I've been struggling with what I thought were two separate issues -- Crohn's and a hypersensitivity to certain preservatives (especially potassium sorbate). This past week both issues came together --
About an hour, to an hour and a half after eating any food with potassiuim sorbate, I will have sudden, explosive diarrhea. I typically have about a 60 second lead time to get to a toilet. I'll then have several BM's over a 15 to 30 minute time frame, until I am totally emptied out.
I never had this problem prior to developing Crohn's 4 or 5 years ago.
Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but it took until this past week for me to put the two issues together. I got sick again, this time at a banquet where I couldn't control what was being served to me, and I couldn't determine all of the ingredients. I tried to be careful, but obviously I wasn't careful enough. Same old story, and once again I was barely able to make it to a toilet in time.
And - duh! - I believe I finally figured out what has been happening. The potassium sorbate is triggering an immune system reaction (Crohn's) and my immune system is attempting to flush it out of my system as quickly as possible. I did some research on the Internet and it supported this hypothesis.
Without the Crohn's, I could probably digest preservatives with no problems, just like I used to do, and just like everyone else. And without the postassium sorbate, my GI tract is a lot more stable and calm even with the Crohn's.
Anyway, I wanted to share this. I've worked really hard to eliminate potassium sorbate from my diet, and it's helped. If you have had, or are having, episodes of explosive diarrhea, it's worth tracking everything you ate or drank for at least several hours prior to the episodes. The food triggers that we can experience may not be based on food after all, but what is in the food.
About an hour, to an hour and a half after eating any food with potassiuim sorbate, I will have sudden, explosive diarrhea. I typically have about a 60 second lead time to get to a toilet. I'll then have several BM's over a 15 to 30 minute time frame, until I am totally emptied out.
I never had this problem prior to developing Crohn's 4 or 5 years ago.
Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but it took until this past week for me to put the two issues together. I got sick again, this time at a banquet where I couldn't control what was being served to me, and I couldn't determine all of the ingredients. I tried to be careful, but obviously I wasn't careful enough. Same old story, and once again I was barely able to make it to a toilet in time.
And - duh! - I believe I finally figured out what has been happening. The potassium sorbate is triggering an immune system reaction (Crohn's) and my immune system is attempting to flush it out of my system as quickly as possible. I did some research on the Internet and it supported this hypothesis.
Without the Crohn's, I could probably digest preservatives with no problems, just like I used to do, and just like everyone else. And without the postassium sorbate, my GI tract is a lot more stable and calm even with the Crohn's.
Anyway, I wanted to share this. I've worked really hard to eliminate potassium sorbate from my diet, and it's helped. If you have had, or are having, episodes of explosive diarrhea, it's worth tracking everything you ate or drank for at least several hours prior to the episodes. The food triggers that we can experience may not be based on food after all, but what is in the food.