NO MORE CHOCOLATES, WTF?

"My habits of coffee and chocolate came to a screeching halt yesterday. I now enjoy my decaf coffee in the mornings and for my cravings after lunch and dinner- I can imagine the thoughts of Hershey's Kisses dancing in my belly; all of which are hard to believe."

Yesterday I had some surprising things happen in my life:

I had an alarming thing happen early in the morning, called my doctor and she wanted to see me ASAP. 4:00 pm arrived and she saw me right away, I have never waited so little to see a doctor, usually the waits are brutally pushing 30 minutes to an hour; this wait time was 15 minutes!
I discuss with her what has occurred, she is concerned, not only do I have tell-tell signs but I have lost weight. What, you may ask is my concern with losing weight- let me lay it out straight! I have NOT worked out a routine since July 2007, I got married in August and since then I have kinda let myself go, not really, but I have put exercising in the back of my mind. Just recently my husband and I purchased some exercise equipment, and I have only used it just a handful of times. My doctor and I agree that it's not the exercising that has contributed to my sudden weight loss, its the fact that my body is not absorbing the nutrients from the foods that I am eating.
So after she has told me that I am the "Poster Child" of IBD (Inflammable Bowel Disease), now its time to get tested to figure out if it's Crohn's disease or an ulcerative form of colitis. Both of which are life changing.
"My habits of coffee and chocolate came to a screeching halt yesterday. I now enjoy my decaf coffee in the mornings and for my cravings after lunch and dinner- I can imagine the thoughts of Hershey's Kisses dancing in my belly; all of which are hard to believe."

I have to stick to a very bland diet, slowly introducing flavored foods, for now, the thought of rice and cheese are really the only things that soothe the stomach pangs.
This all is really something that has hit home to me, I have battled with stomach issues since my Junior year in High School- when they removed a small cancerous polyp residing in my intestine. Since then nothing has really been normal for me. I changed my diet, I never eat fast food, I always drink lots of water, I have for the most part eaten 2-3 servings of fruit daily and I love my salads. Here are some general guidelines for a IBD Diet:

• Eating meat increases the intake of omega-6 fats, which are actually pro-inflammatory. Omega-3 fats though, which come from fish (cold-watered fish more so), or can be taken in capsule form are anti-inflammatory, so attempt to eat more fish than meat.

• Excess intake of sugar, caffeine and salt should be avoided, as they all can remove the good minerals and vitamins you want to absorb. Drink a lot of fluids without any (added) sugar or caffeine, and aim for at least 2 liters a day.

• Fiber is necessary and essential, but it does not have to be insoluble. Insoluble fiber is what usually causes discomfort for people with IBD and includes skins and peels of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. It is found in bran, whole wheat, all nuts and seeds, corn, peas among many other foods. Try to eat soluble fiber like oatmeal, oat bran, peeled fruits and vegetables (if you can tolerate them that is). A supplement like Metamucil provides you with psyllium fiber, which is also good.

Now off to research alternative ways to reverse this life changing journey!