On December 1st I started Elaine Gottschall's SCD diet.While on the diet my previously constant concerns to locate the nearest bathroom have subsided.

I've worried about my next bowel movement (BM) since fall of 2010, nearly a year and a half before I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Since the diagnosis I have been put on a combination of Lialda, Uceris, Entocort and Prednisone along with vitamins to boost low reserves. I have supplemented these prescribed medications with Loperamide (Imodium), probiotics, Chinese herbs, and acupuncture. Since late May I have injected Humira every other week, and I have been off all other treatments since September. I was hopeful that a diagnosis would come with a medication and a quick fix to my BM issues, but that did not happen.

I had a Doctor's appointment with the on call doctor a month ago after a stool sample showed a faecal calprotectin well above 1000 ug/g. A healthy upper limit for an adult in his 30's is roughly 50. The doctor was concerned that a UC flare was beginning and thought that the Humira, what he called a Cadillac treatment, was not working for me. He order more lab work to diagnose whether the medication was a good fit and to determine the next steps in treatment.

His characterization of my medication as the Cadillac UC treatment stuck with me. Humira is a biopharmaceutical and it is very expensive. I began to question whether I really truly deserved to be on the Cadillac treatment for the rest of my life. This justification is especially called into question when my health on the drug is not substantially better than it was with cheaper alternatives. If I am paying for the Cadillac, I better be able to enjoy the smooth ride.

The ride has not been smooth for a number of years and I have been open to any ideas that may change that experience. I decided it was time try the SCD diet.The SCD diet takes serious commitment. This commitment has scared me away from trying it in the past. In fact, the commitment may not have been the scary part. What truly scared me was the realization that the diet would force me to reveal to people outside of my close circle details of my medical background that I have been embarrassed to discuss in the past. Who wants to explain to their friends that they have changed their diet because they have a disease whose major symptom is frequent, difficult to control BMs.

At some point life style becomes more important then discretion. I am at that point now. I am tired of making up excuses to avoid situations where my symptoms may put me in a difficult position. So far a diet change appears to be a big part of the answer. Let me share the changes I have seen.

The figure below shows the number of BMs I have per day. Over the past year, the daily high has been eight while the average has fluctuated between three and five. Since starting the SCD diet that average has dropped to two and for the first time in the past year I have had a couple of zero BM days.

The psychological change cannot be seen on the chart above. I am no longer worried about making an emergency bathroom stop at a gas station during my morning commute. I don't have to simulate urgent phone calls when I need to step out of meetings at work. And my stomach hasn't been tied in knots while at holiday parties this past week.

Signs that something is changing can be seen in the three figures below too. My stool is always well formed now (low values on the density figure mean diarrhea while high numbers mean hard stool, a value of six is a very comfortable place to be). The most urgent BM of the day has dropped as well. The volume of my stool has also went down significantly.

Since starting the SCD diet something in my colon has dramatically changed. I like the change so far and am excited to see how things progress in the weeks to come.