Hello All, this is my first post, so a little about myself.
I am 52, female and seem to be a bit inclined towards auto immune diseases. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2001 and had a total colectomy and ileo anal pouch formation in 2004. I am currently under investigation/ steroid treatment for Polymyalgia Rheumatica.
My diet is and has always been very good, I am a great lover of home cooking and loads of veg, with mainly poultry as my protein source. I have, however, become overweight since my colectomy. This was started by 4 years of very high doses of prednisolone and then in fairness probably by the perimenopause, but in truth I really do not think my diet and lifestyle are reflected by my bmi! I have had my thyroid hormones investigated and they are normal.
I wondered whether my biome could have been affected by my illness and need re-balancing and have taken lots of advice from this website. This has included starting on a prebiotic with 50 billion cfu daily. Unfortunately, this has not been well received by my pouch and has caused a very mild pouchitis, which stops when I stop taking the prebiotics. Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice to offer? Should I start on a lower CFU? I do know that VSL#3 is prescribed for pouchitis, which has even more CFUs, but less species of bacteria than the prebiotic I am using. Maybe I should just persevere?
I would be really grateful for some advice!