|
Date:
Tues, Aug 28 2001
From: Karen
Hi
Sarah,
First,
welcome! I've been here only 2 weeks, but I had to chime in--
You said:
>>1)
I crave carbohydrates. I LOVE carbohydrates. Since my IBS
(or whatever it is) flared up very badly a few weeks ago,
it seems like a baked potato or couscous
are the only things that sit well with me. So I'm a little
incredulous that starch is the problem... Did any others
on this list find carbohydrates soothing before going on
the diet? Is this normal, or does it mean that this diet
would be wrong for me?
2) Similarly, protein has always felt hard on my stomach.
I can't digest beef at all; I usually throw it back up.
Is this common?
I'm
a little nervous because it seems like Ms. Gottschall is
recommending
the foods I've had the worst reactions to in the past. <<
Sarah,
I got chills reading this, because it was like listening to
my own EXACT thoughts and feelings. I have some small bowel
inflammation, and my appetite is so poor and I get so full
from tiny amounts that I've had to have intravenous feedings.
The only thing that seemed to go down well was the wheat bread
and crackers. Every meal, every snack, every nibble, all day
long. I could almost cry if I was out somewhere without it.
I needed the calories after all, I rationalized to myself,
so how could I give that up? It was a very difficult process
of living with this problem for so many years and finally
coming to dead ends everywhere I turned, that I finally saw
that this
was the only thing left I hadn't tried.
I had
after all tested positive for one of the blood tests for celiac
disease, for whatever that's worth, but the real value of
it was that it got me more serious about the dead end I was
in with my diet and coming to terms with how stuck I was.
I knew that I had to go off the bread. So I filled up the
void with all the gluten-free junk (expensive as heck), and
that just made me more bloated and sore.
What all
those foods did, is calmed my fear *in the short run*, the
fear of not getting enough calories. I could nibble on a rice
cracker and I could delude myself that I was doing the right
thing, and get the addictive fix met. After all, with my eating
problem, any medical person would have a fit if they knew
I was restricting certain foods. I've always had to fight
to get them to see that I'm not anorexic and don't try to
lose weight. It was so hard to get myself out from under that
mindset that I'd learned from them, and the fear of their
disapproval. I need my doctor to order the I-V feedings, so
I have to keep working with him.
But I
also KNEW, my bodily wisdom just knew, that my grain cravings
were more than just the need for calories. Grains contain
opiate-like substances that can cause actual physical addiction.
No wonder the craving gets worse the more you eat them, and
you think you love them. The by-products of the bugs in your
gut that you are feeding, are making you almost drunk.
When I
used to work in an office, I used to eat a cup of Dannon yogurt
with the sugary fruit, and a bunch of wheat crackers every
day for lunch. Afterward, I was compelled to put my head down
on my desk. I literally couldn't move. I stuck it out for
another hour or so, and then had to go home. I cut my work
day down, and then soon wasn't able to work at all.
The wheat
would always seem to fill a need at the moment, but isn't
that what an addictive drug does.
I always
had the experience that protein was too hard to digest. But
what was trying to eat? Beans and grains. No wonder! When
I went off my vegetarian diet and tried some fresh fish, I
could not believe how light it was. I started slowly, just
a few forkfuls of sole, and now I eat fresh salmon too, it's
very tender. I like other fish too, but some are chewier and
the very tender ones I find easier.
I've started
eating a little homemade yogurt (a far cry from the Dannon
junk), and that worked okay too, about 1/4 cup to start, or
even a few spoonfuls if you're hesitant. As much as it seems
that I can't digest anything, even those proteins are okay.
So I'm sure that protein isn't to blame; I bet it's just the
particualr ones you've been using. Have you tried chicken
soup? I started with broth, and then began eating small pieces
of chicken in it. You can take it step by step.
I've had
some withdrawal symptoms from going off the grains, but that's
making me even more sure that I have to tough it out and get
over this hump. I just have to be patient with all the weird
stuff that is coming up right now. Last night I was able to
eat a little more salmon than usual, and some cooked veggies
and an olive. I can feel that the bloating is way down, and
although digestion isn't greatly improved yet, this is giving
me the chance to work on the foods that I've really wanted
to be eating anyway. And I've been able to eat some cooked
fruit and ripe banana to provide some calories. Not enough
yet, but I'm sure my digestive capacity will finally have
a chance to increase now.
The reason
I was able to do this and my doubts cleared, was the support
from this list that
showed me that I was not the strange case I thought I was.
I consider myself an independent thinker and proactive with
my health care, and yet I still have been under the cloud
of my various doctors' misunderstanding of me for so many
years. Suddenly, that cloud lifted here, and I realized that,
like I was advised here, "lousy guts are lousy guts",
and you don't have to do too much more deliberating than that
to know that SCD is a hopeful choice. I hope you'll try the
diet. You can count on getting all the support you could possibly
need.
Take care,
Karen
 more about Celiac (coeliac) disease
|
Making the move from "gluten-free" to the SCD