jenne1017

Hi there. I am a scared newbie to not only this forum but to ischemic colitis.

This past Thursday, I had been following the South Beach Diet, and had some bad diarrhea. I thought it was due to all the veggies I had been eating and/or the 3 pieces of sugar free candy I ate. I went twice, and then went to bed.

I awoke at 2a with horrible cramping and was in the bathroom going every 10 minutes. Then I was vomiting. I thought I had food poisoning but since I was making all my own food, it couldn't be. Then came the blood. Lots of it. The bowel movements were replaced with only blood. I went to the ER and was admitted.

After x-rays, a CT Scan (yay Barium! It doesn't taste good coming up either), throwing up green bile, more blood, 2 enigmas, a endoscopy and a colonoscopy (and more people than I ever needed to be looking at my butt), I was diagnosed with ischemic colitis. My CBC count was a 15 went I went to the ER. It dropped to a 13 then an 11 in a day.

I was in the hospital for 5 days. I came home with pain meds (dilauted), protonics, ASCOL and an antibiotic (I forget, it starts with a "f" though) to take for 5 days.

I still have diarrhea and am on a low residue, low fiber diet. I don't want to really eat at all. I hate that I am going to the bathroom all the time. I hate that I don't know what really triggered this or that I can't stop it from happening again.

The two GI doctors I saw at the hospital told me two different things. One said it was all the veggies that got to me (South Beach) and that I've had this all along (which I get as I've had bloody stools a few times a month), it was just a bad episode this time and that was that. The other said it was my birth control. I know high levels of estrogen can be a trigger but I have been on low dose birth control for a while (9 years) and by GYN and primary care doctor said it wasn't the cause.

I guess I am just reaching out to others who have this. It was a scary thing to go through. I wonder what my future will look like. I know I only have to be on this diet until the diarrhea goes away. Then I can eat "normally." But I am trying to lose weight. What should my diet look like? Will this flare up happen again?

I have to go back to the GI doctor next week and I'll get answers then but hearing some real life stories may help calm my nerves...

Thanks for sharing and sorry I shared TOO much!

~Jenn