Lymphocytic Colitis and Diabetes: What foods can I eat?

Posted by helengee @helengee, Jan 17, 2012

I have been diagnosed with lymphocytic colitis and I'm trying to pared down the list of foods I can eat that will minimize the adverse reaction in my colin. The medicine I'm on now (a steroid called Entocort) has severely affected my blood sugars (I am Type II diabetic). I wonder if anyone else has the combination of lymphocytic colitis and diabetes and how they are handling it?

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@kanaazpereira

Hi @petepat3234,

I’d also like to invite @dval @spectec @adri55 @0687 @mindi @motherkat @tracy0129 @frozsquash to join this conversation with their insights about Entocort (budesonide). Could you share a bit more about yourself? When were you diagnosed? Besides the medication, how are you managing your symptoms? I look forward to hearing more from you.

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I to would like to know this information, I have lymphatic colitis and was proscribed budesonide er, but insurance only gives me 56 pills in a 180 day and always denies approval because they say it's not FDA approved for my systems. When this happens and I don't take the meds it Interferes with other medication absorption. Not sure what to do.

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@spectec

I'm male, age 71, still working part time and fairly active on a daily basis. Other conditions are stable angina, mild hypertension, sleep apnea, and dry macular degeneration, none of which would affect the digestive system. Those conditions are controlled by medications, CPAP, and monitoring. I was diagnosed with LC in late May, after trying for 6-8 months to self-manage the symptoms. Main problem was regular bouts of severe diarrhea and 6-8 trips to the bathroom daily. Energy had become very low, although I never lost any weight. I initially thought perhaps the problem might be related to my travel outside the US (regular mission trips to Myanmar and India), but parasite tests have repeatedly come back negative. There was an incident a couple of years back with a microbial intestinal infection which, in retrospect, may have been the trigger for the eventual development of the LC.

The diagnosis resulted from analysis of biopsies taken during a sigmoidoscopy. Initially my GI doc prescribed 3 MG of budesonide daily. After 8 weeks and a little improvement, I returned to him for scheduled follow up. Turns out there had been an error somewhere in the initial communication between his office and the pharmacy, because the dosage was supposed to have been the standard 9 MG per day. I made a mistake in not questioning the dosage, and essentially lost most of the progress I could possibly have experienced during the first 8 weeks (lesson learned). I'm now 2 weeks into the correct dosage and I'd say my symptoms are 60% improved. The plan is to stay on the budesonide for the full 8 weeks and then begin a taper (all provided symptoms are gone, of course). So far I have had no problems with the budesonide, but there's still a long way to go.

I've also joined the "Potty People" forum http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/index.php &#013 and have received lots of good advice over there. I strongly recommend that group, along with Wayne Persky's excellent book - "Microscopic Colitis", in addition to this forum of course. I lean toward the idea that there is a strong connection between diet and MC/LLC/CC and am still trying to sort this all out. I did order the Enterolab tests, which helped me to identify a few potential food sensitivities, although my results didn't identify and definite or significant food immunological reactivities. For me, this testing is just another piece of the puzzle, as I expect I will eventually embark on an elimination diet (but at least the testing will have given me a bit of a head start)

Seems to me that if anyone with MC/LC/CC is looking for a magic bullet to solve the problem once and for all, their hopes are probably going to be dashed. I see this as probably a life-long issue and one that will always be accompanied by some uncertainties. I suspect that the focus will continue to be treatment the symptoms as they arise, while recognizing that the underlying cause(s) may be a moving target with little prospect of "curing" the condition.

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I was diagnosed with LC 6 or 7 years ago after returning from Mexico with diarrhea but testing negative for everything they could think to test for. Eventually had the colonoscopy with micro biopsies. So, back then, I was first told there was “no known cause or cure,” so I had to experiment a lot on my own. Just to confirm, it is definitely a journey, but, yes, I found food makes a huge difference. Occasionally I just reverted to a modified “BRAT diet” for a few days, which was modestly helpful. As might seem obvious, high fiber foods became no-no’s, but it’s really the insoluble fibers that are/were most harmful, and soluble ones less so. So, know you’re fibers!

Also, I was tested for food allergies and am allergic to gluten, some dairy, and a number of others, so I eat no gluten, while find I can have small amounts of others like dairy. You’ll figure it out.

I have taken no drugs for this…until:

After wanting to be able to travel “trouble free,” I took plain old Imodium for a couple months last Spring/summer (just one a day “fixed me”) and eventually tried going back to none.
Voila! With eating about 1/3 of a banana daily, I’ve been fine ever since, with maybe 3-4 diarrhea days in the past 5-1/2 months! (I do still pay attention to what I eat, but now it makes more difference!) Weird! I think the Imodium must’ve just interrupted the cycle my gut had gotten into, which may have been exacerbating the inflammation? Or the break allowed the inflammation to finally heal, at least for awhile?

Who knows, but listening to your body and common sense monitoring of food intake may help a lot with LC management. That’s probably life-long, but gets easier with time, until mostly “second nature.”

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I was given this diagnosis last year. What can I do to heal my colon?

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@pruittycat

I was given this diagnosis last year. What can I do to heal my colon?

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Hello, @pruittycat I’m so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Having an autoimmune disease means a lot of time management and coordination. Learn as much as you can so that you can advocate for yourself. Healing your colon means learning about diet, medications, and what to avoid. I’m adding this link to another discussion where you’ll find others talking about colitis. I know it says ulcerative colitis but that’s ok because much of the self-care is the same. Read the discussion and feel free to ask your questions.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ulcerative-colitis-2/. Maybe some members will join the conversation. @joanie45. @helengee @lioness @dval @tahuna
I also found this discussion. It may be old, but worth a read.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lymphocytic-colitis/

Have you also talked with a registered dietician about what foods are safe to eat?

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@pruittycat

I was given this diagnosis last year. What can I do to heal my colon?

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In reply to @pruittycat. I recently learned my lymphocytic colitis was gone on a colonoscopy this past summer (2021) at Mayo. Although everyone is unique, for me, I had to completely stop one of my medications and was advised to avoid all NSAIDS. I happen to follow a gluten free diet and do not drink alcohol or soda. I have a number of health issues, but I try to exercise moderately daily and get good sleep. Did that make it go away? The doctors didn’t know but advised me to keep doing what I’m doing.

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@migizii

In reply to @pruittycat. I recently learned my lymphocytic colitis was gone on a colonoscopy this past summer (2021) at Mayo. Although everyone is unique, for me, I had to completely stop one of my medications and was advised to avoid all NSAIDS. I happen to follow a gluten free diet and do not drink alcohol or soda. I have a number of health issues, but I try to exercise moderately daily and get good sleep. Did that make it go away? The doctors didn’t know but advised me to keep doing what I’m doing.

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Thanks for responding. To my knowledge I try to gluten free foods. I have eliminated dairy products. I am experimenting for a week to not have sugar to see if that will help my bowels. Sugar is my weakness. I am going to try and follow a gluten free diet and try a plant based diet as well.

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@pruittycat

I was given this diagnosis last year. What can I do to heal my colon?

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Hi @pruittycat, you'll see I moved your post to a discussion about Lymphocytic Colitis. I did this so you can connect with others going through a similar experience.

Mayo recommends, "What should I eat if I have lymphocytic colitis? These include applesauce, bananas, melons and rice. Avoid high-fiber foods such as beans and nuts, and eat only well-cooked vegetables. If you feel as though your symptoms are improving, slowly add high-fiber foods back to your diet. Eat several small meals rather than a few large meals." --- Microscopic colitis - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/microscopic-colitis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351483

What have your doctors recommended so far?

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The doctor referred me to use the FODMAP guide. I have had some hits and misses. I want my colon healed.

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@pruittycat

Thanks for responding. To my knowledge I try to gluten free foods. I have eliminated dairy products. I am experimenting for a week to not have sugar to see if that will help my bowels. Sugar is my weakness. I am going to try and follow a gluten free diet and try a plant based diet as well.

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In reply to @pruittycat … good luck with your trials. My only suggestion would be to take one thing at a time and give it enough time to see if you experience improved physical response. Besides the colitis, it has been trial and error most of my life with chronic migraines. I would give each individual intervention about six months to see if there was improvement. If so and I could do the intervention (many of them are realistically hard to do), I would try to continue them. Otherwise, I stopped; gave myself a break; before trying something else.

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Hi fellow members! I am newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and also have been diagnosed now for several years with Lymphocytic colitis (LC). Wondering if anyone has similar issues and knows how to maintain a good sugar level, while eating properly for the LC issues. Thanks for any feedback.

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