Dietary tips going through a flare

[Gigi1999]

Hi, I have been recently diagnosed with Becehts Disease but still wait months to see a Rheumatologist. I am currently going through a difficult flare and the ulcers/cankers have now moved from my mouth to my throat and I am suffering from gastrointestinal issues, I was wondering if anyone can recommend dietary tips? Thank you.

[Ayea]

Hi There,

I sympathise, it's a miserable place to be - it feels like torture when you know what is wrong but are in a queue waiting for help. Thankfully flares tend to come in cycles and it will likely ease up soon.

Avoid inflammatory foods (anything with a lot of sugar makes the ulcers worse), acidic foods (tomatoes etc... they burn like hell), sharp foods that cause damage (toast, crispy things, anything that crumbles), alcohol (inflammatory and just makes it worse).

Make sure you stay well hydrated.

When the ulcers are at their worst and eating and speaking is difficult, I switch to nutritious "baby foods" i.e soft and mushy

Examples of this are:

High nutrient soups. E.g. I will chop up a head of broccoli and some spring greens, Shallow boil them, then pour the whole lot into a blender, add lots of olive oil, maybe a herb and make it into a soup. You can do this with just about any combo of high nutrient veg you like. I then add cooked brown rice or beans if I want to pad it out with carbs or add cheese (e.g. grated parmesan) for fat, protein and flavour.

For breakfast, I soak whole rolled oats and chia seeds (optional) in milk overnight (use water if dairy is a problem), with non acidic fruits (banana, blueberries etc) and yogurt. You can add walnuts too if you want a bit of texture.

Other foods you can do stuff with... eggs, pretty much any way you like, these are great. Avocados, high fat, lot of nutrients, very easy to eat. Whole grain brown rice, combined with the eggs, beans and lots of soft cooked vegs, this is easy to eat.

Basically - soft, nutritious, non-acidic, non-inflammatory

Other tips:

If you feel brave enough, try washing your mouth with salt water... this hurts like hell, but the ulcers heal a lot faster!

Oraldene mouthwash... this helps a bit and is less painful than salt water.

Big one this ->

Ask your GP if they will prescribe Colchicine while you wait to see the specialist. This works very well at controlling ulcers for me and many people with Behcets. It can cause an upset stomach, so you must take it with food. The standard dose for Behcets is 500mg twice a day after a meal (so I take it after breakfast and dinner) and you take it long term to prevent the ulcers from starting. Make sure the GP is aware of this dosing -- Colchicine is most commonly used to treat gout and the dosing for that is very different.

Also, in case you are not aware, your GP can refer you directly to one of the 3 Behcets Centres of Excellence ->

behcetsuk.org/national-behc...

Getting a referral direct to a BCOE will ensure you get the best care as soon as possible.

Hope you feel better soon -- it's always a good day when the ulcers finally start to heal and you are on your way out of hell

[Icefire]

Ooh this sounds nasty you poor thing. In the short term you could see about a steroid mouthwash from GP? Or a short course of prednisolone if its unbearable. The pharmacist may be able to help if access to GP is difficult. I used to find a glass of milk soothing. I wonder if kefir may be helpful. I did the milk in my teenage years. It may unsettle my stomach these days. I just remember it making ulcers less stingy.

Long term I've found it helpful to include lots of veg and fermented foods and keep refined carbohydrate and sugar to a minimum. I'm better off including dairy and gluten in my diet after two years avoiding them. I now follow the advice given by ZOE nutrition and am feeling really well. You can listen to their podcasts for free. The programme is super expensive but I've found it to be worth while. I do enjoy reading about nutrition and cooking though. They are all about cutting down on inflamation in the body and health. I got most of the way by buying my own glucose monitor and listening to podcasts.

I haven't suffered mouthulcers since changing my diet. Previously I supplemented methylfolate and omega 3 but feel I probably get enough from diet now. I do think methyfolate reduced mouth ulcers though. I think I took it in drops from biocare. May be good in the short term.

Glucose goddess is another interesting read. She also has a lot on website for free.

For me Bechets is too much sugar / flour. Not enough veg. Diet devoid of nutrients. Stress. Not enough exercise. I know others have differing opnions.

My gut symptoms are much better than a few years back and I have found a correlation between too many high sugar spikes and loose bowels. Stress also plays a part in gut symptoms for sure.

Good luck. I've had some hideous flares over my lifetime but today I'm contemplating entering a half marathon. I fully believe the answer is in nutrition. I hope this helps. I think I've gone of Subject and on a nutrition rant again!! Sorry!