My Health Journey with Ulcerative Colitis

I feel like it is long overdue for me to share my health story on here! I have spent a long time trying to not talk about this disease, to downplay symptoms, and to pretend like it doesn’t exist. But it is a part of me and always will be, so I am trying my best to be more open, more vulnerable, and more real. So let me tell you about my journey with ulcerative colitis.

I was first diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis, which is a pretty mild form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in 2013. To be honest, once I started taking medication, I would completely forget I had it most days. I carried out life just as usual, eating whatever I wanted and going out all the time. Then things started to get a little more serious and I wasn’t feeling so great. I got re-tested in 2017 and found out that things had progressed a lot, and I was then diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). UC and Crohn’s disease are the two diseases that make up IBD. Both UC and Crohn’s disease are autoimmune diseases; UC affects just the colon (large intestine), while Crohn’s can affect any part of the GI tract.

At that time, the gastroenterologist I was seeing told me that diet and nutrition had nothing to do with ulcerative colitis (the other two gastros I have seen have also told me the same thing). This didn’t really sit well with me. I thought, how could a disease, which originates in the gut, not be affected by what I am putting into my body? So, I played around with a few different diets, kind of nonchalantly. For a time, I was gluten-free. Then, I tried dairy-free. I tried eliminating alcohol. But nothing on its own was helping – except the medications. So, maybe the doctors were right? Maybe diet doesn’t have anything to do with it? But I knew deep-down that wasn’t true.

I knew that I needed to change something about my diet but wasn’t sure which foods I was reacting to. I wouldn’t eat a piece of bread or a slice of pizza and then immediately get a stomachache. My pain seemed random and I couldn’t figure out what it was. My stomach symptoms got increasingly worse – some days I couldn’t eat anything except for broth without intense pain. But for me, the worst part was the fatigue. I would be so insanely tired – and not just sleepy tired, but tired to the core – that doing anything after work was impossible. Even taking a shower would seem like the biggest chore in the world. My favorite place to be was curled up on the couch. Exercise was out of the question and honestly seemed laughable. My “best” time was usually 9 am to 11 am, then after that it was a slow decline until I was ready for bed by 8:30 pm. So I knew that after the holidays were over, I needed to commit to something bigger. Not feeling like yourself is a really hard thing to deal with, especially when you don’t know what to do to fix it.

Enter the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). The AIP is a super intense elimination diet – kind of like Whole30 on steroids. You basically eliminate everything that is potentially inflammatory or a trigger for an autoimmune disease for a period of time (at least 30 days) and then gradually re-introduce foods to see what you are intolerant to. You eliminate all grains and legumes, all dairy, eggs, coffee, alcohol, nightshade vegetables (potato, tomato, eggplant, bell peppers, any kind of peppers, chiles) and nightshade spices (paprika, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, etc.), nuts, seeds, fruit- or seed-based spices (cumin, peppercorns, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, mustard seed, poppy seed, sesame seed, etc.), additives (emulsifiers, gums, added flavors), refined sugars and processed vegetable oils, and chocolate (yes, basically all foods!). At the same time, you are supposed to be adding in high quality, high nutrient density foods to help your gut heal, like wild-caught seafood, humanely raised meat, vegetables (except nightshade family), fruits, and healthy fats. So many people have had great success with the AIP with helping or putting into remission their autoimmune diseases. I couldn’t not try it.

I started AIP on January 2nd, so I have almost a month under my belt. I’m not going to lie and say it has been easy – some days have been incredibly hard. Eating at a restaurant is next-to-impossible (I can’t even have black pepper!), and not having staples like eggs, nuts, and dairy has been a huge challenge for someone who doesn’t eat meat. I have eaten more sweet potatoes than I care to admit, and somehow I have not yet grown tired of salmon and tuna.

I was hoping for some kind of miraculous feeling by this point. But the truth is, my symptoms with ulcerative colitis don’t feel a whole lot different. I am still taking my medications, but I have not seen any improvement in bleeding where I shouldn’t be (TMI? Sorry.) However, I have noticed a huge improvement with my fatigue and energy levels, though, which is a great thing, and I have hardly had any “random” debilitating stomachaches, just a couple. I am supposed to be getting towards the point of reintroducing some foods, but I’m not quite there yet! I know that for people with severely messed up guts (hi, that’s me!), it can take many months for the healing to be complete.

It’s truly mind-blowing how prevalent autoimmune diseases are becoming – especially in women. I can count four other people in my groups of friends that have autoimmune diseases – most of them affecting the gut. I have become a tad obsessed with learning about autoimmunity and especially the role the gut microbiome plays in it, so you can expect more posts on these topics.

Some things that I think have helped me so far are switching my probiotic to Just Thrive, drinking bone broth most days, getting tons of sleep, and getting plenty of omega-3 fats from seafood.

For the Just Thrive probiotic, use the discount code “Cami” at checkout for 15% off!

Another supplement I like is the Digest-All digestive enzyme from MRM Nutrition. Save 20% using this link and entering “VEGGIES20” at checkout.

These books by Sarah Ballantyne have pretty much been my AIP Bible – The Paleo Approach and Paleo Principles. The Paleo Approach is specific for AIP and autoimmunity, while Paleo Principles gets into the nitty-gritty of the science of why certain foods need to be eliminated. Highly recommend both, especially if you’re a nutrition nerd like me and like reading that kind of thing. And it’s not just about ulcerative colitis- these books are good for all the hundreds of autoimmune diseases that are out there.

I would love to hear from you if you have questions about my experience with ulcerative colitis, or if you also struggle with an autoimmune disease. I know that autoimmune diseases can be hard because they are ‘invisible diseases’ – nobody really knows what you are going through on the inside. I’m hoping my next post will have some good news about how I am feeling on AIP!

xx Cami

Please note: Some of these links are affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you purchase items through these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, all opinions of products are my own!