carbs

 Hi fellow DSers. It's been a while since I've posted. I'd like to know if any1 has been able to go totally carbless for a whole week and what were the results? Were there any adverse reactions? I'm thinking of trying it to see if it will eliminate the terrible gas & constant loose stools.

An elimination diet would indeed be a good thing. Carbs and artificial sweeteners are frequent culprits. Look at your protein supplements, if you use them (especially protein bars and wafers), and see what's in them.

All whey isolate supplements make some people gassy, too *points at self*.

Have you been checked for bacterial problems like c-diff?

Once you do your elimination diet, even if you don't get complete relief, add in ONE FOOD at a time and see if you can identify some culprits that way. This means ONE FOOD per meal at MOST, and preferably just one food per DAY.

Over the last 2yrs I've been hospitalized at least 4 times for c-diff. And I've been on several rounds of either vanco or flygle (sp) at home. I'm really just wondering about cutting out carbs all together for a week or so. How will it affect me? will I have headaches like when you stop caffine? And can it really be done, just stopping like that?

Ok I'm too lazy to type it out so I'm cutting and pasting.

The numerous spores formed by C. difficile are resistant to most routine cleaning methods that are used on surfaces (except for 10% bleach in water). Spores of these bacteria can remain viable outside of the human body for very long periods of time, and this means that patients in a medical facility are often exposed to situations where they end up accidentally ingesting spores.Extremely rigorous infection protocols are required in order to decrease or eliminate this risk.

I once nursed a man for 12 months who had constant re-infections of C-Diff (I worked in infectious diseases) and the spores from his C-diff were so difficult to eradicate that he was constantly having relapses due to this.

The real answer for long term eradication is to deep clean (detergent and water followed by bleach and water) your toilet, shower, towels, sheets, clothes, walls (12meter range of spores) and all of your cooking and eating utensils. It is extreme but if you've successfully tested negative on stool samples and are having relapses you can bet it is now environmental.  There are very resistant strains out there too but Vanc and Flagyl will hit it in time.

Now be very gentle with your poor irritated intestines and eat some strong pro-biotic yogurt twice  a day, cut down to simple not overly spiced meats and protein rich broths.  You basically have IBS right now and you need to rest your intestines as much as possible by avoiding astringent and gas/acid producing foods. Some mashed potato won't hurt either .

Good luck love.  My heart goes out to you. x

OH MAN!!!!! You poor thing, that is horrible. Please follow Kirmy's instructions about mega disinfecting your environment. That bug is incredibly stout. Do this wherever you hang out, which might include workplace restrooms?

Depending upon your carb intake now (both amount and types thereof) you might get a "detox" effect, with stuff like headaches, mood issues, cravings. Or you might do just fine after your first day or so. Hard to tell. It's sure worth a try.

Also, as Kirmy pointed out, this is kinda sorta IBS, so giving your gut as much rest as possible should help. Then, SLOWWWWWWWLY reintroduce foods.

I would try a round of flagyl and then a good probiotic.  You don't have to avoid all carbs you just have to figure out the offenders.  For me it is wheat gluten number one, then also sugar alcohols and lactose.  But I can eat a lot of other carbs including things made out of corn and chocolate.  Thank doG.

~Becky

 I don't have c-diff right now, my last 2 tests were negative. I take a probiotic daily and I'm not doing protein supplements (even though I know I should) but I do use a lot of equal daily.  

I've been about as low-carb as possible (just incidental few carbs from things like eggs and cheeses and a few non-starchy veggies) for multiple weeks and even months at a time with no ill effects - the body actually does not need dietary carbs to survive, just needs fat and protein.

That's what I want to do. What was your daily diet like? Did the fat make you poop more than normal? How low was your carb intake and did you lose even more weight at that time?