Living with Ulcerative Colitis in Providence, Rhode Island

Though seemingly small (and even quaint at times), Providence, Rhode Island has an assortment of ulcerative colitis support. The Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has a Center for Women's Gastrointestinal Disorders, at which you can set up an appointment to be seen for your condition. Butler Hospital, which has a rather nice ambience, also gives treatment for ulcerative colitis. For children with the condition, Dr. Albert Ross can be contacted at the Hasbro Children's Hospital on Eddy Street. Also, Dr. Adrain at 1 Randall Square can also be contacted. The numbers to these physicians are 401-444-8306 and 401-274-4800, respectively. Also, Brown Medical School has put out various publications about ulcerative colitis. You can call the University to even inquire about ongoing experiments.

Now, as for the support groups in Providence, I know of at least two. At the Hasbro Children's Hospital, there is an IBD Support Group for the parents of children sufferers that is run by Nancy Miller and Russell Vigliotti. These are held between seven p.m. and nine p.m. For further information, call 401-444-5805 and 401-831-7656. This one is held simultaneously as the Pediatric Patient Support Group. Another one is specifically for women, and is held at the Women and Infants' Hospital. You can call Nancy Botelho at 401-453-7953. These meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month (starting January 9^th, 2008) and run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For an ulcerative colitis-specific diet, your nutritional needs can be met at Eastside Marketplace or Whole Foods Market , which both hold various organic produce and other products. There are two Whole Foods Markets; one on Waterman Street and one on North Main Street. The latter is larger, has a far better selection, making it fun to browse around. I particularly enjoy the salad bar, at which I can pretty much determine what is going into my mouth, and thus my stomach.

As for the eateries, I choose reputable ones. They don't necessarily have to be vegan or even vegetarian, since small amounts of meat are good for me. In addition, many vegan or vegetarian products feature soy, which I did consume lots of before, thinking it was a health food, but some thyroid problems happened to manifest themselves, and I had to cut soy out (as it is thyroid inhibitor). I've tried Taste of India, which is one of my favorites. I go for a milder dish, like chicken korma, and rarely do I have problems with it. The Seaweed Salad from O-Cha, which is on Wickendon Street (really close to the Brown University campus) is very good. I like any of their vegetable dishes. The pad thai isn't too spicy, making it gentle on my stomach. Though Garden Grill (a vegetarian restaurant) is not in Providence but is in Pawtucket, the food there is great! The quesadillas are so delicious, especially the artichoke one. Also the omelets with goat cheese and vegetables taste wonderful.

Also, East Side Pockets, which is on Thayer Street, is one of my favorites. The falafel is so good and has never caused me any problems. In addition, you can choose all the vegetable toppings that you could possibly want, which gives you options as well as control. As for something to fill me up on the run (without causing me the runs), I go to Smoothie King. I tried the Gladiator Low Carb Meal Replacement, which was really good. Apparently, the protein in it, which contains glutamine, egg white protein, as well as vitamins and minerals, is super easy to digest, which is great for us individuals with bowel problems (it's even geared towards those who have gotten gastric by-passes). I really liked its taste, which is an added benefit. I asked them to leave the sucralose out, which they did. I react terribly to Splenda.

As far as getting herbal remedies, probiotics and other supplements to aid me in managing my symptoms, I go to the General Nutrition Center, which is not locally-owned, but is a chain store. I go there because I enjoy the discounts that my GoldCard membership gets me. The salespeople are always nice, and are not overly pushy.