugs. I'm still going to use the hypnotherapy as I do believe it has helped me in many way, but unfortunately for me, it couldn't make the UC go away.

3rd Anniversary

Little did I know how my life was going to change, but 3 years ago this month was when I saw the first drops of blood on the tissue roll.

When I look by back, I realise how scared and stupid I was. I didn't do anything about it for weeks. I didn't have any pain or bouts of running to the toilet. There was just the ominous presents of blood. If I had have went to the doctors as soon as I noticed it would it have made a difference? I doubt it.

I actually feel sad about the life I used to have. Maybe I would have become more stressed out anyway as the kids get older and different pressures appear in life. Who is to know.

So here I am, 3 years later..still ploughing on each day and wondering what will happen next.

How I wish for the days when you could plan 6 months ahead without having to worrying about bowel movements......aaaahhhhhh those were the days.