Celiacs

Question
Hi,
  I have been in hospital 2 weeks.  The doctor said I have three diseases going on at same time, Gastroparisis, Celiacs and Coalitis.  I could not keep any food down.  Now I am home and was told not to eat anything with Glutan and to try nothing Lactic.
   I was not told how to progress from liquid diet so now I eat mainly rice and squash but even that gives me constant stomach aches.
   Can you give me an idea of what foods I should try to progress to with all my limitations?  What I eat now leads to my being impacted constapation.  I don't know what to eat and the doctor just says try and if it makes you sick don't eat.  

Answer
Hi Don,

Sorry to hear of your illnesses. Because of the types of conditions you have, you should have your doctor write you a prescription for a visit to a registered dietitian so you can receive medical nutritional therapy. Unfortunately this is not something that can be done without a personal visit and a review of your medical records. There should be an outpatient dietitian available at the hospital where you were, and insurance is likely to cover the visit.

Regarding your conditions:
Celiac disease requires a gluten-free diet, and this can be complicated. It would certainly be a benefit for you to get more information from a dietitian. In the meantime there is some good information online.  The Celiac Sprue Association has a website at http://www.csaceliacs.org/ and celiac.org is another association that can help.

Colitis means an inflammation of the colon, and could just be describing the condition your intestines were in because of the allergic reaction to gluten you had been ingesting. In this case, usually a low fiber and low-lactose diet is prescribed. And often the advice is given, "if it bothers you, don't eat it"... not too helpful for trial and error if everything you eat bothers you!

Gastroparesis I have only heard of in people with long-standing diabetes. It is the lack of normal movement that propels food from your stomach through to your small intestine for digestion. There are medications that help this condition (one called reglan and another called propulsid--the latter is no longer on the market in the US). I don't know what type of diet would help treat this condition, although foods lower in fat are typically easier to digest.

If you are eating mainly rice and squash and still getting stomach aches, I have to suggest you see the doctor again--something is causing that pain and there should be some way to treat it.

I hope you find the answers to your problems and get better shortly.

Be Well,
Laurie

1. Prev:Fish Skin and Cholesterol
2. Next:Healthy weight loss