Pt. 2 of Diagnosed with IBD. . . Now What?

So, you’ve surfed the internet, signed up for every IBD-related chat room possible, your head is swirling with what you do know and what you still can’t figure out, what you’re being told you should and shouldn’t eat, and still you don’t feel a whole lot better. 

Well, don’t despair. Remember, very few IBDers respond to the exact same treatment protocol. That means that what works for me may or may not work for you. Here’s an example: Like me my dad has UC, but that’s pretty much where our similarities end. A flare-up knocks me down for the count with low-grade fever, joint aches, chronic diarrhea, lack of energy, and eczema. A flare-up for my dad might cause some diarrhea but he’s able to muscle through it without missing many beats. I have to constantly watch what I eat but my dad can eat pretty much whatever he wants without many repercussions. I’ve taken Asacol for ten years to help control my symptoms, and only just last year did my dad start taking Asacol when a colonoscopy showed some inflammation in his colon. So, there you are, we’re related, we both have UC, and how it hits us and how we treat it is pretty diametrically opposed.  

What I’ve noticed in the past 5 years of working with other IBDers is that for some patients prescription medications do the trick and that’s all they need to get a flare under control. Other IBDers go through drug after drug after drug and nothing seems to help. And then there’s the other group of patients who find that diet is the key to improving some of their symptoms. I, and many other IBD patients I speak with, fall into the category where between one prescription medication and some serious diet changes I’m able to keep pretty good control of my symptoms and the disease. 

But, how does one figure out if diet, or better yet, specific foods, are making your symptoms worse? It’s not an easy question to answer. In fact, answering that question is going to come down to you putting some serious effort into 1. keeping a food diary, and 2. doing an Elimination diet. 

A food diary is a daily log where you write down everything that you eat and drink in the course of a day. Now, keep in mind I said everything, if it passes your lips write it down, even if it’s a hard piece of candy or two sips of Coca-cola. Don’t cheat, because in the end you’ll only be cheating yourself. Then, also make notes about how you feel after you eat – bloated? crampy? diarrhea? constipated? irritable? fine? However you feel write it down. Also keep note of how many bowel movements (BMs) you have each day and their consistency. 

Keep your food diary for at least two weeks, but one or two months is even better. As you work through the first two weeks of keeping your food diary chances are you’re going to notice patterns emerging. For example, I noticed by the end of week one that after I drank cow’s milk I would feel bloated and my stools would become more frequent and loose. If you notice that drinking soda causes issues, then stop drinking it. Or if McDonald’s chicken nuggets or French fries send your gut over the edge then don’t eat them. Use the diary to see, on paper, what foods are causing you problems.