herbal remedies

Hi,  I'm a new member and my wife has crohns disease.  She has had one bowel re-section surgery 3 years ago and it has flared up again. She just had a colonoscopy and they have found two areas that are ulcerated. I really hope she does not need more surgery. Does anyone know of any herbal remedies that have helped them with crohns?  I am very interested in having her try something other than the pills.  She is on Cipro and another drug (not sure of the name at the time of this post). 

My daughter has a Crohn's-related abdominal fistula and she is on flagyl. Her G.I. is hoping it may heal it but if not, she will discuss other methods with her. Like you, our daughter and we (as her parents) are not real crazy about the idea of her starting on medicinal treatments like Remicade, etc. The long-term effects of Remicade in particular do not sound very good. She is very interested in trying the reishi mushroom extract mentioned on this site. She is just trying to give the flagyl a little time before she starts on it. It really sounds promising. We love the idea that it is a natural method used in Taiwan, etc., to heal inflammation and has also been used in cancer treatment, etc.

I have not used it, some swear by it and some say they had no change and some have even reported feeling worse from it (could be coincidence or not), everything is pretty much trial and error for each of us cuz this disease is very individual with symptoms, what helps and what doesn't. Take some ideas and try them but, try only one thing at a time so you kow if it's actually giving any benefit, don't have her start on everything all at once...see how the first thing she takes goes and add from there I'd say at least 3 months apart from one another but if she notices benefits from something then she should continue using it while she adds something eles...hope I didn't confuse you cuz I know what I'm trying to say but it doesn't always come out right LOL chalk it up to brain fog.

:)

I use herbals, but like pb4 says you have to find what works for you. A lot of people on this site use probiotics as prescibed by their doc. I eat yogurt with probiotics in it. I couple this with L glutimine. L glutime helps the healing process in the gut, the probiotics reregulates the flora in the gut. These two are harmless if they don't help. I use a lot of other herbs because they work for me..may or may not work for others. If you go the herbal route you need to rememeber that it takes a long time for them to work. (3-6 months sometimes). Also, people that recommend herbal will also recommend stopping the use of soda of any kind, highly processed foods, and some will go futher and tell you to eat only all natural foods. If you go herbal find someone that KNOWS herbals and talk to them, they are out there but they can be are hard to find. But be careful, there are a lot of people that call themselves "healers" and think they know herbals but don't know what they are doing. Good luck!

Fish oil (enteric coated) has really helped me. Also probiotics.

Probiotics have helped me tremendously. I use Align, but I think that it really takes just trying different probiotics strains to see which helps the most.
Peppermint tea is also really soothing on days when things are particularly upset (which I know are generally often and strung together).
A multivitamin with iron is a must, but if it upsets her stomach then taking a prenatal supplement might work better. I take them instead because they are gentler on your system.

Some say that fish oil makes no difference, but I think that it depends on the person so getting omega oil may help her quite a bit.

Just be wary of anything natural since many products, regardless of where they are from, have been tested for toxic residue e.g. lead, mercury, etc. and found to have enough to be pretty harmful. Also, look out for any possible contraindications since some herbs do not work well together and can actually cause more harm than good so...

I hope that you two find some to work. I know many can be pretty effective, but it really depends on the person and a lot of trial and error. There are plenty of websites with good information on herbal remedies as well if you just google something like 'herbal remedies crohn's' or something along those lines.

I use boswellia serrate -- because I'm allergic to sulfazines (asaccol etc). works just as well. Dai-ken-chuto for when i start to obstruct.

I also use rifaxin (antibiotic) and antifulgals -- and other drugs as needed.
I use sodium cromolyn on my pyoderma gangrenosum (drug)

Herbals in addition or in my case substitution help. Instead of? Risky, very risky in my opinion. I would never just take herbs "instead of" medication. The herbs I take are medication as much as the antiboitics etc. Your wife should take whatever can make her better.

Thanks to all who responded to my request for herbal medicines. I have found some reishi mushroom extract at a health food store. I will have my wife try it and will report back and let everyone know how she made out. Just some information........I have a co-worker who has colon cancer and is very much into holistic medicine and has had his tumors shrink due to using herbal remedies (in conjunction with consultation with a natururopath). He uses the Reishi mushroom extract and finds it very helpful.