Is it just me, or does it seem like my pouch seems to bother me more whenever the weather starts to get warm every year? If so, why do you think this is?
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One possibility (without evidence): it could be related to pollen allergies acting up. Do you have any hay fever?
No, I never really had a problem with allergies. And that's a respiratory thing anyway? How could it affect your bowels?
My thought (which doesn’t seem to explain your situation at all) was that a severe pollen season could cause the immune system to be in a heightened state of reactivity. Allergies are one kind of immune response.
I wonder if that is the case, if it could also be the case for people with Crohn's and colitis who still have their colons? I never heard of anyone making the connection between pollen allergies and intestinal inflammation before.
There are some articles reporting seasonal variation in UC, but it’s not as simple as a warm weather spike. Here’s one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1383065/
Yes! My flares/pouchitis only occur in spring and summer. I’ve been wondering the same thing for a while. I sometimes think it’s also changes in diet due to the seasons.
mine is chronic....always a problem year-round.
Do you eat differently in Spring/Summer (ie, different fruit and veg available?). I find Nightshade vegetables problematic.
I've been at this for too long......it took a lot of research and trial/error (Doctors give zero nutritional advice in the USA) after a year in Japan, my eyes got opened a little as to a more holistic approach. Nightshades, refined sugars and bread ---I have to avoid or suffer immediately.
Good health to you....Mike
Mike March posted:mine is chronic....always a problem year-round.
Do you eat differently in Spring/Summer (ie, different fruit and veg available?). I find Nightshade vegetables problematic.
I've been at this for too long......it took a lot of research and trial/error (Doctors give zero nutritional advice in the USA) after a year in Japan, my eyes got opened a little as to a more holistic approach. Nightshades, refined sugars and bread ---I have to avoid or suffer immediately.
Good health to you....Mike
Maybe it is what I'm eating. Lately my pouch is doing really well, though, so I don't really have much to complain about. What did you eat when you were in Japan?
Hi Melissa.
Living in Japan was my dietary eye-opener. I ate more fish, rice, ramen and had little problem with Japanese food (all organic and non-GMO by default there).
However, everytime I went to the local Italian restaurant (which was super good and high quality), I’d get sick almost immediately. I tried ordering ‘safer’ things, but couldn’t nail the culprit down. This was a huge clue for me.
I now know it was: the bread, tomatoes, pasta, peppers; etc. I’m Italian American and have to avoid pizza and all the tomato, eggplant, peppers, bread, etc.. extremely difficult to adhere to 😉.
Re VSL 3 (which my US surgeon donated boxes to me); no joy whatsoever. A Japanese colo-rectal specialist made an analogy that using probiotics is like throwing salt in the ocean (meaning-useless). He suggested a more holistic approach. That combined with the Italian restaurant experience opened my eyes a bit wider.
Mike March posted:Hi Melissa.
Living in Japan was my dietary eye-opener. I ate more fish, rice, ramen and had little problem with Japanese food (all organic and non-GMO by default there).
However, everytime I went to the local Italian restaurant (which was super good and high quality), I’d get sick almost immediately. I tried ordering ‘safer’ things, but couldn’t nail the culprit down. This was a huge clue for me.
I now know it was: the bread, tomatoes, pasta, peppers; etc. I’m Italian American and have to avoid pizza and all the tomato, eggplant, peppers, bread, etc.. extremely difficult to adhere to 😉.
Re VSL 3 (which my US surgeon donated boxes to me); no joy whatsoever. A Japanese colo-rectal specialist made an analogy that using probiotics is like throwing salt in the ocean (meaning-useless). He suggested a more holistic approach. That combined with the Italian restaurant experience opened my eyes a bit wider.
So what did your Japanese doctor tell you to do?
Besides the tincture of opium (which is super-controlled and only used as a last resort out there) to control the diarrhea; he suggested:
- eat smaller meals (cutting out bread, nightshades and refined sugars) and chew well. Keep a food journal after a complete elimination diet for 3 days.—this was the first step in the more holistic approach.
- I had my own supply of cipro and flagyl; but, he discouraged using them unless absolutely an acute episode.
- prescribed an anal fissure medicine (which worked great for the burn and itch). I now mail-order something similar; but, can’t get the prescription strength one online. It works better than anything prescribed nor otc here.
They don’t have all the answers as he said Pouchitis is still not completely understood nor same in any two people. He believed my pouch to be more ‘irritable’ as the signs of Pouchitis didn’t seem severe enough to explain the horrendous symptoms I encounter. He believed my terminal ileum must have been affected by my UC all along.