A bit discouraged

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AMRROL
AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
edited May 2015 in Food and Nutrition
My gastroenterologist wants me to drink 1/2 cup of prune juice and 1/2 cup of apple juice twice a day, morning and night because of some diverticulosis issues. The problem is that equals 325 calories a day. That is a lot, considering I am on a 1,500 calorie a day diet. Subtract the 325, and it does not leave too many calories for meals and snacks. I guess that I have no choice but to up my caloric intake by a similar amount, and hope that at best, I maintain my current weight. Always something.

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  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    You will need to increase your exercise level to maintain if you are putting in extra calories. I hope they solve this for you.
  • kasaz
    kasaz Posts: 274 Member
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    What about checking with the doctor to see if Metamucil or something similar would work? I'm sure the purpose is to keep things moving, but there are other things than what was suggested. Certainly if you were diabetic they would find something else since there is so much sugar in the juices.
  • briffaultslaw
    briffaultslaw Posts: 1 Member
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    Why are you on a 1500 calorie diet? My girl friend who is 10 stone and is looking to get down to 9 stone is on a 1600 calories and losing 2lb's a week. The lowest a man should really go is 1800 calories or you may start going into starvation mode at that low a daily calorie limit.
  • jumblejups
    jumblejups Posts: 150 Member
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    I don't know about diverticulosis, but my husband has a chronic GI disease and is under a gastro team, on a regular basis he take docusate sodium (I think it's called) to keep things moving, if necessary lactulose for one-off moments. I am guessing the doc recommended that as a natural and easy to source solution? But definitely there is a lot more out there to help with gastro issues. My husband never uses natural approaches like this but because they've never worked for him, he gives it a go regularly but they're not always reliable, so if you're gastro really wants to make sure you're in check then prescribing something might be more effective and also would have the benefit of not being so high in calories and sugar.
  • AgentCyanide
    AgentCyanide Posts: 10 Member
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    That seems like a pretty low daily calorie goal for a guy? Are you sure you've got it right?
    I would say 1,800 would be fine as briffaultslaw said, you don't want to under eat!
  • AMRROL
    AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
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    jumblejups wrote: »
    I don't know about diverticulosis, but my husband has a chronic GI disease and is under a gastro team, on a regular basis he take docusate sodium (I think it's called) to keep things moving, if necessary lactulose for one-off moments. I am guessing the doc recommended that as a natural and easy to source solution? But definitely there is a lot more out there to help with gastro issues. My husband never uses natural approaches like this but because they've never worked for him, he gives it a go regularly but they're not always reliable, so if you're gastro really wants to make sure you're in check then prescribing something might be more effective and also would have the benefit of not being so high in calories and sugar.

    I think his reasoning is that he wants to give my digestive track some time to heal itself. Therefore no strong laxatives and a low residue diet for a few weeks. I have never heard of lactulose. Is it the same or similar to Movicol?
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    I did look it up and saw the dietary requirements, but if its only a few weeks, then I wouldnt worry about it and just do a bit of extra walking as well as taking the calorie hit. Your immediate health is more importnat thna the diet. 300 calories is very little in the scheme of things. Talk to him if you have concerns. i saw prine juice, just not apple juice and am wondering about that.
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    AMRROL wrote: »
    jumblejups wrote: »
    I don't know about diverticulosis, but my husband has a chronic GI disease and is under a gastro team, on a regular basis he take docusate sodium (I think it's called) to keep things moving, if necessary lactulose for one-off moments. I am guessing the doc recommended that as a natural and easy to source solution? But definitely there is a lot more out there to help with gastro issues. My husband never uses natural approaches like this but because they've never worked for him, he gives it a go regularly but they're not always reliable, so if you're gastro really wants to make sure you're in check then prescribing something might be more effective and also would have the benefit of not being so high in calories and sugar.

    I think his reasoning is that he wants to give my digestive track some time to heal itself. Therefore no strong laxatives and a low residue diet for a few weeks. I have never heard of lactulose. Is it the same or similar to Movicol?

    As you pointed out it is a low residue diet for a few weeks.... not for ever!
    Agreed 300/400 calories on a 1500 calories diet can be taxing but at the end of it it is needed!
    If i was in your shoes i'd make sure the inflammation gets back under control and would not worry that much of putting up a kg or 2.... worst comes to worst, go for a run to balance out!
    Moving forward focus on fibers.... the more fibers you eat the less stays inside....;)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I'd revaluate your goal because it seems low, and I'd talk to the doctor about another option, honestly.
  • AMRROL
    AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I'd revaluate your goal because it seems low, and I'd talk to the doctor about another option, honestly.

    I agree with you, under normal circumstances. But I have been in intense pain for 2 weeks now, grossly bloated, constipated and with horrible non stop stomach pain. Worst flare up I have ever had. I do think it is best to give my intestines a rest while they heal. My GI doctor knows me well, so I will have to trust him. But thanks for the insight. I do really appreciate everyone's feedback.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    AMRROL wrote: »
    jumblejups wrote: »
    I don't know about diverticulosis, but my husband has a chronic GI disease and is under a gastro team, on a regular basis he take docusate sodium (I think it's called) to keep things moving, if necessary lactulose for one-off moments. I am guessing the doc recommended that as a natural and easy to source solution? But definitely there is a lot more out there to help with gastro issues. My husband never uses natural approaches like this but because they've never worked for him, he gives it a go regularly but they're not always reliable, so if you're gastro really wants to make sure you're in check then prescribing something might be more effective and also would have the benefit of not being so high in calories and sugar.

    I think his reasoning is that he wants to give my digestive track some time to heal itself. Therefore no strong laxatives and a low residue diet for a few weeks. I have never heard of lactulose. Is it the same or similar to Movicol?

    How many is "a few weeks"? If it's a month or less, I'd just up your calories for awhile and take an extra 2-3 walks a week. If your body needs to heal, the extra calories will likely do it good.
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    A brisk walk a day for about an hour should take care of the extra calories. Best of luck Stef.
  • belinus
    belinus Posts: 112 Member
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    Treat the juice as medicine and walk a bit more.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    AMRROL wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I'd revaluate your goal because it seems low, and I'd talk to the doctor about another option, honestly.

    I agree with you, under normal circumstances. But I have been in intense pain for 2 weeks now, grossly bloated, constipated and with horrible non stop stomach pain. Worst flare up I have ever had. I do think it is best to give my intestines a rest while they heal. My GI doctor knows me well, so I will have to trust him. But thanks for the insight. I do really appreciate everyone's feedback.

    You shouldn't be worried about dieting while healing. Your body needs the calories right now. And I agree with the above posters. 1500 is awfully low for a man. How did you come to this amount?
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    La Tortilla Factory makes some pretty high fiber, low cal tortillas. I made the mistake of eating three in one day...yeah...
  • AMRROL
    AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I'm having a cardiac catheterization done tomorrow. 100% positive that the chest pain is gastric related, but the doctors are being a bit cautious. I've had this procedure before, so not concerned in the least. The 1,500 calorie was given to me by the VA dietician as I was bordering on obese. I see her every few months, so as I have already lost almost 40 pounds, I am hoping that she will up the caloric intake.
  • jumblejups
    jumblejups Posts: 150 Member
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    AMRROL wrote: »
    I think his reasoning is that he wants to give my digestive track some time to heal itself. Therefore no strong laxatives and a low residue diet for a few weeks. I have never heard of lactulose. Is it the same or similar to Movicol?

    Ah ok. Lactulose is a synthetic sugar, it causes more water to be drawn into the bowel and poop so that it can pass more easily, when my husband's constipation is severe he will take up to 30ml and that will do the trick (starting dose is usually 15ml). It doesn't irritate like other laxatives, which he found with things like Movicol or Laxido, and he never uses Senna unless it's for bowel prep for colonoscopies. It takes about 12-24 hours to take effect, but once it does it's pretty effective. I think the docusate sodium is a stool softener so it just helps to keep things going when he isn't severely constipated.

    However like others have said the key is to heal, I thought you were being prescribed the juice for life :blush: Also to lose 1lb a week usually means a daily deficit of 500cals, so if you just up your current calories by 300 at worst you'll maintain, but odds are you'll keep losing but perhaps just a bit more slowly than you have been, so nothing will be lost. Good luck :smile:

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