Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi all,

I found this site a few months ago while searching for a cause (and solution) to my problems. For a long time it didn't occur to me that I had a real medical issue. For a while I thought I had IBS-D and followed this diet closely. It definitely alleviated a lot of my symptoms. I went to see a doctor to be sure it was IBS - partially b/c this site and Heather's books emphasize the need for an accurate diagnosis (as opposed to diagnosing myself), and partially b/c the diet only helped me somewhat.

It turns out after testing that I have eosinophilic colitis (which is pretty rare: anecdotally, I'm only the 2nd patient of my doctor who has it). I had already been diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis, so the more I researched the more I suspected it was some other eosinophilic problem, but I didn't know at first that any other kinds existed.

My doctor just prescribed me a medicine commonly used for UC. I probably won't know for at least 2 weeks whether it is helping me. My doctor thinks it will work so I'm trying to be hopeful. He also thinks I should be able to eat like a normal person after it kicks in, although he had also been dubious that a diet like this was necessary when it seemed more likely I had IBS. In the mean time I'll be sticking with the diet and my dicyclomine and symax.

I don't know what will happen - whether the medicine will work or not. But either way - even if I can eventually eat like a normal person - I'm thankful for Heather and her books and this diet and everyone who has helped answer questions on these forums (even if it was not answering a question I asked, I've read through a lot of old posts to find answers too). Being able to reduce my symptoms for a few months and have a better idea why they happen helped keep me from getting really depressed about it. I also understand a lot more about nutrition and food's effect on the body and I doubt I would go back to eating all the same crap that I used to eat, just for the sake of general health.

Anyway... I guess I just wanted to share that and say thanks.

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