I’ve been quieter than usual lately, because I know no one likes a whiner, and I have a lot of things I’d like to whine about right now.

My ulcerative colitis is flaring again. The best and least nasty way I can think of describing the symptoms is that they are a lot like a bad case of dysentery.

The symptoms have forced me once again to go on one of the best dieting plans ever. Last time I was on this plan, I lost 50 lbs in one month. That is not a joke. I swear I gained the weight back after the first flare just to make sure I’d have something to lose when I had the next flare.

The diet plan is to eat something like the BRAT diet, which is recommended by doctors when someone might have a tender tummy, as the foods allowed on the diet are fairly bland and unlikely to cause trouble (hah!). B=bananas, R=rice, A=applesauce, T=toast. First problem for me is the toast, I found out last time that I just can’t have it. Did some more reading - the toast is there so you have some protein. So I decided chicken would be ok the first time, and this time around I’m allowing myself turkey breast and fish too. Because this diet is boring, but it keeps the pain away. Second problem is the bananas, which I dislike. But I put up with it. Third is the applesauce. Again not much liking there due to an embarrassing incident in my childhood. Fourth is that it’s best if the chicken is pretty much flavorless, which is why I’m allowing myself turkey and fish for variety.

There is definitely some flaring going on here. I passed on breakfast this morning (too busy, I slept in), had a smallish lunch of chicken and rice, and argued with myself about dinner, which I decided about 20 minutes ago would be a banana, and maybe a serving or two of applesauce. A big maybe on that applesauce. The pain ain’t worth a full feeling in my stomach. While I was considering dinner, I realized that my eating decisions were more based on how much pain I’d be in than how hungry I was. A UC flare for me means that if you eat, you hurt, it’s just that simple. So I eat enough, but no indulgences. If anyone could bottle this up, I’m sure there’d be a market for it.

How’s that for an unwhiny whine? I’m really trying to keep positive, but it is really, really hard. I’ve been trying to find other things to post about, but my thoughts are pretty much dominated by pain lately. I’ll find other things now, I just needed to get it off my chest today.